Pour Me: Maui Brewings Coconut Porter

Maui Brewing has always been on the periphery of my vision when buying beers from the fancy-pants grocery store. I glance, see that they are in cans, see that they average about $10USD for a pack, and decide to buy something else. Never did I think that I was passing up something truly good; it is probably just overpriced and is unimpressive. Well, this Coconut Porter is really quite good.

Oh yeah, these are canned beers. Like I said a few posts ago, I am just going to review canned beers, from here on out, forever. That's because canned beers are the future. You are living in the past, man, if you are drinking out of a bottle! I will call you Old Timer, and slam a can of craft beer down in front of you. Yeah, I probably wont do any of that, but I will use my little blog to espouse the virtues of canned craft beers. So, expect to be converted, Old Timer. 

Canned beer is great. Bottled beer is also great. The thing about cans  is, they are much more friendly. You ever see someone smash a can of  Shift over someone's head at a bar fight? No, because the drinker of  cans knows and loves the environment and, by proxy, humanity in  general. Sure, glass can be recycled, but cans can be recycled for cash. Also, according to the box that Shift comes in, that can could be a brand new beer in as little as 60 days. AMAZING!

Maui Brewing's Coconut Porter is a fine example of a craft beer. According to the cans, it won the World Beer Cup for Herb and Spiced Beer. Now, is coconut an herb or a spice? The brewing process involves tossing in toasted coconut. I know that coconut is a very dividing flavor, but it works really, really well with the porter. The Coconut Porter pours moonless night black, and a wispy head sticks around. The nose is dominated by malts, and just the ever so slight hint of hops. That is exactly how I like my porters. Tasting this beer, you are introduced to a whole new world of malts. It is perfect. The finish is nice, with barely a hint of coconut. Not enough to be off-putting, but a very unique finish. This beer is very dry, and a solid sip should hold you for quite a while. 

Coconut Porter is rated at a modest octane 6%ABV. It also comes in 4 packs, but I feel that it is worth about $2.50/beer. I mean, it had to come over an ocean just to get to the fridge!

Pour Me: Dogfish Heads Burton Baton

Dogfish Head makes some incredibly interesting beers. By far, Burton Baton is the most interesting that I have every had. It is an IPA that is aged in oak barrels. When I set this on the checkout counter, the dude behind the counter looked at it, and said "that sounds really mouth-drying." Indeed, the opposite of mouth-watering is almost apt.

The reason why I picked this up is because I wanted to try something new. I was cruising the beer isle and spotted Burton Baton. I read the box, pulled a bottle out, glanced at the price (and nearly fell over), and decided I had a try it. Curiosity pretty much drove me to pick it up, but it has been quite a while since I have tried an IPA, so, what the hell.

Burton Baton comes in a four pack. Most of the really good Dogfish beers come in four packs. Four packs will probably be the new six pack for craft breweries. I am going to go ahead and call that now. Anyway, this IPA is aged in barrels, though the bottle does not state what kind, if they are charred, or new or whatever. Just "oak-aged." Well, whatever, that is fine with me, I guess.

This IPA pours incredibly coppery. I love the look of it. There is a very nice, creamy head that stays around for the entirety of the beer. The nose is subtle straight out of the gate, but as the beer diminishes, there are some citrus notes, in addition to the alcohol. Speaking of, this is a big-boy: 10%ABV. You would not think it, though, because it is not that potent. I assume that like with good bourbons, the wood helps mellow out the fire from the alcohol.

It is the ABV that gives me pause because this IPA is incredibly drinkable. Dangerously so. There is bold, fruity flavors, reminiscent of melons present, in addition to a citrus twang. Burton Baton is smooth drinking, bright and crisp. This IPA is probably the most enjoyable beer I have had in quite some time.

Now, let us get down to brass tacks: a four pack of Dogfish Heads Burton Baton is $14USD and change at my local liquor megastore. That is quite a bit of money for four beers. Is it worth it? Juuuusssst about. I would say that you should split the cost between 2 people, but it would be better to buy it for yourself, keep it in the fridge and show you friend, but do not let them have any. That is the way I roll.

Grillin: Sausage and Sauerkraut

A while back, there was a a Food Lab on Serious Eats about the best way to grill sausages. It was surprisingly interesting. Before, I would just toss the sausages on a hot grill, flip them a couple times, bring them in and call it good. Of course they would crack, explode, cause the grill to flare up, and shrivel the minute they came off the grill, but I thought that was how it goes. Turns out, it is not, and there are much better ways to grill sausages. I highly recommend checking the article out.

The best way, it turns out, to grill a sausage is to actually poach it first, then finish it off on the grill. This cooks the sausage through, and also gets nice grill marks and smokiness. Sure, it is a bit more complicated than breaking a styrofoam container open and tossing them on the grill, but the results are incredible.





















Now, there are some really fancy sausages available at the fancy-pants grocery store, but those tend to be hit and miss. So for this time, I decided to just go with some tried and true sausage from a BBQ joint in a small town near Austin. I also would have been totally fine with getting Johnsonville brats. Seriously, they are really good, and always consistent. Better then throwing the bones with fancy and custom sausage.

In addition to the sausage, I got a 3 pack of those aluminum trays. I think they were 9" x 9". I figured if the results were good, I would try it again, so might as well get a few aluminum trays.

Lastly, instead of trying anything fancy with the kraut, I got the Del Monte brand. It is always decent, and I fear that if I bought a jar, I would OD. Love of sauerkraut is my only flaw, I think.

Oh, yeah, of course beer would be involved, so I procured myself a 4-pack of Shift. A nice lager is always a welcome addition to sauerkraut and bratwurst. One for them and four for me.

Grilled Sausage and Sauerkraut

1/2 yellow onion
1 can sauerkraut
6 sausages (unless you get a bigger aluminum tray)
1 9x9 aluminum tray
dash of caraway seeds
1 cup of lager
salt and pepper

Start off by chopping the union into split rings. Well, you could just roughly chop it if you want: I just prefer a larger piece of onion. Spray some nonstick on the aluminum tray, and dump in the sauerkraut. Toss in the chopped onion, and dash in the caraway seeds, and season with salt and pepper. Give the mixture a good stir and add the sausages.

Heat the grill to medium, and once hot, stick the tray on to one side. Let the liquid come to a boil, and turn over the sausages. After about ten more minutes, turn them again. Twenty minutes after you put them on, they should be almost done. Take the sausages, and place them on the unused side of the grill, and let cook for about 2 minutes per side, or just until they develop a nice char. Once they are done to your liking (use a meat thermometer), return them to the pan and remove from the grill. Now, removing from the grill is really easier said than done. I barely made it to the door without dumping everything on the ground for the dog. I suggest taking some oven mitts and a cookie sheet out with you.

Serve with something delicious like mac and cheese. The sausages should stay plump, be cooked through and have very nice grill marks. Next time, I am making Italian sausage with peppers on a roll.

Pour Me: Sierra Nevada's Porter

Oh thank Heaven for Sierra Nevada. Most breweries have porters and stouts in a seasonal rotation, and the light, crisp, easy drinking brews are here for the summer time. Well, I like my porters and stouts year round. Sierra Nevada takes care of my strange needs.

The first time I had this porter was a long, long time ago in my beer brewing class at the University. The instructor told us about his favorites, and what beer was the best of the style (that we could find in Podunk, NM). Sierra Nevada's porter was probably the first porter I had ever had. And I loved it. Most of the time, I am of the belief that if you try something new and it is terrible, you are not likely to try it again, no matter the amount of coaxing. Thankfully, I have started off on the right foot with a lot of beers. Sour beers, no, but I am easily coaxed.

This porter is good, but not the best I have ever had. That said, Sierra Nevada has consistency down, and being able to find this porter all year ranks it very high in my book. It pours like a porter should: deep, deep brown with a milk-chocolate-y head. The nose is subtle, with hints of malt and alcohol. This porter is not brazen. It is not in your face. It is subtle, and the malts dance on your tongue. There is not an overpowering sense of alcohol, just a nice, smooth taste, with a pinch of crispiness at the finish. It is really, really tasty. Sierra Nevada has it down with their porter. 

Baby Back Ribs

What is appropriate food for a baby shower? Crumpets and tea sandwiches? Bonbons and a veggie tray? Not my baby shower. My (our, I guess, if you want to get technical) baby shower was going to have awesome food. Like deviled eggs. And baby back ribs.





















It had been quite a long time since I actually made baby back ribs on the grill, and before that, the only ribs I have had were from BBQ joints. I thought it would be complicated to get delicious, flavorful ribs at home. Well, it turns out that you can make super delicious ribs with a bit of spice, coffee and your favorite BBQ sauce.

Personally, coffee rubbed anything is awesome in my book. You know I put it on steaks. It also works well for pork tenderloins. For ribs, it works fantastically. I ground up a few tablespoons of whole been coffee, and sprinkled in a generous amount of ancho chile spice. I ground it in a mortar and pestle to incorporate everything. I took a taste on a finger, and the coffee was powerful, and had a nice burn from the spice. It would make a great rub for a fraction of buying the stuff at the fancy-pants grocery store.

Speaking of the fancy-pants grocery store, that is where I bought the ribs. They were on sale for $7.99, and I considered that a pretty good deal for the quality. The meat-to-bone ratio was excellent, and one rack feed the entire baby shower crowd. Sure, there was other appetizers for the guests to enjoy that supplemented the ribs, but when every guest left, they said the ribs were fantastic (amongst congratulations and praise for having a baby).

The BBQ sauce that I use is a local one, so feel free to use a personal favorite of yours, or, hell, make your own. The Salt Lick is legendary in Austin, and has a fantastic chipotle BBQ sauce. It is the only one I ever use because it is sweet, but packs a nice very spice to it. Plus, there was a coupon for it.

So, to start off, I just rubbed the ribs generously with my homemade ancho-coffee rub. Very generously. Then they go in some plastic wrap (a very big ziplock would work, too), and let them absorb over night. About 30 minutes before grilling, I took them out to get about to room temperature. I set the grill to medium heat to start, and ended up turning it way down after the first flip. I also heated up the BBQ sauce in a small pot because, I mean, have you ever tried to ply on cold sauce to ribs? It does not work out well.

Once the grill is ready, I hit the ribs with a bit of salt and pepper on both sides, and toss them on. I baste every time I flip, so the back of the ribs get hits first with the sauce. After about ten minutes, I flipped them again, and hit the top side with BBQ sauce. It was at that point that I realized that I should probably keep the heat lower. I flipped the ribs about every 7-10 minutes, and finally pulled them off after 40-45 minutes, depending on the size of the rack.

After they have cooled for about 10 minutes, I used my cleaver (its one use of the year), to cut individual ribs. The ribs turned out juicy and packed a delicious flavor. Everyone, like I said, was really impressed. So was I. This was my first attempt at baby back ribs in some time, and it was fantastic, and surprisingly affordable to feed a crowd. My wife demanded that I make them again, ASAP, so when my father-in-law visited shortly thereafter, that is what we did. That time I decided to go whole hog (har!) and got way too many ribs. Thankfully, that meant we had awesome rib leftovers for several meals. I had no complaints.

Baby back ribs are very easy, and will please a crowd of meat-eaters, and make non-meat-eaters quite jealous.

Pour Me: Ass Kisser Smoked Porter

Enjoying Calvin and Hobbes WAY more than the beer.

Dark beers are probably my favorite style of beer. Porters and stouts, especially. Specifically, I have found porters to be the most enjoyable of the dark beers that I regularly enjoy. Until lately, that is.

For some reason, smoked porters have become popular. I first tried a mesquite smoked porter, thinking it would be killer. Well, it killed my pallet for smoked porters, for sure. It was quite an experience, but I decided to end my closed-mindedness, and gave Ass Kisser a try.

Calvin and Susie: A better love story than smoke and porters.

Ass Kisser pours quite dark, with a surprisingly light-cream head that fades quickly. The nose is that of smoke and alcohol, and that is not nearly as appealing as it sounds. Think moonshine tire-fire. When taking a sip, the potent smell blinds you to the taste of this beer. After taking a long pull, you realize that you are drinking alcoholic liquid smoke. At 8%ABV, it is very potent and has crazy smokiness. I cannot honestly tell you what type of smoke it is, but it is unpleasant, to say the least. That's a shame, but smoked porters are out. This porter can, in fact, kiss MY ass.

Pour Me: Full Sail's Brewers Share ALT

It has been a while since I felt the need to drink a 22oz bottle. I think I hit a wall, literally, the beer wall at the store, hard. There was nothing left that I had not tried, or had little desire to try. Thankfully, I strolled over to the convenience store, and found this beer.

Full Sail is a brewery that I have never explored. I will do my best to rectify that because this Brewers Share ALT was pretty good stuff. Reading the bottle, I gathered that: The brewers at Full Sail compete, and the winner gets their concoction brewed and distributed. That is how I ended up with ALT, Phil's existential alt. basically, the liberal use of German malts and hops
in brewing is similar to the way the Germans philosophize. Or something. You can look at the bottle if you don't believe me. Plus, the label is pretty damn cool.

ALT pour out really beautifully. The color is really impressive: rich and coppery. The head is light and creamy, and holds on for quite a while. The nose is malty, and very deep and rich. After taking a whiff, you know what you are in for. ALT is very drinkable and easy going. I thought the malts would have made it harsh, but it turns out that they compliment rather than dominate, though they do linger on the tongue for a while. There is a subtle bite from the hops, and the IBU rating is only 43. Balanced is probably the best way to describe ALT, and the 5.1%ABV lends to that balance.

ALT was under $5USD, and I would say that you could probably find it for a fair amount cheaper at a liquor store. It is worth a try, if only to take in that beautiful copper color. 

Grilled Peaches with Honey-Bourbon Glaze

 

For the life of me, I cannot remember what I was listening to on the radio, but Alton Brown was on. I caught the very last bit of the segment, and the host asked what Alton's favorite fruit to grill was. He said stonefruit, and peaches especially. He elaborated on what he did when he grilled peaches: "split them in half, remove the stone, drizzle oil on the open side, and put them open-side down on the grill. Flip them over after a moment or two, and baste them with a honey-bourbon mixture." I shouted to the empty living room (technically, the dog was listening to me) "OH MY GOD!"

There were peaches on hand, but, shockingly, I did have to procure some bourbon. I searched the web to find out if this was an actual recipe that Alton Brown had, but found some overly complex (I think simple is the theme this week), so they were dismissed. Figuring the ratio of bourbon to honey would be a challenge, but I would struggle through.

The peaches were in fine shape, and they split nicely, and the stone was easy to remove. I drizzled some good olive oil on the cut-side, and tossed them on a medium-heat grill, cut-side down. I used a double shot of bourbon and a tablespoon of honey to start with, but the mixture was overly liquidy, so I added another tablespoon, and it was perfect. The peaches were flipped, and I used a basting brush to generously apply the honey-bourbon. It was a little sketchy, as the alcohol spilled over and flames shot up. Who knew that alcohol was flammable?! After about 2 more minutes, I took the peaches off.

Vanilla ice cream seemed like the best bet to serve these peaches with. So we had peaches and (ice) cream. It was good, but it really needed something with crunch. Candied pecans would have been fantastic, or maybe just a bit of granola. Hey, live and learn. It was still quite a delicious desert, and I plan on making it again in short order. Just need to buy more bourbon.

Pour Me: Buried Hatchet Stout

Canned beer is the future, my friends. For too long, I decried it, saying it was fad that would never catch on. After all, any brewery that brews something good puts it behind glass, right? Well, no longer. There are many, many excellent brews in cans now, and that is something that cannot be written off.

Buried Hatchet Stout is a brew by Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe, TX. I have seen the can before, but prior to picking it up, I was in can denial, so I just ignored it. A stout in a can?! Only Guinness can do that. Well, after tasting the remarkable Ten Fidy, I decided it was high time to give Buried Hatchet a try. 

Buried Hatchet is a double/imperial stout, so I was expecting it to pack a nice wallop. It poured midnight black, with a nice, frothy head. There is a bit of malt and alcohol on the nose, but it is not potent. The flavor is very peaty. Like, working in the garden-style earthy. There is a tinge of wateriness to it, but that lends to the drinkiblity. The malts are very smooth, but there is a nice little bite at the end. While not as potent as many other imperial stouts out there, Buried Hatchet is quite good, and a good example of a stout.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Setting out for an easy, quick and tasty recipe is difficult. I wanted to grill a pork tenderloin, but the recipes that google found me were overly complex, and required ingredients I would have to pick up. Somehow I stumbled upon an incredibly simple recipe, but I could not find it again, so I won't take credit for being so original here, but the tenderloin did turn out great.

A while back, I gave up on buying pork tenderloins from my local grocery store. Every time I bought one I planned on stuffing it with delicious. When I opened the package, I found that there were actually 3 tenderloin pieces, none of which could be stuffed. Hell, it was tough to even cook them. You could get maybe 4 medallions out of one of those pieces, and the rest were just pork bits. It wasn't until my aunt served us a bbq pork tenderloin that was bought at Costco. It was great, and the tenderloin was truly a tenderloin. So I bought some. For about the same price per pound, you get whole tenderloins about 2" in diameter. The way a tenderloin should be.

The recipe that I found was ridiculously simple: season with salt and pepper, and dash on some Herbs de Provence, add some olive oil, and let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to cooking. So, that is exactly what I did. Once I put it onto a hot grill, the Herbs de Provence became very fragrant. I flipped it probably 4 times every 5 minutes, and it was done. I have a person in the household that is not too keen on any kind of undercooked pork, so the internal temp blew past 170F. I thought it would be way to dry, but actually, after resting 10 minutes, it was very, very juicy.

The changes I would make to this easy recipe would be to add a bit of spice from cayenne and paprika to it. That's it. It is really easy, and if grilling isn't your thing, cooking it in the oven would work great, too. Also, if you have a picky eater that always needs a sauce, a fruit-chipotle bbq sauce would be fine. I think grape would be top notch, but any fruit sauce would be great.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

1 2lb pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence
2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
salt and pepper

Start off by trimming any excess fat from the tenderloin. There wont be a lot, but it makes a difference. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle the Herbs de Provence on both sides. You can then toss the tenderloin into a bowl, or, like me, you can just put it in a ziplock bag. Drizzle the olive oil over it, and smoosh it around a bit. Vent the air from the bag, seal, and let sit on the counter for 30 minutes.

Fire up the grill to medium-high heat. Set the tenderloin on, and check it in 5 minutes. Flip it after 5 minutes, or if it starts to blacken too much. Keep flipping it about every 5 minutes or so. After about 20 minutes, stick it with a thermometer and see where its at. 160F and it should be good. Let it rest for a while, depending on the size. I let it go 10 minutes, and then sliced it into medallions, and served over brown rice. Also, just because I had some, I sprinkled a bit of fresh mint on top. It was surprisingly tasty.

Pour Me: New Belgium's Tart Lychee

Sometimes, it feels like you are stuck in a rut. You have the same, quality things for dinner, week after week. You have really great beers, that you are hooked on. Things are good, but pretty uninspired. What does it take to break out of the rut? I will tell you: something that you swore you would never try again.

It could be the abrupt change, or the idea that you hit the rut, and will do something unusual to get yourself out of it. Well, I swore to myself that I would never, ever try a sour beer again. Well, I saw this Tart Lychee, and decided, "what the hell, I got nothin' to lose."

I am really, really glad I tried this Lips of Faith. It is fantastic, and I was genuinely surprised. Tart Lychee is a Lips of Faith brew from new Belgium. Lips of Faith is New Belgium's in-house development arm, where the folks of NB brew their own beers, and the best of the best gets a run. It is a neat way to do limited releases, to be sure, but of every Lips of Faith beer I have had, none have been nearly as good as Tart Lychee.

Working outside over a hot grill (working on baby back ribs: recipe to come), I poured this into my New Belgium goblet, and read the bottle. "55% ale aged in oak, 44% ale brewed with lychee and cinnamon." Cinnamon, eh? Where is the 1%?! The foam settled to a slight cream, and the beer was a very appealing golden-copper color that was pretty opaque. The nose was quite fruity, and I had a moment of reservation. Might as well... Down the hatch...

Oh. Momma. Tart Lychee is by far the most refreshing beer I have had this year. That one sip instantly cooled me off. It starts crisp, and the sourness is present, but not in-yo-face. It is a complement, rather than the statement. There is crisp, sour and tart all intermingling nicely. After you set the glass down, you are struck with a bit, just a slight bit, of burn from the cinnamon. The flavor is tropical, but not like any kind of mixed drink that you had in Cancun on spring break. No, the flavor is tropical in the sense of refreshment.

Sour beers, I though, were dead to me. Maybe I should start adding them into regular rotation. I know for sure that Tart Lychee will be, but hopefully it inspired me to try bold new beers.