Entries tagged with 'beer'
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[Photograph: Maggie Hoffman] I'm just going to be honest with you: I think it may be time to forget Oktoberfest (if you haven't already.) Märzenbier is tasty stuff, but I've decided that American rye beers are really the perfect autumn brew. By substituting rye for some of the barley in the mash, brewmasters give these beers a hint of spicy warmth and a touch of rye-bread flavor. Though the Germans have used rye in their pumpernickel-brown roggenbier since medieval times, the ryes we tasted were distinctly American. There's no hard and fast rule as to what an American rye must be, but these tended toward reddish amber, fruity, and generously hopped. They're a little spicy, with a sour kick...
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[Photographs: Robyn Lee] When you reach for a Heineken do you realize you're a self-assured poser who feels really exceptional but actually lacks self-esteem? Whereas those chugging back the Budweiser are sensible, grounded, and practical. According to Ad Age, beer choices can be like a Myers-Briggs test, providing insight about personality types. Craft-beer drinkers are more likely to spend time thinking about beer rather than work. They are more open-minded than most people, seek out interesting and varied experiences and are intellectually curious. Craft-beer drinkers also skew as having a lower sense of responsibility—they don't stress about missed deadlines and tend to be happy-go-lucky about life. Apparently craft beer nerds are also 52% more likely to be fans of...
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We tasted ten brown ales—from bright, hoppy ones to the sweet and pruney. Whether you're looking for something bitter to see you through the World Series or a more warming, chocolately beer on a rainy night, we have favorites for both.
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More than just beer nuts. Beer bread. [Photograph: aromacucina.typepad.com] For last week's Weekend Cook and Tell, we asked you to share all of your favorite beer-friendly recipes. No matter whether they were made with beer or made to be eaten alongside a cold one, here are some of our favorite responses: katieelby was well aware that this challenge was supposed to go beyond beer nuts, but she couldn't resist sharing this recipe for Sweet and Spicy Walnuts. No stranger to cooking with beer, Otabenga made a version of choucroute using beer instead of the more traditional white wine. In honor of fall, he recently made this Three Sisters Stew: a combination of beans, squash, and corn (finished with beer, of...
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A good brown ale is gentle, smooth, and wonderfully drinkable, pint after pint. Despite their low alcohol, these are flavorful malty beers. We tried five brown ales—check out our favorites.
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[Photographs: Maggie Hoffman] You shouldn't look at a twelve-ounce bottle of Belgian dubbel and think, "For that much money, I could practically get a six pack of my regular beer." It depends on your priorities (and your regular beer), but this week's tasting convinced me that a single goblet of Belgian dubbel is an experience well worth the expense. Besides, you'd probably spend that much on the same quantity of mediocre wine for a dinner party without thinking twice. And these beers are anything but mediocre. They're rich and deep, nuanced and a bit mysterious, with musky roasted malt and sweet raisiny flavors balanced with a touch of bitterness. They're the kind of beers you want to sip slowly,...
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If you can't make it to Germany this year for Oktoberfest festivities, you can at least drink in solidarity. We tasted twelve beers—a few traditional German märzen beers head-to-head with some American interpretations from craft brewers.
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[Photo: Carey Jones] Pull a pint and raise your glass: Guinness turns 250 years old today, marking a quarter-millennium (!) since Arthur Guinness took over a brewery at St. James's Gate, in Dublin... on a 9,000 year lease. (Here's hoping that gives us 8,750 more years of the black stuff.) Honoring the occasion? Join drinkers across the world in a toast today at 17:59, Dublin time. (That's a minute to one in the afternoon on the East Coast. But nothing wrong with that—Guinness is good for you.)...
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This week's hot dog is more of a technique than a regional style. That's because finding a really good hot dog in the Philadelphia area is almost impossible. Legend has it that some manufacturers even make a special extra-bland wiener for the region. To jack up the flavor, I marinate my Pennsylvania hot dogs in beer, garlic, onions, herbs and aromatics not unlike what you would use to make a classic choucroute. Then I throw the dogs in a small pot of chili on the grill, toss the dog into a bun, cover it with chili and heaping piles of shredded cheese, diced onions, and maybe some scallions if I'm feeling fancy. Mustard is optional though I prefer yellow,...
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There's something about these Hamm's beer commercials from the 1950s that make me really want a glass of beer from the Land of Sky Blue Waters. It's probably a combination of the hypnotic jingle, the animated beer-peddling bear accompanied by a singing goose, and the deep, soothing voiceover that goes, "Hamm's...mmmm...Hamm's!" And I don't even like beer. (There's even a Hamm's Club for fans of this former brewery based in Minnesota.) Watch the video after the jump....
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