If you stay three nights in Fairbanks, Alaska, you have an 80 percent chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Also known as Aurora Borealis (Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn; Borea is the Greek name for the north wind), the ribbons of green and red light that twirl across the sky seem otherworldly, but really, it’s just science: Particles from the magnetosphere and solar wind collide with photons in the earth’s upper atmosphere, and result in streams of colored light. And because Fairbanks sits within the Auroral Oval—an arctic zone that’s so chilly, the skies are almost always clear—the city’s a particularly stellar spot to take in the show.
The best time to view the Aurora falls smack-dab in the middle of Alaska’s notorious winters, when the skies are good and dark. If your human instinct to stay warm outweighs your desire to see the lights, you’re in luck: Most Fairbanks hotels offer Aurora Borealis wake-up calls. For the heartier set, Sirius Sled Dogs leads a nighttime mush, followed by a gathering in the outfitter’s private cabin for a fireside dinner and light viewing while the pups howl. Or hit the wilderness on a one-, three- or six-hour snowmobile tour beneath the night sky. Perhaps the most luxurious way to view the lights is from Chena Hot Springs Resort’s natural rock lake, where the steamy, mineral-rich water and the green rivers in the sky remind you just how awesome Mother Nature really is.
BREWERY STOP: Just outside Fairbanks in Fox, Alaska, lies Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling, the country’s northernmost beer maker. At the brewery, grab a growler of specialties like Hardpack (an oatmeal-wheat stout tweaked with coriander, orange peel and Belgian yeast and spiked with local espresso), or pick up a sixer of the easy-drinking, Vienna-style Fairbanks Lager.
Brooklyn Brewery’s illustrious brewmaster Garrett Oliver edits The Oxford Companion to Beer, a comprehensive reference guide/encyclopedia to all things brewed; chef Tom Colicchio lends an introduction. An essential for any beer lover’s shelf. Oxford University Press, $65
Beer journalist Joshua M. Bernstein tackles every movement in beer today from nano to gluten-free to gypsy with well-written tasting notes, exclusive interviews and serious (but digestible) beer smarts in the notebook-style Brewed Awakening. Sterling, $25
Hilarious and heartwarming, Jeremy Cowan’s Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah, an autobiographical account of Shmaltz Brewing’s 13-year rise to fame, proves beer dreams can come true with a lot of work and a little shtick. Malt Shop, $25
Veteran beer scribe Christian DeBenedetti guides readers to more than 350 brewpubs, bars and taprooms every enthusiast should have on their bucket list in The Great American Ale Trail. All the hard work’s been done: The author identifies a lone must-sip beer at even dizzying spots like Portland’s Saraveza and San Fran’s Toronado. Running Press, $20
Brewery founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner team up with beer/food writer Randy Clemens in The Craft of Stone Brewing Co., an ode to Stone that’s equal parts historical record, beer catalog, homebrewing guide and recipe book. And the brazen arrogance you’d expect from Stone? It’s there, too. Ten Speed Press, $25
Every bit as funky and far-out as New Belgium’s annual multi-city beer-bike festival, Tour de Fat: Sights, Sounds, Feeling, Flavors chronicles 11 years of performances, partying and cycling in the name of suds. Wolverine Farm, $25
George Hummel’s The Complete Homebrew Beer Book offers recipes for beginners (British and American browns), intermediates (maple porter) and pros (smoked pumpkin ale), plus thorough primers on hop varieties, equipment and more. Robert Rose, $25
§ November 1st, 2011§ Filed under News§ Tagged UncategorizedComments Off
What to cellar and crack open this winter.
BRING THIS OUT: Smuttynose Barleywine Style Ale 2009
In 2009, Smuttynose’s barleywine had all the marks of a cellarable beer: Spicy alcohol coursed through the beer’s rich toffee malts, while dark fruit notes emerged alongside fruity yeast esters and resinous hops. After two years, the beer shows signs of maturity: Caramel scents fuse with figs, while tobacco and leather deepen the bouquet. With its alcohol bite tempered, the now creamy beer rolls effortlessly over the tongue. Prunes and figs seep into the caramel sweetness, bright hints of citrus contrast aged leather, and glowing alcohol warmth creates a dry swallow.
LAY THIS DOWN: Laughing Dog The Dogfather Imperial Stout 2011
Hefty malts and 10.9% ABV give The Dogfather the fortitude a beer needs to age properly. Today, this Russian imperial stout layers the tongue with dark chocolate, roasted malts, threads of toffee and a lactic bite; alcohol tingles the taste buds and leaves the chest warm long after the swallow. A year or two in the cellar will smooth out the alcohol notes, and invite luscious flavors to pair with the dark malts. Dark fruits (think raisins and figs) will emerge and fuse with smooth chocolate notes as the body develops a thicker, sherrylike mouthfeel that keeps the flavors in the mouth just a little bit longer.
§ October 26th, 2011§ Filed under News§ Tagged UncategorizedComments Off
After 12 years, Aruba’s only local beer producer, Balashi Brewery, finally unveiled its second permanent offering: Balashi Chill. A counterpoint to the award-winning, original Balashi pilsner (a two-time Brussels Monde Selection gold medalist), the easy-drinking Chill combines a mash of barley, wheat, corn and sugar with Aruba’s famed filtered water for a crisp, refreshing sip with virtually no hop bitterness. Since it’s only available in the Dutch Caribbean, you’ll just have to make a trip down to try it. We know: Stunning beaches and chilled Chill is a tough proposition. –Jennifer Sembler
Owner/brewmaster John Niedermaier put in decades of work at breweries like Traverse Brewing and Right Brain, and he’s had his mind on this particular project for just as long. “As I’ve said forever, I’m only going to open one brewery,” he says. “If it’s not gonna be right, I’m not gonna do it.” Niedermaier will grow many of the ingredients for his self-described “weird, bizarre” beers (like a double-Dutch chocolate ancho chile porter) at the brewery, located on a 10-acre converted farm. The 15-barrel, farm-to-pintglass outfit will include plots for hop vines, pumpkins and poblano peppers as well as peach, pear and apple trees, and plans to harvest honey and maple syrup. Watch for beer by Christmas.
After a half-decade contract brewing in California, brothers Samuel and Jesse Evans came home to Chicago to open the most ambitious brewery program the Windy City’s ever seen. New Chicago is part of a 100-percent sustainable vertical-farm operation called The Plant, where Samuel says they’ll “take full advantage of a lot of things other brewers don’t have access to,” including a steam-heated brewing process fired by a WWII-era bomber engine. Spent grain—barley, oats and rye they’ll grow themselves—will help feed an anaerobic digester to create natural gas, and spent barley will feed a fish farming operation, which then feeds a kombucha brewery and mushroom farm. In their first year, the brothers intend to deliver a “very aggressive” 2 million bottles of three West-Coast style flagships by early 2012.
§ September 1st, 2011§ Filed under News§ Tagged UncategorizedComments Off
Chad Kennedy
Bend, Ore., already revels in an embarrassment of beer riches, but three new breweries prove you can never have enough options. Larry Sidor, Deschutes’ prolific brewmaster, is opening his own brewery featuring session beers and style-bending brews he says will “lean toward the wacky.” Paul Arney, another Deschutes alum, is launching The Ale Apothecary; its flagship Sahalie, an ever-changing batch that is the result of experiments with barrel-aging, yeast and blending, should be on shelves by the end of the year. Chad Kennedy, former brewmaster at Portland, Ore.’s Laurelwood Brewing, is also headed to Bend to start Worthy Brewing, a 30-barrel outfit slated to have cans, bottles and taps out by summer 2012.
§ September 1st, 2011§ Filed under News§ Tagged UncategorizedComments Off
Heretic
The all-star team at Golden Road Brewing —L.A. beer restaurateur Tony Yanow, former Dogfish Head brewer Jon Carpenter, and Meg Gill, an Oskar Blues and Speakeasy alum—just heated up their kettle for their flagship brew, a sessionable IPA Yanow nicknames “California Hoppy Ale.” Watch for it on taps throughout Los Angeles shortly, and in cans later this year. goldenroadbrewing.com
Almanac Beer Co. sources local agriculture for its once-a-season, “farm-to-barrel” releases: Its first, Summer 2010 Blackberry Ale, was fermented with four types of Sonoma County berries and aged in red wine barrels.
What do you do when you host one of homebrewing’s most popular podcasts and authored a book on brewing classic styles? If you’re Jamil Zainascheff of The Brewing Network, you open a brewery. This summer, Zainascheff launched Heretic Brewing in San Francisco with a lineup of three beers from his homebrew catalogue: Evil Twin, a red ale; Tafelbully, a spicy, citrusy Belgian-style session beer spiked with Brettanomyces; and Miscreant, a rich, sour Flemish-style beer. hereticbrewing.com
Love is as fickle as wild yeast and can be as fleeting as the head on an English brown. Yet at their North Fork Brewery in northern Washington state, Sandy and Vicki Savage have found ways to make love last. First, they’ve preserved more than 90 years of bottles in a beer shrine that rivals most, boasting a rare set of pre-Prohibition bottles with their labels intact and a set of Rosie the Riveter beer ads drawn by legendary pin-up artist Alberto Vargas. They also do weddings: Vicki, an ordained minister, coordinates small weddings using local vendors and weds beer-loving couples against the stained-glass window in the brewery restaurant, or outside in the garden. What type of person gets married at a brewery? “They’re definitely more relaxed than the typical Bridezilla,” says Vicki. “Anyone getting married in a beer shrine doesn’t have a lot of hang-ups about the color of their flowers.” The beer, though, isn’t meant to endure; Sandy’s portfolio of open-fermented British-style beers—starring a mild English IPA and a smooth, nitro-poured ESB—changes seasonally.
PLUS: North Fork installed 40 solar panels in December—nearly one for every seat in its restaurant, and the largest solar operation in Whatcom County—that the Savages hope will soon offset 100 percent of the brewery’s electricity.
We keep coming back to this ribeye slathered with Texas-style sauce.
GRILLED RIBEYE WITH WEST TEXAS MOP SAUCE
Serves 4 Recipe by chef-partner Dean Fearing, Fearing’s Restaurant, Dallas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns
1 bottle Shiner Bock
2 cups molasses
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground arbol chili
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup water
salt and black pepper to taste
4 12-ounce ribeye steaks
lime to taste
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat; add the onions and sauté 3 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic and black peppercorns and sauté an additional 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Add the beer and deglaze the pan, then let reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses, Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and arbol chili, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce mixture to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, add corn starch and water; mix to combine thoroughly. Slowly pour the corn starch mixture into the sauce in a small stream while stirring until sauce thickens.
• Season the steaks with salt and pepper to taste, and heat a grill. Arrange the steaks on the grill, being careful not to overcrowd the grates. Cook the steaks 4 minutes on each side, or until medium-rare.
• About 1 minute before the steaks are done, brush on a generous amount of sauce, glazing each steak. Turn each steak once and cook until the glaze thickens, about 1 minute. Remove the steaks from the grill and keep warm until ready to serve.
§ August 4th, 2011§ Filed under News§ Tagged UncategorizedComments Off
The experts take us to grilling school.
You’ve seasoned your steaks and rolled out the grill; now, the real challenge begins. The perfect steak can be a lifelong pursuit, and even with the best equipment on the block, you’re bound to end up with a dry-rubbed boot if you don’t have patience, says Victor Albisu, executive chef at Washington, D.C.’s BLT Steak. “You see people throwing their steaks around and flipping them,” says Albisu. “Instead, it should be a Zenlike experience.” From grilling safety to flipping technique to the best way to start your fire, we’ve tapped three steak experts to divulge how to master the backyard barbecue.
1. Don’t Poison the Guests
Between transporting raw meat and dealing with open flames (and, in most cases, a few beers), a lot can go wrong when you’re ready to grill. Chef Peter Felton of The Farmer’s Cabinet in Philadelphia says the most important way to avoid danger is to plan ahead: “Make sure the grill is ready before you bring out the meat; don’t let the meat sit out in the sun.” He also urges sanitizing the platter that held the meat before bringing your steaks to the table, or using a different platter for each trip.
2. Prepping the Grill
Admit it: When you’re done grilling, the last thing you want to do is clean… so you don’t. That usually leaves an interesting charred mess for your next cookout. To get the grill ready to go, start a fire and let it burn for 30 minutes before cleaning it with a sturdy grill brush. To season the grill for cooking, Albisu uses an old trick his grandfather taught him: “Take an onion, cut it in half and fork it. When the grill’s hot, rub it with the onion, then leave it on the grill to char.”
3. Flipping Out
Despite the ubiquity of spatulas, most chefs agree a sturdy pair of tongs are the way to go, specifically “something short and compact,” says Rodney Scruggs of Washington, D.C.’s Occidental Grill & Seafood. According to Scruggs, a one- to two-inch steak should be set down straight on the hot spot of a grill, then turned at a 45 degree angle halfway before flipping—about 4 to 6 minutes per side—to achieve those classic diamond grill marks. And definitely tilt the meat to cook the sides: “You want to seal in the juices,” says Scruggs. “When you cook the meat, you’re pushing those juices in, so anywhere you can grill on a steak’s surface, you should.”
4. Great Balls of Fire
For a charcoal grill, arranging the coals properly is essential. Albisu prefers using a briquette starter to ensure an even burn. Scruggs, on the other hand, gets his hands dirty and tosses in a few wood chips for added flavor: “I like to put one layer of wood chips down, add charcoal and light it without fluid. Once they’re glowing, turn the briquettes over and add another layer of chips about five minutes before you grill.”
5. Rest in Peace
Any seasoned chef will tell you that letting a steak rest after grilling is crucial. “It’s invaluable,” says Albisu. “It’s the difference between average and spectacular. If you don’t let it rest, you should really just grill chicken.” Grill your steak to just below the desired level of doneness, then remove it and let it rest on a platter for 5 to 10 minutes. The downtime seals in the steak’s flavor and hot juices, which continue to cook the meat once it’s off the grill.
6. Where’s Your Hot Spot?
Every grill has hot and cool spots, and mastering their locations will help you achieve cooking perfection. You create your own hot spots on a charcoal grill, but according to Scruggs, gas grills can be tricky: “It seems like the middle would be the hottest, but that’s not always the case. The flame goes where the air is, so the hottest spot is often on the perimeter.” Scruggs recommends firing up the grill and covering it with slices of something inexpensive, like zucchini. After a few minutes, you’ll clearly locate the hot and cool spots without ruining an expensive cut of meat.
