The beer industry is far behind where it should be in terms of diversity, inclusivity and representation. If you have the opportunity, consider supporting these black-owned American breweries. Let them know that you see them, appreciate them, that you are aware of the huge challenges they face. That they are helping inspire and lead a…
Author: fawnward
All About the Crowler™: Pros, Cons, Loves and Hates
If you frequent craft breweries or taphouses, you’ve probably become quite familiar with the Crowler™. Standing at 32 ounces, the large single-use fillable can emerged into the market in 2012, created by Ball Canning in partnership with Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado. Oskar Blues is considered the first craft brewery to release its beer in…
Beer Garden: Rhubarb
Spring is here, and for many that means a growing excitement for seasonal fruits and vegetables like asparagus, fava beans, snap peas and radishes. We’ve made it through the winter full of starchy roots and now it’s time for bright, light and fresh options. Another favorite coming into season is rhubarb, or as I like…
Baking with Beer: Barrel-Aged Carrot Coffee Cake with Brown Butter
If you’re a beer fan, chances are you have a few bottles of something rich and barrel-aged hanging around–that is, unless you’ve already gone through your backstock in these weird times. I like to enjoy few ounces of most of these big, sweet and boozey beers, and usually try to share a bottle among several…
Hops & Health
Hops are a key element of beer. First and most obviously, hops offer a growing catalog of many wonderfully unique flavors, providing brewers with a wide palette of different options to build creative recipes. And because hops are bacteriostatic and actively inhibit the growth of Gram-positive organisms, they help to keep some bacteria and other…
The Session Sessions: Georgetown’s Roger’s Pilsner
In this series I showcase craft beer under 5% ABV: because life is too short to just have one beer. All posts are uncompensated and opinions are my own. What I’m drinking today Georgetown Brewing’s Roger’s Pilsner is a 4.9% American pilsner made in Seattle, Wash. Brewed with Oregon-grown Sterling hops and a combination of…
Beer Garden: Sage
Before the widespread adoption of hops, many kinds of herbs, spices and roots made appearances in beer. Besides having a wonderful complexity and diversity of flavor, hops help beer keep safe to drink, creating create a bacteriostatic environment that works to keep Gram-positive bacteria at bay–essentially, hops are somewhat antiseptic. In earlier times (before everyone…
Cooking with Beer: Amber Ale Dijon Vinaigrette
Beer! It’s not just for drinking! You can have your beer in a salad, and feel satisfied and healthy too. This amber ale dijon vinaigrette is an extremely easy and unique salad dressing to throw together. Because of its malty notes, it works particularly well on wintery salad components–bitter greens, chicories or peppery arugula,…
Seasonality and Beer Preferences: Why We Drink What We Do
For us here in the seasonal northern hemisphere, certain foods and drinks appeal more or less at certain times. Salads in summer! Stew in the cold! It’s easy to assume that these preferences are simply “natural” and not question them at all. But some parts of the world sometimes depart or disagree with these “standards”…
How to Find the Right Craft Beer for Macro Drinkers
Today I’m discussing techniques for helping customers (or friends) choose beer that they will love and enjoy. This is an underappreciated skill to have as a service professional (or a great skill to have as a colleague). I personally would love to see everyone behind the bar better able to quickly guide someone to the…