Pop Up Beer Tasting Notes

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I cracked open a couple of bottles of IPA tonight because I needed them. They were not exactly the freshest IPA’s in my collection. I will be honest, I was fully expecting to just dump these beers. This is something I wrote on facebook in my personal account:

My aged IPA experiment (ok, it was more that I forgot about the bottles) is surprisingly a success. A couple of nearly 2 year old IPA’s are surprisingly good – malty with just a touch of hops. The American Captian Munson (which is probably closer to 1 than 2), is really complex and delicious. The Seven Brides FrankenLou is nice but horribly overcarbonated. There might be hope for my DFH 120 minute IPA’s in the cellar yet!

The American Captain Munson is probably about 18 months old. It was malty with hints of hop character and as it warmed it had an amazing dried fruit (cherries, figs) finish that really made me wish I had another bottle. I like Captain Munson fresh, I really liked it aged (keep in mind the beer is being kept between 58 and 64 degrees in my basement) and think that I might actually try this again with this beer. I wish I had taken notes on this.

The Seven Brides is good, but the beer is horribly overcarbonated and I think it may have actually been infected with some Belgian yeast that went to happy town in the bottle. The beer is drinking nicely (it was bottled on 4/12/12 according to the bottle) but it has a bunch of Belgain fruity esters going on and actually is drinking like a slightly hoppy Belgian Brown. I actually have no point of comparison on this beer as it was one I bought in Portland a few years back without trying and never opened, but they are distributing now in Seattle, so I may have to pick one up.

As for the DFH reference – I have a few bottles of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA in the cellar, I believe vintage 2011 and 2012. I can never seem to find the sweet spot on this beer as it seems that when I open it, it is either too hot or has that cardboard flavor. I think I am going to take the oldest bottle and just let it go for 3 or 4 more years to see what happens with it.

Hope springs eternal.

Beer of the Week: Maritime Pacific Lady Jane Bitter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

With all of the love that I give to the Ballard breweries, there is one that up until this point (200+ beer reviews) that has never appeared in this space, which is disappointing, because they are a) on of the oldest breweries in Seattle and b) a place that the Mrs. and I go to on somewhat on a regular basis, albeit for food not necessarily the beer. Maritime Pacific has a great tap room/restaurant and I highly recommend them for their excellent and inexpensive pub fare and their solid but unspectacular beers. They have a pretty consistent tap lineup and brew pretty much to style, so you won’t find a bunch of super hoppy imperial IPA’s or weird adjuncts in their beer, just solid, straight forward, refreshing suds. I started off a tasting tray with the Lady Jane Bitter.
The beer pours medium tan in color with an off-white head. Notes of grain and caramel dominate the nose with just a hint of hops hiding in the background. The beer starts off on the palate slightly sweet with a nice amount of grain before moving into light caramel and toasted malt flavor with notes of caraway and rye. The beer finishes short with a slight bitterness that comes and goes quickly coupled with touches of sweetness and caramel on the finish. Drinks a bit differently than you would expect from a bitter, but it was easy to drink, tasty and smooth.

Maritime Lady Jane Bitter pours a long, cool 3 women in a red dress out of 5.

The Right Tool For Slashing Bread Dough — II

by A.J. Coltrane

Previous post here. It seems I revisit this “problem” periodically.

For reference, the last attempt:

I took the picture on the floor because that was the best light at that hour. Naturally, it drew some interest.

And today’s:

The Differences:

1. Fewer slashes on this attempt. The slashes were more “lengthwise” and less “across”.

2. The slashes were at a slight angle to the dough. Maybe 30-45 degrees or so. Last time they were perpendicular to the countertop.

3. Prior to this attempt I reread an earlier CSE post. In that post I noted that I’d read that it was best to keep the slashes in the middle 3rd of the dough. (In other words, I tried to not slash all the way to the edges of the dough this time.) The real advantage of documenting this stuff is the searchable notes.

4. The breads received less steam on this attempt, resulting in darker loaves and a thicker crust — they got steam for 5 minutes rather than 10 minutes. The steam was in the form of a small amount of water in a roasting pan underneath the loaves. [For reference: 450 degrees. 5 minutes with steam, 10 minutes without steam, then turn the loaves around and bake for another 10 minutes. 25 minutes total.]

In any event, I think that this time they were way closer to what I have in mind as “correct”.

Top Chef Duels

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Top Chef has apparently abandoned the all-star concept and is instead going with a head-to-head competition involving former contestants. From reading the description, it sounds like this is going to be Top Chef Chopped with a twist, that being:

Rivalries will be intensified as “Top Chef Duels” ups the ante and allows the competing chefs to each pick one mini-duel based on the other’s perceived weaknesses in the kitchen.

I like that they are getting both regular and all-star contestants, but I would have liked to have seen all the matchups as regular vs. masters.

Here are the matchups:

Episode 101: Richard Blais (Top Chef Chicago runner- up and Top Chef All-Stars winner) vs. Marcel Vigneron (Top Chef Season 2 runner up) – I like this matchup with two molecular gastronomy guys going at it. I would have loved to see either Blais or Vigneron against Wylie Dufresne, but this one is going to be good. I think Blais wins it in a close battle.

Episode 102: Shirley Chung (Top Chef New Orleans finalist) vs. Brooke Williamson (Top Chef Seattle runner up) – Chung didn’t impress me on TS-NOLA and I thought that Williamson was going to win TS-Seattle, so I think it is pretty clear how I think this is going to end up. I would have loved to see Williamson against Naomi Pomeroy or Anita Lo here.

Episode 103: Mike Isabella (Top Chef All-Stars runner up) vs. Antonia Lofaso (Top Chef Chicago finalist) – both of these two are very underrated cooks and I think this is going to end up being a fun matchup and I think Isabella is going to prevail. Would love to see one of them against someone like Jon Waxman.

Episode 104: CJ Jacobson (Top Chef Miami contestant) vs. Stefan Richter (Top Chef Season 5 runner up) – there is going to be a ton of trash talk in this competition and I think that CJ takes this one with Stefan complaining the whole time. Would be cool if this one had Jacobson or Richter against Tom Colicchio.

Episode 105: David Burke (Top Chef Masters Season 5) vs. Takashi Yagihashi (Top Chef Masters Season 4) – master vs. master here, I think that Yagihashi takes it. Would have liked to see one of them square off with one of the Voltaggios or Sheldon Simeon.

Episode 106: Tiffani Faison (Top Chef Season 1 runner up) vs. Dale Talde (Top Chef Chicago and Top Chef All-Star contestant) – another tough call with two great chefs, but I think Talde will squeak out a victory. How about a battle against Chris Cosentino here?

Episode 107: Nyesha Arrington (Top Chef Texas contestant) vs. Jen Carroll (Top Chef Las Vegas finalist) – Nyesha annoyed the crap out of me and doesn’t strike me a great chef but Jen Carroll is, so I don’t think this one will be close. Fun would be Carroll against Rick Moonen. Really fun would be Carroll against Eric Ripert, her mentor.

Episode 108: Stephanie Izard (Top Chef Chicago winner) vs. Kristen Kish (Top Chef Seattle winner) – another really great battle, although I think that Kish got an easier road to winning TS-Seattle by plowing through last chance kitchen. Izard is the better cook and I think she wins, but I would love to see either of them square off against Mary Sue Milliken or Tracy Desjardins.

Episode 109: Kevin Gillespie (Top Chef Las Vegas fan favorite) vs. Art Smith (Top Chef Masters Season 1) – the battle of the beards and finally a master vs. regular battle, and they definitely got the matchup right. Both of these guys do home-style southern so it should be fun and probably involve a ton of pork products. I think Gillespie wins though.

Episode 110: Championship Finale – has me wondering how this is going to work. You have 9 winners from the previous episodes. If I had to guess who takes the competition overall not knowing how this is going to be presented, I am putting my money on Stephanie Izard.

The show premiers on August 6th.

The Right Tool For Slashing Bread Dough

A.J. Coltrane

I can never slash bread and make it look right. At one point I purchased a lame, but for me it would tear the dough, rather than producing a nice, clean cut.

Finally I tried what should have been the stupid obvious tool. The bread knife. It easily made deep, clean cuts:

The loaves are still a little funny looking. I need to better at slashing, but at least now I won’t be tearing the bread, at that should really help the learning curve.

I believe that the cuts need to be longer and the knife needs to be held at an angle to get attractive “ears”. It’s a start.

Beer of the Week: NW Peaks Peak 6522

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I was cleaning off my iPhone and I happened to stumble across notes for a beer that I had not previously published – NW Peaks Peak 6522. It was a one-off experimental beer that they produced back in 2013 and I don’t really know much of the details on what the style was or the stats because they just are not in my notes (I don’t know why). So you get to enjoy the notes for what they are, just a flat out description of a beer (After reading what I wrote, I can tell you it is a dark beer and I believe it had the inclusion of almond fondant, or at least that is what my spotty memory is recalling).

The beer pours jet black with a pale white head. Notes of cola, nuts and sesame dominate the beer with hints of caramel – kind of reminds me of a jack and coke. The beer drinks lighter than expected, starting out with hints of caramel before progressing to light roast and mild almonds and finishing slightly sweet with a very long background almond finish. Very well balanced and subtle with amazingly well integrated alcohol. The roasted flavors are a bit more prevalent as it warms, but it is still subtle and balanced.

NW Peaks Peak 6522 reaches the summit and catches 5 sunrises out of 5.

Container Garden Update — June 7, 2014

by A.J. Coltrane

Previous Update here.

For reference, the May 16 picture:

And today, Brussels Sprouts in the foreground:

The basil and tomatoes, the tall plants on the back right are the tomatillos:

The Tromboncino zucchini are starting to latch onto the trellis:

From the deck:

The pea plants are done, pictured is today’s harvest. In total we got around 3 pounds of peas, much of which was eaten right off of the vines. I’m thinking a pea pesto may be on the way:

Bonus pic of the blooming oaxalis:

And the boy cat laying in the sun, inviting ear scratches:

The Winter Gardening Catalog Has Arrived

by A.J. Coltrane

The Territorial Seed Co. 2014 Fall & Winter Gardening Catalog arrived in the mail today.

Gah! All of the summer vegetables are just now kicking into gear! It feels like we just got a Christmas catalog or something..

Really though, it makes sense. There are longer season vegetables that will be ready for a Fall/Winter harvest if planted today, or real soon. The catalog includes this nifty Winter Gardening Chart. It includes days to maturity and freeze out temperatures, as well as optimum storage temps and humidities. The chart is exactly a kind of thing I’d been looking for when I started gardening. Handy Charts That I Don’t Have To Compile Myself make me feel organized!

REAL SOON! (The reference starts at the :50 mark.)

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Smoked Rye Saison

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Smoked beers can be pleasant and roasty with notes of smoked salmon or BBQ that really compliment the other flavors in the beer when they are done well. When they are not, the beers tend to be roughly the equivalent of chewing on a campfire log. I was excited when Populuxe brewing partnered with Bitterroot BBQ to produce the Smoked Rye Saison. I love the Populuxe Saison, I love rye beers and I was very intrigued over what the combination of smoked rye and saison would end up tasting like. The beer clocked in at 6.8% ABV.

The beer pours deep red in color with a white head. Strong notes of roasted caramel with hints of smoke and rye dominate the nose with just minor notes of grass in the background. The beer has a significant amount of smoky sweet malt up front on the palate before quickly moving into light notes of lemon and grass with hints of Belgian character before finishing with layers of rye and very light smoke coupled with lemon and Belgian yeast that lingers pleasantly for a long time. The beer reminds me of smoked salmon with lemon and dill, with the dill (in a very light way) either coming from the grassy notes or my mind inserting it because of the smoke and lemon flavors. This beer is very well balanced and layered and is very easy to drink for a smoked beer. It would pair fantastically with just about anything grilled.

Populuxe Smoked Rye Saison grabs the blue ribbon with 5 low and slows out of 5.

A Few Thoughts On “00” Flour

by A.J. Coltrane

Iron Chef Leftovers gave me ten kilos of “00” flour over the holidays. I’ve gradually been working through it. I initially tried some high-hydration pizzas with a small amount of oil, just like I’ve been doing with AP and bread flour. The results were waayy too extensible (stretchy) — extensible to the point of nearly disintegrating in my hands while shaping the dough. Last night’s pizza had a very modest 61% hydration and no oil at all. Even with that adjustment the dough was still very, very extensible.

April 28: Oven baked pepperoni. Medium hydration dough with oil.

A little poking around the internet gives this comparison of different flours at SeriousEats.

The fact is, the label Tipo “00” has nothing to do with protein content. Rather, it refers to the fineness of the milling. Tipo “00” is the finest grade of flour milled in Italy, and it has a consistency similar to baby powder. It’s available with several different levels of protein intended for different baking projects, just like American flours (which we’ll get to in a moment). The ones you’ll most commonly see in pizzerias are the redRinforzato bag, which features pictures of pizzas and bread, the bluePizzeria bag, which pictures a single pizza, and — the most common in the U.S. — the red The Chef’s Flour bags, which, in fact, contain the exact same flour as the Rinforzato. All three bags of flour have the exact same protein content: 12.5%

Because of the fineness of their milling, they don’t need quite as much water as an equivalent American flour (try making a 65% hydrated dough with “00” and American bread flour side-by-side and you’ll find that the “00” is much runnier).

To quote the Mythbusters guys: “Well there’s your problem!”

June 2: Grilled crab rangoon pizza. — June 2: Grilled Crab Rangoon pizza. Finished with cilantro.

One nice thing about using the grill when experimenting is that it forces me to create a dough that is *not* a total, sloppy mess. “How can I get this onto the grill” can become a real issue. In this case, using the grill pushed me to use a lower hydration dough than I might normally have tried, and it led to a small breakthrough.

A note about oil: Normally, the addition of oil promotes browning and flavor at the expense of “lift”. I *like* browning and flavor, so the next “no oil” attempt will have something along the lines of 58-60% hydration, minimal kneading, and an 8 hour+ rise. In theory the longer rise (and short kneading) should give back some of the browning and flavor that would be lost by the absence of oil. It may be that adding a small amount of salt would help too — it should improve the structure and tie up some of the water, making the dough more manageable.

In theory anyway. It’s a process.

For the record – I was informed that this was the better of the two Crab Rangoon pizzas. Last night’s topping was cream cheese, crab, lime juice, honey, Sriracha, and cilantro. I liked both of them about equally.