A baking and gardening journal. Mostly.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Could you imagine having to cook a meal for a man who many consider the best chef on the planet? How about one involving 50 courses? That is what the folks over at Modernist Cuisine did earlier this month when Ferran Adria came for a visit. The video montage looks amazing, I just wish I knew exactly what everything in it was. There is just some of the most beautiful food you will ever see here.
For your viewing pleasure:
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Reuben’s, coming up on their second anniversary, has been hugely successful. They quickly became one of the best breweries in the state, have won numerous awards and medals at beer competitions and make some of the most interesting beers you can get your hands on. One additional, but less well known place where they excel is their small barrel aging program. It has so far produced some of the best barrel aged beers I have ever had (see here) and they continue to surprise with what they can do with an old barrel. A recent release of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout was no exception. This was their breakfast stout, bulked up to 10% and clocking in with 39 IBU.
The beer pours jet black in color with huge amounts of maple sugar and milk chocolate on the nose with backing notes of roasted malt, whiskey and vanilla on the nose. The beer starts out surprisingly light with just a touch of roasted malt before quickly moving into pleasant notes of sweet caramel and whiskey coupled with milk chocolate and sweet coffee. The finish is long and sweet, with notes of coffee, maple, chocolate, caramel, fruit, grain and pecans all present. This was like drinking a complete breakfast in a glass and was an incredibly complex and deep beer. The beer was well balanced with no individual flavor taking over for more than a few seconds and this beer was in that “can’t tell it is high alcohol” category because of its easiness of drinking.
Reuben’s Brews Barrel Aged Breakfast Stout is bringing breakfast back with an outstanding 5 parts of a well balanced diet out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Back in the day when they first started, Naked City was really known for Belgian style beers. Over the past few years, they have really expanded both their beer lineup and brewery, so now when you head into their taproom/restaurant, you are faced with a large, something for everyone beer list. The upside of that is when you are looking for a particular style, there is a chance they have it. A recent trip to Naked City on a warm day lead to me wanting something light and refreshing, so I gravitated towards the Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, a blonde ale clocking in at just 5% ABV.
From the Naked City website:
The name is inspired by the final track on Bob Dylan’s brilliant Blonde on Blonde album. One of the many questions this song asks is: “Who among them do you think could resist you?” Made with British Pale, Munich, Wheat, and Crystal Malts, this light, easy-drinking session ale is hopped with Chinook and Styrian Golding. Once you have one pint of this smooth ale, you won’t be able to resist another.
The beer pours pale yellow in color with a significant amount of pilsner malt and slight floral notes and hints of grain on the nose. The beer starts off with a slight malty sweetness before showing significant pilsner character and touches of fruit. The finish is pleasant, with a malt start and finishing with hints of pilsner with a slightly floral character. The beer is pretty nondescript but pleasant and easy to drink on a warm summer day. I just wish it had a bit more depth beyond the significant pilsner character.
Naked City’s Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands tunes its guitar to 2 Rainy Day Women out of 5.
by A.J. Coltrane
In 2013 we used Ultomato stakes in many of the EarthBoxes. One of the early hodge-podge attempts is shown on June 3 of last year, here. We had a couple of boxes where the stakes wound up branching out in many directions, and to some degree it was a struggle to get everything to fit together. More than a few of the “arms” got warped in the process. Even with a “regular”, symmetrical, setup it can be hard to get the poles just the right distance apart for the arms.
What we learned is that the right thing to do is to assemble the Ultomato cage, *then* put it into the EarthBox. Using a “break” in the concrete ensures that all the stakes line up:
It seems to be easiest to put on the arms open-side up, pushing the stakes onto the arms, rather than the other way around. Like this:
And (Note the bent arms. Those went on last.):
We’d then flip the entire thing over and “close the loop” with the last of the arms. This leaves the open sides of the arms facing out so that if the plants push outwards the arms won’t pop off of the stakes.
The best path to success is to push the center two poles in slightly, then work the corners in a little bit at a time. Once all of the poles are in place it’s easy to push the whole thing firmly down into the box. In the next picture you can see the arms facing “out”.
And sure enough, we learned something this year too. The arms need be attached closer to the top and bottom of the stakes. Once the assembly is in place it’s really hard to put on arms closer to the surface of the box.
Fortunately, we’ve got garden twine.
By Blaidd Drwg
This would have been even funnier if the occasional occurring penguin characters showed up in this strip. From Pearls Before Swine, April 6th.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Keeping with a theme of single hop IPA’s, NW Peaks released one also recently, this one done with Crystal hops. It was a new beer for the crew down at NW Peaks and an IPA, so it was definitely on my must try list.
The beer pours hazy pale yellow in color with notes of lemon and lemon peel and touches of grain and grassy hops. The beer starts off with a strong grain profile with just a touch of sweetness before quickly moving into a mild bitterness showing hints of lemon peel. The beer finishes long with notes of lemon juice (without the acidity) and a pleasant bitterness with just a touch of astringency (surprising but not unpleasant) and hints of grassy notes giving the beer a bit of a bite. The beer drinks fine and is a nice use of Crystal hops, but it lacked a great depth of flavor that you would normally expect from an IPA and it seemed just a bit unbalanced.
NW Peaks Single Hop IPA with Crystal goes into the china shop like a bull with 2 horns out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
I am back to bouncing all over my beer notes because every once in a while, I have a beer that is on tap at a local brewery and worth seeking out. I love IPA’s and I love single hop IPA’s even more because they really showcase the hop and its flavor profile. Stoup Brewing has a Citra IPA currently on tap that comes in at a reasonable 50 IBU and 5.9% ABV. Since I really do enjoy Citra hops, this one was a must-try.
From the Stoup website:
We like to call this one Sunshine In a Glass … or Sunshine In Your Belly because it won’t stay in that glass long. Our Citra® IPA is designed to be light and bright in both color and body. Your first sniff will elicit images of tropical fruit and citrus thanks to a healthy dose of Citra® hops. Enjoy a pint of this and you might just find yourself gazing skyward, pondering how in the heck sunshine made its way into your glass.
The beer pours hazy golden in color with tinges of orange and a creamy white head. There are significant amounts of orange and orange peel on the nose with light touches of orange juice showing through. The beer starts out with a mild orange juice sweetness coupled with touches of grain before more pronounced IPA character builds in. First, you get hints of piney resin, then burnt orange peel with a bitterness that is mild and pleasant that carries through the finish of the beer without overpowering it. There is more fresh fruit on the finish, combining with the orange peel and pine notes, causing the beer to finish nicely and tricked my mind into looking for orange pulp at the bottom of the glass. This beer is easy to drink with a nice balance and complexity, showing layered flavors and showcasing Citra hops wonderfully.
Stoup Brewing’s Citra IPA goes down to the groves and picks the best 4 oranges out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
What happens when a coffee expert drinks cheap coffee in a blind tasting? Well, you get some interesting reactions. There are a couple surprises in here, so I am not posting any spoilers. From Buzzfeed:
By Iron Chef Leftovers
A long time ago, back when Populuxe first opened, there was an Amber on tap. It then disappeared for a while, only to recently resurface recently on their tap list, thanks to their ever rotating number of beers. That definitely meant I was trying it despite it just being up on the board as “Amber” with no snappy name (more on that later). The beer clocked in at 5.5% ABV.
The beer pours deep red in color with a white head. Nice notes of malt and light notes of dried fruit and hops appear on the nose with just a touch of floral perfume showing itself. The beer starts off on the palate with a nice floral hopiness and a surprising punch of bitterness (not unpleasant, just unexpected) before mellowing out with a touch of sweetness and malt. The beer finishes with a combination of malt, a touch of sweetness, just a touch of caramel and a really nice bitterness that lingers well after the other flavors have gone. This beer is incredibly easy to drink, deep and surprisingly hoppy and worth checking out if it is on the tap list.
Populuxe Amber reads the writing on the wall with 3 for a good time calls out of 5.
Ed Note: I suggested that they call this beer “For a good time call Amber” but my suggestion was shot down.
FlatbreadGarden 