Happy Guines... I mean St Patricks Day!

Looks like another St Patrick’s Day has crept up on us (not me because every Pub I go to around here has a St Patrick’s Day countdown clock). So everyone will now proclaim their Irish roots and enjoy some traditional Irish fair but this cannot be completed with out one of the best exported beverages from that glorious Isle and leads me to write this handy document for you:


Guinness goes with everything!

Well, not really everything… but there is a great deal of other brews that Guinness can be added with to make a spectacular drink. Many people feel left out on St. Patrick’s Day because they don’t enjoy Guinness to the extent that other’s do (or at all). Though, by itself, it is a spectacular stout with coffee and malt notes that never really goes out of fashion all year around. These upcoming mixes are for the folks that maybe want to enjoy “Guinness Light” that doesn’t have the full body of a pint of Guinness. Hardcore fans may also enjoy these if they have not tried them (however, if they are like me, they may have already tried almost all of them).


Guinness Float

Ingredients

Method

1 tall glass Guinness or other dark stout

1 large scoop vanilla ice cream

Place ice cream in Guinness. Drink

Black Velvet

1/2 qt Guinness

1/2 qt Champagne

Combine Guinness and champagne in a tall chilled glass. Stir and serve. Makes 1 quart.

The story behind Black Velvet from Guinness itself.:

"The death of Queen Victoria's beloved Albert in 1861 was responsible for the introduction of that prince among drinks-Black Velvet. As the whole of England mourned the Consort the bar steward at Brook's Club in St. James Street, should go into mourning by simply mixing it in equal parts with Guinness. (You’ll need a spoon for these next few, preferably one pre-bent or made like the one pictured below)


Poor-man's Black Velvet (aka Snakebite)

1/2 pint. Guinness 1/2 pint hard cider.

Any Hard cider would do, if you want to be a hardcore brit fan then use Strongbow or Magners…

Black & Tan

1/2 Guinness & 1/2 Bass

How to pour a Black & Tan:

Hold your pint glass at an angle as you would when pouring a Guinness. Fill just over halfway with Bass Ale on tap. Slow the flow control on the Draught Guinness tap down to a mere trickle. Fill to the top, letting Draught Guinness hit the side of the glass -OR- pour Draught Guinness over an upside-down spoon to disperse the flow. Let settle.

Half & Half

1/2 Guinness

1/2 Harp

Some people believe this is the true version of a Black & Tan. They feel that Guinness/Bass Import Co. has changed the name of this drink to increase their bottom line by selling both products at once. (Brilliant!) This also been increased with the addition of Smithwicks which can also be used in a “Black and Tan” Some people will remember that before the mid-1980s Guinness was mixed with other beers to give them added taste. In fact, the authors have an advertisement dating from the 1940s that promoted adding Guinness to "your favorite beer" for "added enjoyment." (oh yes I will!)

Black & Red (aka Black Cherry)

Guinness & Kriek (or my favorite Framboise, which will make the end of the drink sweet indeed)



Carbomb recipe

1/2 shot Irish whiskey

1/2 shot Bailey's® Irish cream (or a generic Irish cream)

1 pint Guinness® stout



Combine (proportions of 50/50) Bailey's Irish Cream and Irish whiskey into one shot glass. Drop the shot into a mug of Guinness and chug until empty. This can also be done with subtracting the Irish whiskey which makes it more palatable for some.

These are some of my favorite Guinness mixes and I hope you will try them out this St Patrick’s Day and all the rest of the year. Guinness has also come out with other variations of the their stout including their “Extra Stout” which is even more full bodied than the draught and should be used in these mixes with extreme caution. Guinness has also recently released a “Foreign Extra Stout” which is not as full bodied and has a more chocolate overtone though you may want to try it by itself before you incorporate it into any of these combinations. Remember to enjoy your libations safely this St Paddy’s day and as the Irish say, Sláinte!

You don’t have to be Beer Snob to enjoy Craft Brew! (but it helps)

Hopefully a variation of this Blog will appear in the ABC Fine Wine and Spirits newsletter soon but I thought I'd share it here first...

Many domestic beer fans shy away from Micro Brews because of the bad rap that they have gotten from the mainstream Beer providers (who shall remain nameless) and other drinkers. Let me see if I can list some of the reasons why this is so:


“It’s not available where I live.”

“It’s too expensive.”

“It’s not going to taste good.”

Some of these reasons could be considered more legitimate than others but if this is so (especially the taste factor) then why are the big guys coming out with their own versions of popular Micro and Foreign styles? In my opinion, it’s a 2 fold plan; 1 they are trying to tempt wavering Micro beer drinkers to their products (some of them are okay, although I wouldn’t drink them all the time) and 2 they are attempting to keep their consumers with them instead having them being tempted away by Micro Beers. Which leads to me to next point… their customers ARE being tempted away (and kept away). This is occurring due to several factors…

Micro Brews are everywhere!

Super Markets, Major Liquor Stores, Mom & Pop Liquor stores and most larger convenience stores carry smaller brewery beers (Yuengling and Sam Adams still count even though they are some of the larger domestic breweries in the USA).  Many distributors have picked up smaller batch beers because of their increasing popularity due to internet and word of mouth buzz (some include Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Abita, Lienenkugel’s, etc). Local Bars have also tapped into this Micro Beer craze which has helped get many new names out there, which has helped this next point flourish…

Micro Brews are getting Cheaper!

Since many major distributors have picked up the larger Microbrews and are bringing them to wider outlets, the overhead on these beers has gone down. You don’t have to travel 2 towns over to purchase that Micro beer you heard about from your sister’s cousin (unless you live in rural Kansas). Often times the brew you’re looking for is right up the street at your ABC/Other retailer. They are not quite as cheap as their domestic counter parts but they are less pricey than they used to be.

“Micro Brews don’t taste like my domestics”

Oh contraire! Whatever domestic you enjoy on a weekly (or daily) basis I’d bet I could find you a Microbrew along the same style that you would enjoy much more. Many domestics are pale imitations of European style beers (Pilsner being the most copied style which is akin to the “lights”) and many microbrews have taken these styles and brewed them closer to how they were done in the beginning. They however cost less than the foreign types but walk that taste line between the original intent and how American’s like their beer to be.

A few other points to mention is that many of these new beer sources are in fact local breweries (There are at least 2 breweries I know of in the central Florida area that are now being picked up). Distributors also filter in regional brews as well, the Southeast has Abita and the Northwest has Pyramid Breweries (who just bought Magichat), both of these produce several different beer styles. As an added side note, many times when you purchase Micro Brews you’re purchasing American! Many of the mega breweries have been bought out by foreign investors so… even when you think you’re buying American, you’re not. The big label domestics will not be unseated from their major share anytime soon but they are feeling the effects of losing their consumers to the large resurgence of so many Micro beers. So, my advice is to you funnel your money into Beer that not only tastes better but also supports your local and regional community!

Ok, let's begin.

Alright, I had started this due to the fact I was unemployed and had been spending wayyyyy too much time on TV. Let me begin by explaining why (other than the fact I didn’t have a job) I did write it. Then I will include blog posts I wrote for myspace, facebook and letters I wrote to various people, groups, etc. If they are a bit dated I will add notes where my mind set has changed slightly, greatly or I have gone a complete 180 degrees. I am in my thirties and sometimes feel I have made no significant impact on well… anything (or I like engaging in self pity). I know many people would disagree with me on this and I know I have made differences on the lives of my friends and family.

However, I am full of these ideas and opinions on culture, entertainment, music, alcohol, food, relationships and so on and I share them infrequently, very slightly or not at all. For some strange reason I feel I have this connection to the universe (like Glen Beck… bad example?) that most likely doesn’t exist (or maybe I am some re-incarnated Buddhist Monk or I watch too much Science Fiction) except in my own head so I need to express this connection in some way. So, this is how I’ll do it. Write these rambling essays (I think Nietzsche did his that way) and hope someone somewhere gets something out of them. I make no guarantees that you will like, agree with or not be offended by what I have to say and by reading onward you have given your silent approval and consent (you fool you).

Color Codes

White = New material written for this weblog.

Blue = Hyperlinks or websites relating to material you should also read.

Teal = Introductions and Conclusions to letters written before this weblog.

Red = Internal comments to statements in old letters.

Now that I have explained everything, hopefully I will actually get to writing future entries. It is little more difficult with full-time employment and a unsure internet connection.

Start?

Bienvenue, Bienvenidos, Irashaimasu, Willkommen, welcome!

Please take anything you read as lightly or as with as much emotion as you 

can muster, my infrequent postings here are not to be taken too seriously

(at least in my mind) they’re only words after all…

There will be more to come soon.