Category: Beer & Food

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Stone Brats

Usually I review beers but today, I will be reviewing a beer bratwurst. Silva Sausage teamed with Stone Brewing on a Delicious IPA brat. “Seasoned with German-inspired spices and mixed with fresh onion and Stone IPA, our beer bratwurst are finished with a light hickory smoke process for flavor.”

First off, this is a pretty good sausage. That is the good news to report. But there is not really any IPA flavor to be found. I also didn’t get a bunch of hickory flavor either to be fair. Perhaps these just go well with Delicious IPA?

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Needed or Not? – Blue Moon Ice Cream

Nothing says ice cream more to me than a mega brewer and a baseball equipment company teaming up.  Blue Moon Home Run Twist is the name of the ice cream and thankfully there is an ice creamery involved, Hardscoop an alcohol-infused ice cream maker.

“Blue Moon is partnering with Rawlings to introduce Blue Moon Home Run Twist, the boozy ice cream that clocks in at two percent ABV and combines the bright and citrusy flavor of Blue Moon’s iconic Valencia Orange peel with a deliciously rich Madagascar Vanilla.”

Now it does not sound bad in theory and if I see it, I might just try it so I guess a light needed is the answer.

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Salt, Straw and Beer

Each month, my wife and I will walk by Salt & Straw here in Glendale and look at their limited release flavors.  Usually our noses turn up at what weird combinations that they choose (especially at Thanksgiving) But for June at Salt & Straw locations across the country the theme is beer!

The collaborating breweries include Métier Brewing Company in Seattle, WA; Breakside Brewery in Portland, OR; Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, CA; Cerveceria La Tropical in Miami, FL. Salt & Straw AND Monkish Brewing Co. from right here in Torrance.  

You can check out all the flavors HERE but let’s focus in on…. Monkish Brewing’s Space Cookies Hazy IPA.  The beer is a vanilla wafer riff on an IPA.  And the ice cream will be a mix of a hoppy simple syrup, grapefruit zest and vanilla cookie butter.

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Beer & Chocolate

I mention the writer David Nilsen recently in talking about non-alcoholic beers and now I get to highlight his new book, Beer and Chocolate which gives you…

– “The basics of both beer and chocolate for folks coming to this topic more familiar with one or the other.
– The process for successfully pairing beer and chocolate.
– Instructions for how host a beer and chocolate pairing in your own home.
– Style by style pairing guidance for dozens of beer styles. In each style chapter, we talk about the style’s basic flavors and ingredients, how it pairs with chocolate (including challenges and types of chocolates to seek out and ones to avoid), commercial examples of beers in this styles and specific chocolate to seek out, and example pairings to illustrate the principles.
– Each style chapter also includes space to take pairing notes of your own.”

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House Made

I am sure everyone has encountered the issue of being at a taproom of a brewery and getting a bit peckish, only to discover that the food truck cancelled or is running late.

One way to get around that problem is to bring food in house which is what Angel City Brewery has done with a new food truck – House Made by Angel City.  It promises “craft-beer-worthy bites out of a trailer situated in our brewery’s parking lot…”

Next time in DTLA, you might want to check it out.

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Beer & BBQ

Here in Glendale we used to have an old school hardware store named Virgils. They had a little bit of everything and people who actually helped and because the store wasn’t a mammoth, you could actually find those helpful people.

Alas Virgils got priced out. Somewhat luckily a new Ace, sensing a market, opened up and I wandered in to see what they had. And what did I see but rack of spices and rubs for BBQ. Some in a familiar can shape…

…apparently under the Spiceology banner is Derek Wolf BBQ Rubs and some that are beer “flavored”. Don’t know how beer-y these are or if they are any good overall but might be a fun host gift for summer backyard BBQs.

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Two to Avoid – One Food and One Drink

First up is thankfully only in Japan….

KFC Japan has a new fried creation, the “Ninniku Crispy” or “Garlic Crispy” chicken. It was created “specifically to complement alcoholic beverages, this new chicken features a tantalizing blend of garlic, soy sauce, and a crispy batter, all culminating in a final touch of garlic-infused oil sauce.”

Unfortunately, the second is straight up Americana as Miller High Life and Leinenkugel’s — have collaborated on a limited edition beer, “Cheers!” a strawberry lager “offering a blend reminiscent of white wine and strawberry jam, finishing with a sweet touch.”

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Banana

There are all sorts of fermentation in the world that simply live outside of typical manufacturing but are fascinating none the less.

Here is one example…

I don’t know if I would like it or a full cup, but I would certainly like to try it.

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Put a Slice of Orange On It

For the Blue Mooners out there…

The Coors-y Belgian-Style Wheat Ale, Blue Moon Brewing is coming out with limited holiday editions of seasoning blends, because brand extensions don’t count during the holidays?  You can get “a savory Zesty Seasoning and a sweet Pie Pint Seasoning. Both flavors are designed with your holiday feast in mind.”

If still available, you can click here to order your own seasoning for whatever unholy end.