Speaking of Beer

SNAKEBITE

Combine equal parts stout and hard apple cider. Serve in a pint glass.

BLACK VELVET
Combine equal parts stout and champagne. Serve in a fluted glass.

MOONGLOW

12 oz. American amber ale, 1 oz. Amaretto, 3 oz. half and half, a 1â?„2 oz. of Irish cream liqueur and mint leaves (minced). Mix all ingredients gently in a shaker. Pour over ice in a short goblet and garnish with a mint sprig.

BERRY BLAST
12 oz. American light lager, 11â?„2 oz. strawberry daiquiri mix, and 1â?„2 oz. simple syrup. Mix strawberry daiquiri, syrup and 2/3 of the beer with ice and shake to degas. Strain and pour into a pilsner glass. Now add the remaining beer and garnish.

Predrink Preamble: The New Year is upon us, and I thought I’d throw a little party. Today’s show is going to deviate from the norm and we’re going to kick up our heels a bit, in a wildly experimental fashion, of course! I’m joined by my lovely wife Carolyn as we prepare, and “enjoy” four cocktails made from beer. Yeah, I know, I’ve ranted about “not messing up your beer with other crap.” And yes, we will be doing just that. Will I change my tune after sipping the ideal combination of beer-and-something-else?

First Round: Carolyn and I start with two relatively simple beertails, both made with stout: the Snake Bite and the Black Velvet. Easy to make, easy to drink?

Interdrink Interlude: Beer As Folk: “Joe Hospital” The manager of the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersberg Maryland talks with new-to-SoB contributors Tee Morris and Phil Rossi. Sounds like exciting things are afoot for DFH in 2007, but I’ll just let Joe tell you about it.

Second Round: Now it gets interesting. The beertails involved this time, the Berry Blast and the Moonglow, require some actual bartending-type skill. Find out just how messy it gets. Johnny Johnny, where are you when I need you?

Beer Geek Moment. “Flip.” Another dip into history, this time to examine an 18th century American colonial beertail called flip. Somehow this turns into a New Year’s resolution, but you’ll just have to listen to see how we pull that off.

Closing Time: In lieu of scoring, Carolyn and I talk about our experience, and pick our favorite and least favorite beertails. Hint: the one reminiscent of vomit doesn’t make the top of the list. What does? Tune in and find out!

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3215)

The next show shakes things up a little, in honor of that alcohol-o-centric holiday known as New Year’s. Warning drink-alongers: things are gonna get boozy.

If you’d like to join me in an experimental slosh-fest, procure the following:

Your favorite stout, your favorite amber, your favorite “light lager”, your favorite cider, your favorite champagne, some amaretto, some irish creme liquer, some strawberry daquiri mix, some fresh mint, some half-n-half, and some simple syrup. If you have a cocktail shaker, break it out, otherwise locate a stirrer.

If you don’t already have most of this stuff lying around, it’s probably not worth it to go out and buy from scratch. If you can cobble it together among friends, you might be able to inject some Speaking of Beer into your New Year’s Eve soirée.

From listener Greg S.:

You’ve lugged out box upon box of decorations.
You’ve untangled miles of extension cord.
You’ve replaced 37 bulbs on your pre-lit tree.
You’ve fought the masses in the stores for that last box of “icicle” lights.
All without much complaint.
You’ve earned a reward.

HEFE HOLIDAYS!!!

A bottle of this beer!

Thanks to Mad Marv for the link!

Prebeer Preamble: The season for feasting and merry-making is upon us! Oh, and let’s not forget gift-giving, too. I’ve got a suggestion for myself that’s free and easy, but you have to listen to the show to find out what it is. Anyway, today we try two classic winter beers, in an attempt to fill ourselves with the Christmas spirit. Ho! ho! ho! and away we go…

Beer #1: After a long Thanksgiving evening’s face-stuffing, I settle down with two old friends, Mary and Mike, for some holiday beers. We start off with Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome, a classic English “winter warmer” form Yorkshire. Does this brew from the country of Charles Dickens evoke Christmas Past?

Interbeer Interlude: Eat Your Beer. “Beer-Injected Turkey Dinner.” Michael R. Mennenga joins me yet again for a trip through the kitchen, from a beer-lover’s point of view. Today Mike recounts a Thanksgiving Day experiment that worked out deliciously, thanks to beer.

Beer #2: Mary, Mike and I return to the US with the next beer, Anchor’s Our Special Ale for 2006. Yeah, I know, there’s been a lot of Anchor on the show this year. No apologies here. They’re freekin’ classic, and this iteration of their justifiably famous holiday seasonal is a great example as to why. At least, that’s my opinion. What do my friends think?

Beer Geek Moment. “Wassail.” This much sung-about but little consumed holiday beverage has strong ties to beer. It may well be time to revive this old Christmas tradition, and this Moment will explain why. Plus, there’s a recipe!

Postbeer Postscript: Old friends now get critical on this delightful evening, as we report our scores on the beers. We’re drinking the liquid version of holiday cheer, but which beer actually “tastes like Christmas”? Tune in and find out!

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3500)