Brew Day, Batch 332: Buster 2010

This year's over-the-limit, over-the-backboard batch is bubbling away as I type this. Last year about this time, my mate Skip and I brewed the batch that cracked the 200 gallon mark for 2009, and called it Buster. That beer is a 10% lager beer made from all Pilsner malt, similar to Samiclaus Helles. Obviously, this year's beer had to be something even nuttier, so we've planned an eisbock. The wort from last night's brewing session clocked at 1.092, from only Weyermann Munich Type I. Bitterness was targeted to 20 BU, which seems low at first blush, but taking into account the freeze-concentration it should be about right.

We're thinking this beer may end up with the secondary moniker Exterminator....

You Better Watch Out...

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he's thirsty:

With the insane, yet glamorous, Mrs. C

 Santarchy is one holiday celebration we heartily endorse! More Santified drunken revelry can be seen here.

So How Much Ginger Was In Batch 330?

To quote Brian of Nazareth when asked how much he hated the Romans, "A lot!"

The regular, summery Ginger Wheat has over a pound for ten gallons, so if the Winter Ginger has more, how much does it have? Pictured below is some of the fresh chopped ginger that went in the kettle. Six ounces were already in the boil when this picture was taken.

Those are 16oz. Solo cups.

Total for the batch was 1lb, 10oz. We reserve the right to add more if it pleases us....

Slows To Go Is A Go!

The long awaited Slows to Go is officially open in the Wayne State area at Cass and Alexandrine. The building is basically a giant kitchen, with a small front room where customers place and pick up orders. (I wasn't smart enough to realize that my fancy new all-fangled phone is capable of taking pictures of these things for you, sorry!) There is a shelf/counter around the perimeter of the room, so you *could* stand right there and scarf up your food, if you can't wait.


...Full post

The weird survived...

... Eccentric Day, 2010.

The Rex Halfpennys.

The original Mr Eccentric.

Mr Cicerone, AKA He Man.

Mrs Cicerone, AKA Attack of the killer minks.

Big Board O' Beer. One of them.

A grand time was had by all. We tried very hard to sample every beer (there were 20 more pouring in the back bar), but had to be satisfied with K'Zoo stout on cask, Christmas Ale, The Wild One (fantastic as always- this beer keeps evolving into better, better and better,) Golden Rye, Batch 10,000, Eccentric Ale '09 (a bit too licorice'y for me, but nicely done this time around), '08 Expedition, Rye Stout, Smoked Stout, Oarsman, Deb's Red, and of course, Two Hearted Ale.

The next day at Arcadia did not disappoint. Tim Surprise's "Address to the Haggis" was a spectacle, as always. We feasted well, and drank some fine beers- Sky High Rye, ESB, London Porter, Cereal Killer, and Imperial Stout. The music was great, and there were Feats of Strength, such as the "Down a Yard O' Ale" contest. As always, a fantastic time, and the hospitality of the Arcadia crew is just heartwarming.

A stop at Dark Horse Brewing on our way home the next day was a treat, with some nice sandwiches (on great bread) for lunch, and a delicious roasty, smooth pint of Too Cream Stout for me, and Reserve Special Blackbier and Crooked Tree IPA for Mr Cicerone.

Brew Day, Batch 331: Schoene Schankbier

Today's beer's main purpose in life is to grow up a whole bunch of lager yeast for Buster 2010, so the beginning criterion was a low OG, around 1.036. Since there are already a few yellow beers in the pipeline, I decided to make a beer with dunkel malts, augmented with a little crystal to help maintain a decent body. 20 BU for balance, from a couple small additions of Mt. Hood hops, and we'll see how we did in oh, five weeks or so....

Brew Day, Batch 330: Winter Ginger

A month or so ago, as I somewhat sadly quaffed the last glass of the Ginger Wheat ale while thinking, "that's it until next summer," I had the idea for a Winter Ginger beer. This time a strong ale, with a dark amber color, lots of caramelly malt flavor, and even more ginger than the summer beer. We'll see how we do....

Only the Weird Survive....

Eccentric Day:

The Leonard Nimoy Poetry Slam:

The addressing of the haggis:

And the Heimlich-ing of Mr. Cicerone:

(Fortunately, not recorded, and hopefully not to be repeated!)

We're not worthy!

Chefs Brian Perrone & Mike Metevia of Slows. Having dinner and beers, at OUR house last night, along with Slows manager Terry Perrone. And spouses. And baby Emmet.

On the menu- bacon fat popcorn (of course!), seafood gumbo,  grilled jerked leg o' lamb, roasted brussels, dirty rice, and the devil's ice cream (deep dark chocolate, cinnamon and chili pepper). And, lots o' beer.

Brew Day, Batch 329: Mild Ale

Mmm, mmm, mmmild ale. One of my favorites. And since my 3.5% special bitter will run out soon, I need another 'wimpy' beer to replace it. Targets: OG 1.036, 18 BU, deep reddish brown color. Malty but not sweet, hints of cocoa and burnt toffee, with a finish dried out in part by black malt. Mmmm....

How to clog your arteries in one foul swoop.

That's not cream cheese in the tub, but Burrata- fresh mozzarella stuffed with cream

Eat burrata. That's fresh mozzarella stuffed with heavy cream. A mouthfull of buttery decadence sure to make you groan. Today's lunch consisted of said ambrosia, along with fresh goat cheese, fresh smoked mozzarella, fresh pretzel rolls, Mr Cicerone's fave Wensleydale, some good dry salami, and the last of our home-grown cherry tomatoes. The burrata & Wensleydale were just dandy with Three Floyd's Gumballhead, a nice citrusy American wheat.

Where did we get said treats? Everything bar the Wensleydale (and the tomatoes) (and the beer) were acquired FRESH this morning at the Zingerman's booth at Detroit's Eastern Market in Shed 2. Miss Jackie is there every Saturday, and you can sign up for her email newsletter which announces what she's going to bring each Saturday. She brings burrata about once a month.
jjweber26@yahoo.com

Michigan Cask Ale festival

Firkins in/on the main bar. There's Rex!

Last Saturday, at Ashley's Westland. 20 casks, set up at 5 stations, and tapped at different times throughout the day. There was a decent size crowd, though memory recalls that the Spring fest was more crowded. Some of the highlights.....Stoudt's Scarlet Lady ESB, Bell's Double Cream Stout, New Holland Ichabod pumkin, Kuhnhenn ESB, Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA, Dark Horse Reserve Special Black. A wonderful surprise was Arcadia's Panama Red, a smoked red ale with a nice hoppy finish. Our Winner O' The Day though, was.....

Jolly Pumpkin's dry-hopped Bam. Yeh.

Another Cicerone-y dinner

Oven roasted rare rack of lamb, spiced with a few cloves of garlic and some fresh rosemary sprigs. A confit of onion and shallot (with the special addition of Mr Cicerone's dunkel to replace the beef stock). Oven roasted brussel sprouts, cooked until brownish and caramelly, and seasoned only with salt & pepper. Beers were Jolly Pumpkin's Biere De Goord (A limited release saison that has come and gone, brewed with kale, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin and green tea to help raise awareness about prostate cancer and generate funds for the Pints for Prostates campaign), and Sierra Nevada 30th anniversary Ale #2- Charlie Ken & Fred's Imperial Hellesbock.

 Feast fit for kings. Or Cicerones.

Brew Day, Batch 328: Maibock

10% light Munich, balance Pils malt. 30 BU from Sterling and a moderate lateish dose of Saaz. Target gravity of 1.069.

On a somber note, today I drank the very last two bottles of Berliner Kindl Weisse in my possession, and possibly in all of Michigan. Berliner Weisse is the unfailing friend of the decoction kettle stirrer, with its quenching acidity and its schankbier strength. Next time around I'll have to content myself with the Bruery's Hottenroth....

Brew Day, Batch 327: IPA

Staying old school with this one, old school American craft IPA, that is- Briess 2 row base, with some Munich and Crystal to round it out and add some color. Centennial, Perle, Cascade, and Willamette hops to around 55 BU; OG 1055-1060. Chico ale yeast will do the actual work.

Doughed in early enough that if things go right, I can still take Mrs. Cicerone over to the pub for some Indian pudding after I'm finished. Whoo!

The True Last Gasp of Summer

The ginger wheat ale coughed. Sigh.

FoBAB....

That would be the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild's Festival of Wood & Barrel-aged Beer, held last Saturday in Chicago. This was the 8th year for this event. I remember going to the first one, in 2003, held upstairs at Rockbottom Chicago. It was the first time I tasted Samuel Adam's Utopias, too- there was a keg of it!

Mr Siebel, Keith Lemke

Some (but not all) of the breweries in attendance....
Bluegrass Brewing (KY), Capital (WI), Destihl (IL), Dogfish Head (DE), Firestone Walker (CA), Flossmoor Station (IL), Founders (MI), Goose Island (Chicago), Glacier (AK), Kona (HI), Lagunitas (CA), Lost Abbey (CA), Metropolitan (IL), New Holland (MI), Piece (Chicago), Rockbottom (many!), Schlafly (MO), Shmaltz (NY), Smuttynose (NH), Stone (CA), Three Floyds (IN), & Two Brothers (IL).

Yay! Aaron from Stone Brewing.

Categories of wood & barrel-aged beer included Classic Porter/Stout (9 beers), Strong Porter/Stout (26 beers), Barleywine/Wheatwine (17 beers), Classic styles not higher than 7% ABV (10 beers), Strong/Double/Imperial Pale beer (18 beers), Strong/Double/Imperial Dark beer (22 beers), Fruit (6 beers), Experimental (19 beers), Wild (6 beers), Wild Acidic (25 beers), and Bottled (17 beers). That's, er, you do the math. Lots of beers.

Fraternizing with The Press. Is that the Ape Man of New Orleans?

Not being a HUGE fan of bourbon/whisky aged beer, Mr Cicerone and I sought out the wild, acidic, and simple oak-aged beers, though we did have a good shot at a few bourbon or whisky-aged ones. Our favourite of the day (we both chose this beer) was from  Metropolitan Brewing in Chicago. Their Docks of Riga Baltic Porter, brewed with a small portion of cherrywood smoked malt and aged with toasted oak, was layered with flavours of chocolate, black malt, and wood. It was truly delicious.

It's Rodney, Sam Adams Longshot winner 2010. And New Holland's Fred.

Other faves of mine were Flossmoor's Rosie Pom (wild acidic beer aged 2 years in whire wine barrels with pomegranate), Firestone Walker's Lil Opal (Saison aged for 17 months in medium toasted American oak), Half Acre's Pear Goss (gold ale with pears aged in French Oak wine barrels with Lactobacillus Delbrueckii & Brett Bruxellensis), Lagunitas Bourbon barrel-aged Cappucino Stout (took Bronze in the Experimental category), New Belgium's Eric's Ale, New Belgium's Tart Lychee (sour beer blended with lychee & cinnamon), and Shmaltz's Vertical Jewbelation ( a blend of all 7 Jewbelation beers aged in Sazerac rye whisky). My sample of the Best of Show winner, Port Brewing's Red Poppy Ale, a Flanders red-style ale produced with sour cherries and aged in French oak, was poured into my glass (it was a bottled beer) by an enthusiastic, but untrained volunteer, and it contained an inch of yeast sludge. Still good, but not a perfect sample for tasting nuance.

Sir Cicerone and The Mighty Karen

Beers I missed out on tasting (they were saving beer for the evening session) were Goose Island's Bourbon County Ancho Stout & Madame Rose, Dogfish's Poppa Skull (Collaboration with Three Floyds, brewed with cardamon), Founders Backwoods Bastard, Piece's Jockey Full of Bourbon, & Two Brothers Heavier Handed IPA (aged in French oak).

Dinner at Revolution Brewing followed- bacon-fat popcorn, "spaghetti & meatballs" (venison meatballs atop spaghetti squash), a pizza with toppings of Cider braised pork shoulder, granny smith apple, gorgonzola, onion, fennel & tarragon, and meat loaf with celeriac mashed potato and turnip greens. Fantastic beers, fantastic food.

A great time was had by all.

National Indian Pudding Day 2010

Where has the time gone? This Thursday the celebration begins at Fort Street Brewery, with both the pudding itself and Indian Pudding Ale, made, like the dessert, with corn, molasses, ginger, milk, and cinnamon. Whoo! Mr. Cicerone has been looking forward to this; the only reason he might miss the Thursday night festivities is if he is brewing. Thursday is also Veterans Day, and we here at Chez Cicerone suggest you grab the nearest veteran and give him or her a big sloppy kiss. Since Son of Cicerone is in the far-off land of California, he will have to settle for a big sloppy text, but Dad of Cicerone is close to hand....

A bit o' trivia that has nothing to do with beer

If you were like me and wondered why Nick Park chose Wensleydale cheese as Wallace's fave, then here's the answer....
It made his mouth look big and toothy when he pronounced the name.

(It apparently really helped keep production of this strange cheese going - the factory was on the brink. Mr Cicerones loves this odd, dry and slightly bitter cheese. I can take or leave it.)

If you're Jewish, and a beer lover.....

...this is the BEST present ever. I just gave one to myself. The great thing is that all these beers are REALLY good.

The Vertical Jewbelation giftpack, from Shmaltz Brewing.

Inside.....8 bottles of Jewbelation Ale- all 7 recipes, plus Vertical Jewbelation which is aged in whisky.
And....Chanukah candles, and a fabulously cool glass. Plus......

 Build your own Beer Menorah!

Mary says....

.....that Fort Street Brewery's Piston Pale Ale is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Things To Do With Leftovers

OK, most homebrewers know what to do with leftover malt extract. But there are other options besides beer. For one of the courses in our annual beer brunch, I wanted to pair my Batch 300 barleywine, made with 30% flaked rye, with French toast made with rye sourdough, and topped with a malt extract similar in makeup to the wort used for the beer. Unfortunately, my local homebrew supply doesn't stock 30% rye malt extract, so I made a small stovetop mash with the desired ingredients, and then reduced the wort down to a thick, intensely flavored, gloopy syrup. The pairing, which also included a dollop of sour cherry jam, was probably my favorite of all the nine courses. There sure was a lot of malt syrup left over though, and there is something else that has malt in it that is almost as good as beer- malt ice cream! We have a swell gadget called a Donvier, that we use to make the flavors of ice cream that they don't sell in the store. It's very easy, and low-stress; you make up a cooked custard, chill overnight, and freeze it in the Donvier for about 20 minutes, stirring a few times every couple minutes. Here's what goes into the malt ice cream, more or less:

2 eggs
1 to 1-1/2c malt extract syrup
-or-
1 c malt extract powder
2/3 c sugar
2 c milk
1/4 c cocoa (optional)
2 c cream
splash of vanilla extract

Beat milk and egg  yolks together. Blend in sugar and malt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, and blend in cocoa (if included.) Cool, mix in cream and vanilla, and chill overnight. Freeze according to ice cream gizmo's instructions. Yield is a little over a quart of frozen bliss....

Two great beer events coming up......

MICHIGAN CASK ALE FEST at Ashley's Westland  on  November 13, noon - 6PM. Info, and get your tickets on-line here, and receive a $10 discount per ticket. This ends tomorrow. For Facebookers, more information here.

Casks that have been announced so far....
Bell's Amber & Double Cream Stout
The Livery Guide IPA & Hopping Dragon Harvest Ale
Founders Harvest Ale

J.W.Lees Harvest Ale aged in a port cask.
Harvest Ale (11.5% alcohol by volume), from the John Willie Lees brewery in Middleton, England, is brewed once a year, for release about December 1, from the first delivery of England's classic Maris Otter barley malt and East Kent Goldings hops. It's fermented in open vessels using three strains of yeast. There are also 4 versions that have been aged in different casks (Port, Sherry, Calvados & Lagavulin whisky), and these are served from a wooden firkin.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale aged in port. You'll be able to have some if you come to this event!

SECOND ANNUAL ROUGE BREW at LIBERTY STREET BREWERY.
Sunday November 7, 4-6PM. A guided tasting by Michigan beer guru Rex Halfpenny of beers brewed within the Rouge River watershed. Help support "Friends of The Rouge", and have some great beers while you're there.

The Second Week of Beer Week

Sorta. Monday was sort of the extra doughnut in a baker's dozen, as applied to Detroit Beer Week. The good folks at Slows BBQ had a Founders Brewing happy hour out on their patio, with a selection of new and cellared beers, including a cask of this year's Harvest Ale, 1/6 barrels of this year's Nemesis (sharply black and roasty,) and 8 month old draft Kentucky Breakfast Stout, and other delights. The weather was unseasonably warm, the crowd convivial, and (surprise!) there was some decent food to eat, as well. Mr. Cicerone had a bit too much beer, and stayed up a bit too late on a school night, but was kindly looked after by Mrs. Cicerone. (Whooo!!)

Helping us with the last couple of postings......

And Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, a spectacular aged goat cheese.

MBG Fall Festival!! Whooo!!!

This week, I'm the guy who goes, "Whooo!!" Whooo!! The fall festival was great. Sold out, but not oversold. A big, big party with all of your favorite people in attendance. Like these guys:

Joe Hudecek, Andy Hudecek, and Uncle Dave DRINK MICHIGAN BEER! WHOOO!!!

With 40+ breweries each pouring an average of, say, 4 beers, there was no way to check it all out in 5 hours. Some folks (Mrs. Cicerone,) formulate a plan of attack, using the festival program downloaded off the 'net days in advance, focusing on unique, otherwise unavailable beers. Mr. Cicerone, however, uses the 'go with the flow' serendipity-based model. One rule generally adhered to is Visit Doug First. Our friend Doug always has something special for the festival. Hell, he has something special each and every Thursday. Saturday, in addition to a selection of regular beers, we sampled Black Ops 'Black IPA' and "Citra-sation," an IPA made with fresh Citra hops, both excellent.

Doug and the Fort Street Brew Zoo

Another festival stalwart and favorite of Mr. Cicerone is Grizzly Peak's Sheerwater IPA. Brewer Duncan Williams almost always brings a cask of this complex and delicious beer to the MBG festivals. This year Mr. and Mrs. Cicerone were also enthralled by a delicious cask mild, and "Poisson Rouge," a wonderfully oaky, tart, perfectly balanced barrel-aged version of their Steelhead Red ale. That was Mr.'s favorite beer of the day.

Another reason for me to go "Whooo!!" was spending a little quality time with Mr. Todd Parker, the very large, very enthusiastic brewer at Copper Canyon, sampling many strong and delicious beers. I had Yellowcard APA, RyePA, Maibock, and Rocktoberfest. The Rocktoberfest was an 8% (!) "double marzen" that was so clean, balanced and drinkable, while hiding its strength, that no one could be blamed for accidentally getting drunk on it.

While Mr Cicerone was busy saying "Whooo!" I was at the Jolly Pumpkin booth sampling Vicious wheat IPA, closely followed by "Nightmare Before Vicious"- the same beer that had been in oak at the JP brewery for 6months. Mmm. Other favourites for me were also Fort St Brewery's Citra-sation, JP Fuego del Otono, Arcadia Nut Brown Ale, Wolverine's Brown lager, Dark Horse Bourbon-aged Plead the Fifth, the aformentioned Poisson Rouge, and, saving the best till last.....Big Rock's Red Rock Flanders Ale.

A Scary Kuhnhenn, The Big Banana, and Crazy Hat Lady.

Stay tuned for another strange-but-true Porta-Potti story.

Beer VS Wine with Cheese......

....at Motor City Wine, last Thursday, during Detroit Beer Week.
What a great time everybody had! Mr Cicerone and I did something we always say we will do, but somehow never get around to, which is try some really great wines. Thanks to David & Mark for their hospitality and great selections!
Mr Detroit Beer Week- Jon P.

Here's the pairings...
CHEESE- Fresh Mozzarella
BEER - Full Measure Brewing (AKA Mr Cicerone) Ginger Wheat
WINE - Bel Lago Leelanau Primavera

CHEESE - Bucheron aged goat
BBER - Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
WINE - Morande Sauvignon Blanc - Chile
CHEESE - Brie
BEER - Dragonmead Final Absolution Tripel
WINE - Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Dry Riesling

CHEESE - Scottish mature cheddar
BEER - Fuller's ESB (Honorary Michigan beer)
WINE - Charles and Charles cab/syrah

CHEESE - Beemster Vlaskaas
BEER - Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale
WINE - Valtostao Legon Ribera del Duero

CHEESE - Grana Padano Parmagianno
BEER - Detroit Beer Co Detroit Dwarf
WINE - Tenuta Curreza Prine Nergoamaro/Primativo

CHEESE - Point Reyes Blue
BEER - New Holland The Poet Stout
WINE - (Sorry! I seem to have lost the wine for this one.)
Yes, that IS a piece of cheese on my head.....

CHEESE - English Stilton
BEER - Arcadia Cereal Killer Barley Wine
WINE - D'Arenberg Sticky Chardonnay

And the winner is......Beer. We think. Though it might have been very close. We've not received the final tallies yet, but will post them when we do.
Pairing Number 9- the surprise pairing. One person actually tried this.


...Full post

Brew Day, Batch 326: Dortmunder

It's a beautiful sunny fall day outside, so I'm downstairs brewing some lager bier. Hey, the yeasties were ready. Target gravity 1.057, Pilsener + 15% Munich malt, Perle and Saaz to 30 BU. Decoction mash, as befits such a beer, and my workhorse Munich 308 yeast. The beer should be between a Pils and a Helles in terms of hop/malt balance, and a tad stronger than either.

Next up, pumpkin ale....

Beer Week Thus Far (Whoooo!!)

Whooo! Last night was great fun. Beer vs. Wine with cheese upstairs at Motor City Wines, New Holland revelry downstairs at Foran's Grand Trunk, Biketoberfesters infesting both. Mr. and Mrs. Cicerone enjoyed sampling some interesting wines, something we are always saying we are going to do, but never get around to. Thanks to Dave and Mark at Motor City Wines for the hospitality and expertise. After we discharged our Ciceroney duties upstairs, we headed downstairs for some Mad Hatter, and also to continue plotting world domination with the various DBW conspirators. We still have a way to go, but we can make Detroit Beer Week into a world class event. After all, we have an advantage over most other locales; we have the best beer! Whooo!!

See you at the MBG Fall Festival!

Whooo! Beer Week!! Whooo!!

Tuesday night's dinner at Cliff Bell's was great. Great food, great company, great beer. Tonight, Beer v. Wine Cheese pairing at Motor City Wines, New Holland at Grand Trunk, and Biketoberfest with bil! Whoooo!!

Two beers with every course....

....at the Detroit Beer Week beer dinner at Cliff Bell's last night.

THE OPENER
Orange & coriander cured gravlox with crisp bagel chip, micro green salad & ginger creme fraiche.
Kuhnhenn's Tangerine wit, & Kuhnhenn's Double Rice IPA.
Mrs Cicerone says Wit. Mr Cicerone says DRIPA.

OCTOBERFEST
Beer braised Berkshire pork belly with roasted apple, white beans and lardons (it's pork fat).
Kuhnhenn Festbier. Dragonmead Octoberfest Marzen.
We both agreed on Kuhnhenn's Fest.

THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN
Duck confit with roasted pumpkin & root vegetable ragout with pumpkin ale reduction.
Dragonmead Final Absolution Tripel. Dragonmead Lil's Grumpkin Pumpkin ale.
Mrs Cicerone says Pumpkin ale. Mr Cicerone says Final Absolution. (He's wrong.)

DESSERT
Chocolate mousse parfait with macerated raspberries and solar syrup. (Mr Cicerone says his dessert had loads of blueberries. I think he was hallucinating.)
Kuhnhenn's Solar Eclipse Imperial Stout. Dragonmead's Under The Kilt Wee Heavy.
We both agreed on Kuhnhenn's Solar Eclipse.

Yes- there was TWO beers with every course. All this for $30. The dinner was well attended, and we were very pleasantly surprised to see Barry Johnson, owner of Saugatuck Brewery there!

Working hard.....

....preparing for our Beer VS Wine & Cheese event this Thursday.


(Yikes! Didn't realize Mr Cicerone snuck in this one of me passed out on the couch after too much Expedition Stout. Or Scotty Karate Scotch ale. Or all of the above.)

Slows 5th anniversary party...

...a few weeks back in Roosevelt Park. 'Twas a cold day, but I kept warm with lots and lots of great beers pouring from this portable dispensing truck. The $5 pints of La Chouffe really helped! As did a wonderfully strange pointy hat.

It was a great party! Beer, food, music, and lots of "bean bag tossing" shenanigans.....(Big party. Big abandoned building in background. Only in Detroit.)

Tap: Detroit. A great evening!

If you missed Tap: Detroit last night I can only say....."Your loss"!

St Andrew's hall was awash with great beer, food and music last night for the kick off event to Detroit Beer Week. For a mere $35 you had access to the main floor which hosted 7 stations, each with up to 6 different beers and food to go with. Plus some great music from a guy playing an electric cello (crazy but good!), and another band playing some country tunes.

Slows BarBQ were pairing lamb riblets with a chocolate barbeque sauce and a red cabbage slaw (mmmmm!!)- beer choices were too many to mention, but Kuhnhenn American IPA and New Holland Sundog Amber were our beers of choice with our snack, though Dark Horse Reserve Special Black would have been stellar with the chocolate sauce (it was pouring across the way). Detroit Beer Co had jambalaya paired with an English-style pale ale- a fine pairing. Grand Truck Pub had a delicious beef & lamb stew (thanks Dave!), and Arcadia Scotch and Dark Horse Special Reserve Black were the stars with this stew. Redsmoke Barbeque offered pulled pork (Mr Cicerone pronounced this to be very good) with teeny brioche buns, a great macaroni and cheese that tasted like it was made with some horseradish, and corn muffins. Arbor Brewing's Olde # 22 altbier was a fine accompaniment. Next up- Jacoby's with mini schnitzel, mini potato pancakes, meatballs and spaetzl. (The spaetzl were great!). Kuhnhenn's Oktoberfest hit the spot with this. And Millking It AXL pale ale. Talking about Kuhnhenn's, the guys left their own O'Fest celebration to come to this event. Eric looked pretty fancy in lederhosen too. The guacamole, salsa & pico de gallo from Zumba Mexican Grill was good, and popular. Last up was some really good Asiago cheese from Traffic Jam. Mighty good. Think I was drinking Kuhnhenn's Classic American Pils with this. Somewhere in the mix, we threw in a New Holland Hopivore wet hop ale (surprisingly, but deliciously malty), Dragonmead's Final Absolution, Founders Centennial IPA, and more. Again- all this for $35!

An extra $20 entitled you to access to the floor below which housed firkins from The Livery (String of Ponies pale ale), and New Holland (Ichabod pumpkin ale). And a tub full of Belgian and other imported beers. (Offerings included Duvel, Orval, D Tremens, Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Petrus Pale Ale). And Jolly Pumpkin's Luciernaga & La Parcela pumpkin ale. And both Big Rock's, & Kuhnhenn's Black IPA. And more. Great drinking and foot-tapping music was provided by an Irish-style band complete with fiddle and bodhran.

The extra $20 also got you to the top floor which housed a DJ (turns out it was David from Motor City Wine where we'll be doing the Beer VS Wine & cheese event on Thursday), B. Nektar meads, spirits from New Holland, Michigan vodka, and something called "Chocolate Cake Liqueur" (sorry- just not our thing).

A great evening, and thanks to Jason & Jon for all the hard work. Sadly, the event was a tad under attended. For anyone reading this- go next year!

...Full post

Every home in Michigan needs this......

Every bar in Michigan needs this......

A fridge dedicated to Michigan beer! (St Andrew's hall, scene of last night's Tap: Detroit.)
In close up.....

Detroit Beer Week

Gentlemen, (and ladies,) start your livers!

DBW starts tonight:

Tonight, Tap:Detroit at St. Andrew's Hall, previously detailed here, looks downright overwhelming; we will do our best to take advantage of all the foody and beery goodness on offer.

Sunday, while recovering from tonight's inevitable excesses, (and while hopefully brewing a batch of Dortmunder,) Mrs. Cicerone and I will be working out the final details for Thursday's Beer vs. Wine cheese pairing event at Motor City Wines. Tickets are $20 for approx. 8 pairings, a steal!

Tuesday night, we'll be staying out past our bedtime at Cliff Bell's, swankiest place in town, for their beer dinner, featuring Kuhnhenn Bros. and Dragonmead beers.

More Info:

The Free Press did a nice, thorough piece about Jon, Jason, and DBW here on Thursday, with events listed, and the Facebook list is updated constantly. Also, at my new favorite blog, Dining in Detroit, Nicole is "blogging the hell" out of DBW. Check it out.

Brew Day, Batch 325: Irish Stout

'bout time! Also preparing for batch 326, some kinda lager....

Beer Brunch - Acknowledgements

Rye peppercorn ale idea stolen from my buddy Larry Kress.

Hop infused oil idea stolen from Sean Paxton.

Bacon fat popcorn stolen from Revolution Brewing in Chicago.

Chicken liver mousse idea stolen from the Local Taphouse in Melbourne.

Dunkel idea stolen from Bavaria.

Thanks to one and all!

Another Beer Brunch bites the dust....

(I'm suffering the aftermath as I write this- pure physical weariness along with that loverly "day- after-a-bit-too-much" woozy feeling. But O! It was SO worth it!)

Here's what we had.....
Mr Cicerone's "I'm Not a Frenchie" strong golden ale with gougeres (that's cheesey puffs), and bacon-fat popcorn with parmesan and fried sage leaves.
Mr Cicerone's ginger wheat ale with gazpacho Andaluso drizzled with ginger cream

Mr Cicerone's "Batch 300" rye barley wine with rye sourdough french toast, rye wort reduction syrup and sour cherry jam.

Mr Cicerone's "Old School" American IPA with greens, walnuts, chevre, mango and an Amarillo hop and blood orange marmalade vinaigrette.

He'Brew "Rejewvenator" date doppelbock with chicken liver mousse and broiled figs.

INTERMEZZO: Redstone Meadery "Nectar of the Hops".

Mr Cicerone's dunkel with double secret ultimate umami burger sliders with mystery meat, manchego, tomato & shitake.

Mr Cicerone's rye peppercorn pale ale with preserved lemon cheesecake.
Mr Cicerone's "Buster" blonde uber bock with cheese- Manchego (Spain), Chimay a la Biere (Belgium), Mature Scottish cheddar (Scotland)

Three Floyds Dark Lord Stout 2009 with coconut ice cream.

Courtesy of Mr Cicerone's incredible year of brewing (two of the beers were brewed last year), we were heavy on the homebrew and light on commercial beers this time around.

Beautiful weather, fantastic food, amazing beer, even some good pairings if I say so myself, and great friends to share it all with. Life can be good!!



(Eeer, Uncle Dave, is that you??)

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A Little Sumpin' Wild....

From Lagunitas Brewing. A lovely accompaniment to our "quick sushi at home" meal consisting of rare seared tuna, edamame & sticky rice with nori. The beer is a strong ale made with pale malt and malted wheat, and fermented with Westmalle Tripel yeast. The fruity esters from the yeast shone through the layers of malt and hops. Very nice!

Ashley's Cask Ale Fest

It's November 13, noon-6PM. Ashley's Westland.

Buy your tickets on-line by October 10 for only $20!
After October 10 they're $35.

Th Spring cask fest was just great.

Tap:Detroit

Tap: Detroit

Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 7:00pm

St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit MI, Detroit, MI

This year’s Detroit Beer Week kicks off on October 16 with “Tap:Detroit” – a charity beer event at St. Andrews Hall, co-produced by Live Nation and Liquid Table, with support from the Michigan Brewers Guild and other sponsors. Tap:Detroit will feature eight of Detroit’s best beer-friendly restaurants pairing multiple dishes with Michigan Beer, a rare beer and cask ale sampling, live entertainment on all three floors, and a cocktail lounge showcasing Michigan-distilled spirits and meads. Tickets are $35 for the main event, and $55 for all-access. A portion of proceeds from Tap:Detroit will benefit Pints For Prostates, a charity to build awareness and fund research for prostate cancer. More information at www.pintsforprostates.org.
Tickets are available online @ www.ticketmaster.com & www.localwineevents.com as well as St Andrew's box office, Kuhnhenn Brewery, Merchants Fine Wine, Grand Trunk Pub.

Intemperate Michigander Screed

On the plus side, this'll be short. I was putting together a backgrounder for Annette's TV appearance, just a collection of stats on the brewing industry here in the Great Beer State. One statistic in particular shifted a burr that's been under my saddle for a long time: Craft beer sales in Michigan account for 1.8% of all beer sales, less than half of the national average. (All figures from 2008.) Since ALL of the beer produced in Michigan is craft beer, that means that 98+% of the beer purchased by Michiganders comes from out of state. All you guys with the "Out of a job yet?" bumper stickers? Buy Michigan beer!

What makes all this doubly confounding is that there is no sacrifice involved in supporting the home team- Michigan produces some of the world's finest beer!

Ps- I also recommend buying a Chevy!

Mrs. Cicerone On TV

Annette was asked on somewhat short notice to appear on Channel 2's Saturday morning news show, to plug the Michigan Brewers Guild's Fall Festival. She was in three segments, and managed to get the plug in on the last one. Here are the clips, in the order they appeared:







Being on TV (or in any interview-type situation) is weird. It can be hard to get your information out there when someone else is steering the conversation, under tight time restrictions. Kudos to Mrs. Cicerone for doing a great job under pressure. (Now if I could just get used to being referred to as her 'entourage.') Chef Kelli was very cool, a good communicator, and a consummate professional. Here are links to the recipes from the two segments: Pancakes, Potato Salad, Fondue

The Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Festival will be on October 23rd at Eastern Market, from 1-6PM. More info here.

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Travels in Ontario

Behold- (though you can hardly see it)- my delicious meal from last night at The Belfry in Stratford, Ontario. It's duck confit atop a bed of rich stewy lentils & slow-roasted grape tomatoes in a foie gras vinaigrette. Unseen is Mr Cicerone's "A Tasting of De Martines Tamshire Pork"-
Grilled Loin, Chorizo, and a Pulled Pork Sandwich, with Choucroute (French sauerkraut) and Mostarda (a mustard and fruit condiment.)

While greeted with a huge wine menu, the beer selection was pretty dismal. (The craft beer scene in Ontario, CA is lagging some years behind the USA.) But we were happy to see Sam Adams Boston Lager on the beer list, and it was a fine accompaniment to both our meals.

(And, apologies for the poor quality pictures of late. Our camera pooped out and needs replacing.)

They've even named a town after him....

"Rodney Kibzey Day" was declared on March 6, 2008, by the city of Lombard, IL, after our friend Rodney won the Sam Adams Longshot American Homebrew competition in 2007 with his outstanding Weizenbock.

Rodney has done it AGAIN, winning the Longshot contest this year with his Black IPA, and now there's a town named after him!

(Congratulations Rodney! You're the best! Hope we get to try the beer before I start selling it next year!)