The Rockery is hosting an IPA tasting on Wednesday April 6, 7-10PM. $20 cost for 15 beers and food! Mr Cicerone and I will be helping guide customers through the selections.
About The Rockery....
The (new) Rockery boasts 4 taps- 3 Michigan taps (currently Founders Old Curmudgeon, Arcadia Whitsun, & Kuhnhenn DRIPA), and Blatz "for the old customers." And, about 40 Michigan bottles, including the hard-to-get Kuhnhenn 4th Dementia and Jolly Pumpkin iO Saison. Here's the beer menu. It's inexpensive, and they have a special price for a "Michigan Beer Bucket" ( 5 Michigan brews, with the exclusion of a couple of brands, for $14. Basically almost what you would pay for the same beers in a retail store. A fantastic deal!) They have a nice selection of imports too. And live music on Fridays.
The kitchen sticks to the basic burgers, chicken strips and the like, though all the ingredients are sourced locally.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Ashley's Spring Cask Ale Fest
Ashley's Spring Cask Ale Fest is Saturday May 14. (Wow, events for May are out there already! I can't keep up! Maybe if it would stop snowing I would feel like we're actually heading towards Spring.)
Early bird tickets are on sale until TOMORROW for only $20 each (tickets are $35 normally). Buy them HERE
Here's some posts about previous cask fests....
Early bird tickets are on sale until TOMORROW for only $20 each (tickets are $35 normally). Buy them HERE
Here's some posts about previous cask fests....
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Well Fed Cicerones
Woof. Wednesday's dinner at Foran's was mighty fine, with portions a linebacker would appreciate. 'Twas all splendid; the beer and food matches were very well chosen. Some highlights:
Brasserie Blonde's orange and coriander clicked nicely with the basil and cilantro in the spring roll. The chicken in the roll had been cooked in the beer, and was tender and savory.
Red Snapper ale provided a dark toasty complement to the pair of pork flautas made extra savory by a smoked red pepper coulis. Some spicy black beans over rice, and guacamole, made the course a meal by itself.
The milkshake, made with Faricy Fest Stout and a generous portion of malt extract, clocked an 11 on a one to ten scale of maltolicious flavor. The bitterness from the beer was noticeable but not too much, something one must watch out for when making beer+ice cream concoctions. Having a glass of the stout on hand to serve as 'tongue Zamboni' was indispensable.
Bonus: The dinner was actually served upstairs from Foran's at Motor City Wines, who rented space to the pub for several hours. This worked out great, as Wednesday night at MCW is Skeeto's Funhouse, a jazz jam session. Thus, after dinner we hung out with the good folks of MCW, drank some wine, and grooved out the rest of the evening.
Then there was Friday...
...Full post
Brasserie Blonde's orange and coriander clicked nicely with the basil and cilantro in the spring roll. The chicken in the roll had been cooked in the beer, and was tender and savory.
Red Snapper ale provided a dark toasty complement to the pair of pork flautas made extra savory by a smoked red pepper coulis. Some spicy black beans over rice, and guacamole, made the course a meal by itself.
The milkshake, made with Faricy Fest Stout and a generous portion of malt extract, clocked an 11 on a one to ten scale of maltolicious flavor. The bitterness from the beer was noticeable but not too much, something one must watch out for when making beer+ice cream concoctions. Having a glass of the stout on hand to serve as 'tongue Zamboni' was indispensable.
 |
| Trained professional on closed track. Do not attempt without proper training. |
Bonus: The dinner was actually served upstairs from Foran's at Motor City Wines, who rented space to the pub for several hours. This worked out great, as Wednesday night at MCW is Skeeto's Funhouse, a jazz jam session. Thus, after dinner we hung out with the good folks of MCW, drank some wine, and grooved out the rest of the evening.
Then there was Friday...
...Full post
Brew Day, Batch 338: Sometimes, the Name Comes First
I was thinking about one of my favorite movies, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, and chuckling, when I realized that Atmospherium would be a great name for a beer. And said beer would have to be a Saison.
A very dry Saison, with a small portion of rye malt. (Much can be divined from a name.) Target OG is 1.060, from Pils malt, a small portion each of Munich and rye malt, a bit of cara-Munich, and some table sugar. 30 BU from Sterling and Saaz, fermented with Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast. Mashed for maximum attenuation, this beer should be very dry, spicy, and effervescent; very nearly out of this world!
A very dry Saison, with a small portion of rye malt. (Much can be divined from a name.) Target OG is 1.060, from Pils malt, a small portion each of Munich and rye malt, a bit of cara-Munich, and some table sugar. 30 BU from Sterling and Saaz, fermented with Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast. Mashed for maximum attenuation, this beer should be very dry, spicy, and effervescent; very nearly out of this world!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Arbor Beer Dinner Tonight at Foran's Grand Trunk
Sunday, we were at Foran's to take advantage of their delicious brunch before participating in Marche du Nain Rouge, and found out about this. We booked our seats right then. Should've got this up sooner; check out this lineup:
Love the two-fisted fourth course! Maybe I'll put a straw in each, and drink them simultaneously!
MENU:
First Course
Tallywacker Scotch Ale
Saffron-Crab Bisque served with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Fritters
Second Course
Brasserie Blonde
Vietnamese Chicken Fresh Rolls with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
Third Course
Red Snapper Roasted Pale Ale
Crispy Shredded Pork Flautas with Avocado Puree and Smoked Red Pepper Coulis
Fourth Course
Faricy Fest Irish Stout
Chocolate Malted Milkshake
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
7:00-10:00 PM
612 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, MI 48226
313-961-3043
Advance Tickets are $40 pre-sale only. Call ahead to Forans Grand Trunk Pub to reserve your ticket today. Seating is limited.
Love the two-fisted fourth course! Maybe I'll put a straw in each, and drink them simultaneously!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Round two! Duck sandwiches and doppelbock.
A couple of evenings later we made sandwiches with the leftover duck. Good chewy ciabatta buns housed leftover slices of duck, a wee bit o' fresh spinach and the rest of the onion confit mixed with a touch of mayo.
The contenders this time were (Munich's) Augustiner Maximator Doppelbock and Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock. Yeh. Both superb beers. The Maximator boasts raisin-ey notes- it's extremely rich and delicious. Bell's Consecrator dopplebock, a little dryer, was also delicious and a wee bit of a better match with our sandwiches.
(I sip Mr Cicerone's Winter Ginger Ale as I write this. O! Lucky, lucky me!)
The contenders this time were (Munich's) Augustiner Maximator Doppelbock and Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock. Yeh. Both superb beers. The Maximator boasts raisin-ey notes- it's extremely rich and delicious. Bell's Consecrator dopplebock, a little dryer, was also delicious and a wee bit of a better match with our sandwiches.
(I sip Mr Cicerone's Winter Ginger Ale as I write this. O! Lucky, lucky me!)
And tonight's winner is....
 |
| The contenders |
I roasted a 5 pound duck recently. I kept it simple, merely roasting it in the oven with no adornments bar an onion and some fresh herbs in the cavity, and served it with a touch of sauce made from pan drippings, balsamic reduction & butter, and on the side- onion & shallot confit, blackberries simmered briefly in port and fresh sage leaves, and fennel, leeks & mushrooms all sauteed together.
We tried the Hanssen's cherry lambic first. At $23.99 for a 12.7 oz bottle, this beer had high expectations! Which, I'm pleased to say, were met. The beer was appropriately wild, funky and sour. A gorgeous bright red colour with an incredibly rich intense cherry flavour. Zero carbonation (our only slight disappointment- it would have been extra wonderful with some carbonation), and a suprisingly heavy body. It was superb with the rich, gamey (just rare) duck meat.
Second up- Great Lakes Doppelbock. A new beer for them, and sadly, not a classic example of the style. While interesting and tasty in its own right, it was roasty for a doppelbock and lacked that intensely rich Munich malt character as well as the "pruney" notes one finds in doppelbocks such as Ayinger Celebrator. This beer might be good with a chocolate dessert, but it wasn't great with our duck.
Third- New Holland's Envious, 2010. This fruit beer, part of New Holland's Cellar Series aged on oak, had changed substantially since its release a year ago. It had taken on some really interesting chocolate notes, and the fruit was still there, but in a layer underneath the chocolate notes. It reminded me of Kuhnhenn's famed Rasberry Eisbock, though not quite as intense. The beer was remarkable, and was also wonderful with our duck.
Thanks Tyler!
 |
| "Half Naked Sour Cherry" Flemish-style Red Ale.With braised brisket. |
We had been given this bottle late last year by one of the best homebrewers we know (that would be you Tyler!), and one who (obviously) had taken part in this project. And, we decided to enjoy it with a simple meal of a delicious braised brisket (cooked long and slow in a horseradish and onion infused broth- thanks for the recipe Jackie!). Wow, this beer was an amazing example of Flemish red ale. Sourish and woody, with just a whisper of cherry. And perfect with our meal.
We are lucky to have such talented, and generous friends.
Brew Day, Batch 337: Altbier
If you like beer, really like beer, an alt is hard to resist. Bittersweet, candy-like malt and hop blast, with a clean, dry finish, in a normal-gravity beer. A bit of lingering bitterness makes the next quaff mandatory. Yeah. The best example to be found hereabouts is the Zum Uerige altbier, which is also available in sticke- (special, literally "secret",) and doppel- (developed for the EXTREME DUDE!! US market,) variations.
When I make altbier, I use a step mash calculated to make a highly fermentable wort. Since that means a decoction mash in my brewery, there is the added benefit of a heightened malt character. It all works out quite nicely. Here is a shot of the essential setup:
In the foreground is my mashtun, an orange 10 gallon Coleman drinks cooler fitted with a slotted drain manifold. To the right is the decoction kettle, with my mash paddle resting across its lid. When heating the decoction, one must stir it constantly to keep the very thick mash from scorching, for which effort one is rewarded with a continual face full of steam. Thus, one other essential item: a refreshing beer of low gravity, which today is a 3.5% Irish stout. Also, since it takes a long time to bring a potful of thick mash to a boil, it helps to have something to read, hence the laptop sitting on the mashtun....
When I make altbier, I use a step mash calculated to make a highly fermentable wort. Since that means a decoction mash in my brewery, there is the added benefit of a heightened malt character. It all works out quite nicely. Here is a shot of the essential setup:
In the foreground is my mashtun, an orange 10 gallon Coleman drinks cooler fitted with a slotted drain manifold. To the right is the decoction kettle, with my mash paddle resting across its lid. When heating the decoction, one must stir it constantly to keep the very thick mash from scorching, for which effort one is rewarded with a continual face full of steam. Thus, one other essential item: a refreshing beer of low gravity, which today is a 3.5% Irish stout. Also, since it takes a long time to bring a potful of thick mash to a boil, it helps to have something to read, hence the laptop sitting on the mashtun....
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Downriver- a great beer destination!
We already have Fort Street Brewery and The Oak Cafe. Add to that The Rockery in Wyandotte. Recently sold to new owners (and cleaned up!), and run on a daily basis by the lovely and smart Melanie.
The (new) Rockery boasts 4 taps- 3 Michigan taps (currently Celis White, Arcadia Hop Rocket & Arcadia London Porter), and Blatz "for the old customers." And, about 40 Michigan bottles, including the hard-to-get Kuhnhenn 4th Dementia and Jolly Pumpkin iO Saison. Here's the beer menu. It's inexpensive, and they have a special price for a "Michigan Beer Bucket" ( 5 Michigan brews, with the exclusion of a couple of brands, for $14. Basically almost what you would pay for the same beers in a retail store. A fantastic deal!) They have a nice selection of imports too. And live music on Fridays.
The kitchen sticks to the basic burgers, chicken strips and the like, though all the ingredients are sourced locally.
The Rockery will be hosting beer tasting events on a regular basis, the first being held on Wednesday April 6, from 7-11PM. It's an IPA tasting, $20 cost, and Mr Cicerone and I will be helping guide customers through the selections.
The (new) Rockery boasts 4 taps- 3 Michigan taps (currently Celis White, Arcadia Hop Rocket & Arcadia London Porter), and Blatz "for the old customers." And, about 40 Michigan bottles, including the hard-to-get Kuhnhenn 4th Dementia and Jolly Pumpkin iO Saison. Here's the beer menu. It's inexpensive, and they have a special price for a "Michigan Beer Bucket" ( 5 Michigan brews, with the exclusion of a couple of brands, for $14. Basically almost what you would pay for the same beers in a retail store. A fantastic deal!) They have a nice selection of imports too. And live music on Fridays.
The kitchen sticks to the basic burgers, chicken strips and the like, though all the ingredients are sourced locally.
The Rockery will be hosting beer tasting events on a regular basis, the first being held on Wednesday April 6, from 7-11PM. It's an IPA tasting, $20 cost, and Mr Cicerone and I will be helping guide customers through the selections.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Detroit Dwarf...
"Over 300 year ago, around the same time the city of Detroit was founded, an evil was discovered in and around the city. An evil that has plagued the people and the city, and even wrecked havoc upon the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. This ‘evil’ was said to have been a Nain Rouge, other wise known as the “red dwarf of Detroit.” This malevolent spirit cursed generations and brought ill tidings for many Detroiters. It wasn’t until La Marche du Nain Rouge, held the Saturday closest to the vernal (spring) Equinox, did the people of Detroit come together to abolish the Le Nain Rouge — until his fearful return the following the winter Solstice."
Head on down to Detroit this Sunday, March 20, for the annual "Marche Du Nain Rouge" . Come in Fancy Dress. Drink some Detroit Dwarf. See you there!
Head on down to Detroit this Sunday, March 20, for the annual "Marche Du Nain Rouge" . Come in Fancy Dress. Drink some Detroit Dwarf. See you there!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Great Resource For Aspiring Cicerones
... and others! Almost two years ago, the Brewers Association published their Draught Beer Quality Manual.
This free publication, available as a .pdf download or browse-able online, is a great resource for anyone who deals with draft beer, from the simplest portable setup to the the biggest trunked long draw system.
I may have posted about this when it was published, but for some reason never added a link to the "Required Reading" sidebar. That oversight has been rectified.
This free publication, available as a .pdf download or browse-able online, is a great resource for anyone who deals with draft beer, from the simplest portable setup to the the biggest trunked long draw system.
I may have posted about this when it was published, but for some reason never added a link to the "Required Reading" sidebar. That oversight has been rectified.
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