Goodbye Aaron, Hello Jay!

Or....All My Friends are Going to Chicago!

It is with much sadness on our part, (but happiness for them), that we bid our good friends Aaron Tyrell and his bride (& mother-to-be!) Beth sayonara. They part for Chicago very, very soon to have adventures in the City of Big Shoulders. Aaron, good friend, and our rep for Stone Brewing for the past couple of years, is moving there to launch the Stone beer portfolio. He'll be missed, and now when Mr Cicerone and I head to Chicago, we'll have even more people to see and places to go!
The good news (for us) is that the new Midwest Stone rep is Jay, a Cincinnati-an who is totally geeked about his new position, and he's fun, and nice, and is already out there promoting and selling.

More about chicken, and Julia!

The Chicken a la Julia was roasted very simply; trussed, salted lightly and smeared with butter. That's it. Basted every 8 minutes with a butter/oil mix keeping warm on the stove. So, I didn't get out of the kitchen much during the 1 1/2hour cooking time. Results - deliciously moist and very "chickeny", just as Julia said it should be. It all begins with the chook though; I guarantee that one of those frozen "enhanced with up to 12% saline solution" chooks that one buys at the supermarket would not have tasted nearly as fine. We always take the time to procure a fresh one, it's SO worth it.

I grew up in a Jewish household where roasted chook was a weekly event, at least. Whole roasted chook, not fried, or cut up into pieces, but lovingly roasted whole, with the drumsticks, neck bones and giblets the prized parts. My father (before he passed)loved roasted chicken, boiled chicken, chicken soup, chicken liver, chicken giblets, chicken schmaltz, and artery-clogging gribenes. (This all led, at least in part, to his early demise from heart disease.) My step father worked at a chicken processing plant (good story about rooster testicles saved for another blog), and from this he progressed to purchasing a "chicken farm". He "grew" the chickens that were sent to the processing plant which ended up on our table. (My poor mother's job was to carry a bucket to the sheds every day and collect the dead chicks.) So I learned to cook chicken, make soup and make chicken liver taste divine (fry in schmaltz, lots of chopped onion) by watching my mother. I also learned to sit at the far end of the table at family gatherings, away from my old European uncles who chewed their chicken bits loudly, wetly and "spatteringly" (ugh!).

I'll end this blog with a quote from Julia. I wish I could have met this wonderfully adventurous, intelligent, warm and delightful woman. She certainly coloured outside the lines. She lived a long and fulfilling life bursting with fun and love. She could cook! And, she loved good beer!

"My Life in France", while living in Germany
(Talking about the American army personnel living close by)
"They drank beer, but only the lighter, American-style beers. What a shame! They were surrounded by some of the most wonderful beers in the world! We liked German beers."

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Wanna be the Dogfish Head rep?

This is posted on the Dogfish Head web page. I just read it, and you know, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm old, and want to see Mr Cicerone every day (who, as we speak, is brewing up some ginger-laden wheat beer), I might have put in an application for this position. Sometimes I DO miss the Regional Sales Manager's life. It's really hard work, but fun, rewarding and exciting. You get to meet so many great and like-minded people. And, everyone loves you! "You're the B. United/Bell's/Stone/Dogfish Head (or whatever) rep? Wow! Cool! You rock!"

"Mid-West Regional Sales Manager required.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has a once in a lifetime opportunity to join our dynamic sales force as a Regional Sales Manager in the Mid-West Region, currently encompassing Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. There is potential for this region to build/reshape if the successful candidate possesses the necessary skills, experience, knowledge and motivation to champion new/growing market(s). The RSM will work closely with regional distributors, key retail, and restaurant accounts to promote and foster brand loyalty and development. You will be required to travel over 50% of the time to markets within your region. During the course of travel, you will be responsible for "work-withs" and distributor training. Another key responsibility will be hosting beer dinners, festivals and promotions throughout your territory. You will provide in-depth and detailed reporting and market analysis to enable good decision-making within your marketplace.
The qualified candidate will have a bachelor's degree in Marketing, Biz or other relevant discipline. You must have a minimum 3 years sales support, sales rep or distributor experience, preferably in the beer business. More significant career experience may replace part of the undergrad requirement. You gotta be able to work late nights, early mornings, weekend and holidays as necessary to support sales activities. You must be able to maintain your sobriety and professionalism while working in environments where the taps may be flowing, and a clean driving record is essential. You must also have exceptional communication skills, both written and spoken, and strong PC skills with MS Office applications.
If interested, please send a cover letter with resume and salary requirements to careers@dogfish.com or fax your resume to (302) 684-0541."

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How To Get To the Pub In Style

Like this!

Since this photo, our new ride has been tricked out with a detachable wire basket in front, and a rear carrier complete with wooden de Dolle Oerbier crate, for transporting Cicerone-related materials.

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Nice Story About Annette

The News Herald has a story about Annette here. Aren't I the good husband, to let her borrow my prized fez?

How I Got Here

Dignified? Hmmm, nice compliment, but I bet Mike must have forgotten about this. Anyway, about me...

I came to beer very (very!) late, being the offspring of old-world European Jewish parents who drank Cherry Advokaat, and more importantly, growing up in Australia, the land of “how many tinnies can a bloke skul”, enough to deter any self-respecting female from exploring beer. It was during the 60’s, and my teenage years in the early 70’s were fraught with the chants of “be sure to wear some flowers in your hair” as well as “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama” which meant that I was never much of a drinker, much preferring the other type of high. I was, and still am to some degree, what the Aussies call a “two pot screamer”.

So, there I was, in my mid 30’s, living in Chicago, still not much of a drinker (though long given up on that other high I mentioned earlier), single and unemployed, having vowed to never don scrubs, nor set foot in another hospital again (I went to college for nursing). Hmm, how to earn a living? “Methinks I’ll be a bartender” says I, who occasionally drank margaritas and rum & coke and who had ne’er really tasted a beer outside of Castlemaine XXXX or Bud Light. “It looks like fun”. So I got me a fine bartending job in a beer and shot bar in a Hispanic neighbourhood in Chicago, and I worked there for a couple of months until the owner suggested I wear a bikini during my shift. I did learn how to make a mean Tequila Sunrise and pour draft MGD, invaluable experience!

A friend was dating a bar owner who was looking for a bartender, and I was hired based upon my astounding ability to pour cheap draft beer and shots, and probably because I had a cute accent, a potential crowd-pleaser. Luckily for me, this bar (the now defunct Puffer’s in Bridgeport, Chicago), was one of the first bars around to pour craft beer, interesting imports and Belgian beer (it was 1995), and there lies my “key to the door”. I quickly discovered that selling good (and costly) beers generated bigger tips, plus I discovered I actually liked the different flavours! I remember my first hefeweizen on a hot afternoon after I’d just finished my shift; I had been pouring them all afternoon for customers. It was both a surprise and a treat. Not so pleasant was my first taste of pale ale, though. It was Whitbread, the real deal from England, on tap, and I thought it was horrible. But not for long! Chimay Red was the breakthrough, though; I loved it, and decided that this was the type of beer I was going to drink, and explore, from now on. I loved that job, and eventually left when I was offered a bartending job at Chicago’s famed Map Room, thanks to an introduction from my dear friend John Freyer. And the rest is history... I became the bar manager, beer buyer, draft system maintainer, cellarman (The Map Room was, I believe, the first bar in Chicago to have real ale), and in general the “I can’t get enough of all of this” beer sheila. I tried Stille Nacht, Schlenkerla rauchbier, Hanssen’s gueuze, Berliner weisse, schwarzbier, IPA, marzen, pilsner and Guinness and loved them all. I even traded my Christmas bonus one year for the chance to go to Siebel Institute to do a week-long draft skills workshop. I befriended many a homebrewer, although I had never actually brewed, started attending Chicago Beer Society functions and other beery events around the city, and spent much time devoted to the pursuit, and study of great beers, both local and imported.

In 2001 I was offered a sales position with B.United International, importers of some of the finest beers, cask conditioned ale, ciders, meads and sakes available anywhere. After a short stint bartending at Goose Island Clybourn (all the best people have worked there), and selling Three Floyds beers (nobody would ever believe these days how many doors were “slammed in my face” back then) I started working for the venerable Matthias Neidhart. My knowledge (and sales skills) soared, and I spent a little over 4 happy years working for Matthias, selling the portfolio in a bunch of Midwestern states and simultaneously exploring many of the USA’s best beer bars.
In 2003, at the National Homebrewers Conference in Chicago, I gave a “beer and cheese pairing” seminar to about 150 people. (My seminar immediately followed one given by Garrett Oliver. The same 150 people had just been hypnotized both by Garrett’s majestic presence, and his knowledge and presentation skills. It was a hard act to follow. Oh- but I had food!). More importantly though, it was at this conference that I met my husband Mike, and I moved to Michigan shortly after and we were wed. I stayed on with B. United for one more year, and left to take on my current position as Beer Department Manager at Merchant’s Fine Wine, Dearborn MI. It’s a fine store; and the beer department is huge. It’s 10 minutes from my house (invaluable!!), I have weekends off, and I spend my work days buying beer, selling beer, stocking beer, stacking beer, pricing beer, rearranging beer, organizing beer, talking about beer, researching beer, sending e-mails about beer, and keeping people happy.

The Cicerone Certification came about because it’s just what I do every day. It’s the accumulation of 14 years experience combined with my delight in actually drinking beer, and my love of cooking which is something I’ve always been passionate about, well before I became passionate about beer. (I once spent three days making and decorating one chocolate/hazelnut cake. Now I spend three days making a cassoulet. Nothing has changed. Except now I drink beer while I cook.) The real joy comes in sharing all of this with my husband, our friends and family, and all the beer and food lovers out there. L’Chaim!

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What's All This, Then, Long Version

We love to eat and drink well, and go to (not unreasonable) lengths to see that we do. The point of this blog is to help others do the same. We are a married, middle-aged couple with multiple ties to the world of beer. We are also both certified Cicerones, which is the beer analog to a Sommelier. More info on Ciceronery is at Cicerone.org

I've been an amateur brewer since 1989. Over the past 20 years and countless beers, I've made many, many beery friends in the US and beyond, and even managed to acquire a beer-expert-wife in 2004. I have followed the arc of development from 'ignorant of all I didn't know' through 'overwhelmed by all there is to know,' followed closely by 'measury-controlly-gadgety-worrier,' settling into the long, slow, gradual curve of 'relaxed, worrying only where necessary.' I have spread the homebrew bug to many a new brewer, and helped ease many more past the worrying stage into the relaxation zone. I am committed to helping reliable, quality information on beer and brewing into the hands of those who need it, while dispelling the many myths, fallacies, and wives tales that persist. Like that thing about bock beer being from 'the bottom of the vats when they clean them once a year.' Jeez.

To this end, I recently attained, along with my wife Annette, the aforementioned Cicerone certification. We have a strong interest in beer in cuisine, and occasionally conduct public food and beer pairings. We also have killer parties. I have been an active member of the Downriver Brewers Guild since 1995. In May 2009, I will have a party to mark my 300th batch of homebrew.

Annette is an actual professional beer nerd, who, having previously managed the Map Room in Chicago, and sold beer for importer B. United International, is now the beer department manager at the best damn beer store in the Detroit area, Merchants Fine Wines in Dearborn.

There are 4 refrigeration units in our basement dedicated to beer: two chest freezers with temperature controls, one for fermentation and one for lagering, and two upright fridges, one for bottled beers and the other fitted with four taps and a drip tray.

Maybe we're just easily amused, but few things make us happier than when good beer and good food come together. And most of the other things are none of your damn business....

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