On Recipes

I've written about this before, but since I've been posting a lot of (half-arse) recipes, (you're welcome, Kenny!) I wanted to give a few words of general explanation about what makes it into the posted recipe, and what gets left out. I think it's clear to most moderately experienced brewers that these are not complete paint-by-numbers type procedures. I don't have the time or patience for that, and more importantly, every brewer and brewery has their own way of accomplishing certain things. There are, for example, three or four popular ways of chilling wort in a home brewery. Different ways of mashing, i.e. brew-in-a-bag, no-sparge, etc; different ways of sparging, i. e. fly vs. batch. I don't address water, which is a local source issue that each brewer must sort out. Fortunately for me living here in metro Detroit, I have a great water source that requires only carbon filtration to remove chlorine, and basic mineral tweaking as the grist might dictate. More about that one anon.

Some things that I do pretty much every time, that may not be noted:


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Beer Brunch 2012

THE MENU......
PIZZICATO
A plethora of olives, pickled quail eggs with Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
Skip's pickled green tomatoes with Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam*
CHIAROSCURO
Kiss Yo' Mama Soup (corn & crab) with Mr Cicerone's Robust Porter
BLUDGEON
Garlic shrimp and grits with Mr Cicerone's (famous) Rye Peppercorn Pale Ale
CATERPILLAR
Bitter greens, tangerine, blood orange, walnuts, lemon-ginger vinaigrette, hop candy crunch with Mr Cicerone's Dynamomium IPA
ANIMALS
Duck, pork, veal & pistachio terrine, La Roja pickled cherries with Mr Cicerone's Buster 2010
INTERMEZZO
Spooky Trail Farm wildflower honey with Mr Cicerone's Atmospherium Saison


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Brew Day, Batch 377: Pumpkin Ale

It's been a few years since I've gone to the trouble to make pumpkin ale for Thanksgiving, and Mrs. C. has decreed that we shall have some this year. My idea of pumpkin ale is an amber to brown malty ale, (with a distinct orange tint from said pumpkins,) with just enough spice to round out the flavors a bit. This year I decided to roast the pumpkins whole in my barbecue, which is a) easy, and b) might add a subtle smoky nuance to further round out the pumpkin and spice flavors. Here's how it went down:


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Brew Day, Batch 376: Session IPA V2

The keg gridlock here at Chez Cicerone is breaking up, and we're anticipating a bit of loosening of refrigeration gridlock soon, so I can resume brewing. This is fortunate, as I was getting awfully tetchy; I've been casting about for something to kill for the last few weeks. Today will be a second tilt at this windmill, wherein I lighten the color and toastiness on the malt side, while leaving the very pleasant hop bill substantially intact. Here's the poop:



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I Must Have Your Recipe!

Note: I originally wrote this 15 years or so ago for my homebrew club's newsletter. I thought I'd freshen it up a bit and post it here, as it's still pretty relevant for both brewing and cooking. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, the authors of the recommended books are friends of mine. Yes, I have friends that can write....

Remember this plot from cartoons and movies?

1. Kindly, pure-hearted explorer/scientist, working doggedly in isolation for many years, discovers amazing secret formula for world peace / cold fusion / lead-to-gold conversion, etc. Said formula is typically recorded on tattered piece of paper and kept in a briefcase.
2. Evil, avaricious, criminal mastermind or hostile foreign country attempts to steal the secret formula. This usually involves kidnapping an attractive female relative or associate of the kindly savant.
3. A hero, possibly wearing a garish costume, prevents the valuable tatter from falling into / remaining in the hands of the dastardly criminals.

I’ve always wondered: how would someone like Simon bar Sinister, assisted by his henchman, Cad, fare if let alone with the magical piece of paper? Wouldn’t his laboratory be somewhat different than that of the inventor? Would all his available ingredients be exactly the same? Same shape flasks? Same size Bunsen burners? Same diameter hoses? And how would bar Sinister know which of these mattered to the outcome, lacking the years of specialized experiences of the originator of the formula?


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More on the intriguing beer dinner.....

The dinner at The Rattlesnake last Thursday was wonderful, and a lot of fun. Mr Cicerone, unfortunately, was out of town at a family funeral, so my date was Miss Eat It Detroit (who isn't really a fan of IPA, though she's being won over...)  Brian Tennis of the Michigan Hop Alliance was the guest speaker, and he did a wonderful job talking about all things hop-associated, as well as discussing the beers that were being served that evening. Thanks to Alex for the idea, and for putting this evening together - I'm not aware that an all IPA dinner has ever been done before? And thanks to Chef for the amazing food!
Here are some pictures......


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Idea: Feed Mayonnaise to Tunafish

In a cheesy, mostly mediocre movie called "Night Shift," movie audiences were introduced to an actor named Michael Keaton, who played the character Bill "Billy Blaze" Blazejowski. A self-proclaimed "ideas man," he was always shouting his crackpot ideas (hence the title of this post) into a portable tape recorder he carried around everywhere.

Because I am not a movie character, I don't have an audible, visual, prop to show when I have Big Ideas. They just rattle around in my skull until I do something about them. So it was with the idea to Feed Barbecue Potato Chips To Chickens. Well, not exactly, but I had this idea for "Barbecue" Barbecue Chicken.

***DIGRESSION ALERT***




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Brew Day, Batch 351: Return of Leap Beer

A long, long, time ago, in a brewery far away... uh, OK, 15 years ago, several blocks from here, I made my first beer with rye as an adjunct. I had seen scant mention of rye in the brewing literature, but knew it was used occasionally in some way. I picked up a small amount of flaked rye on a whim one day, and decided to include it in a batch of simple ale to see what it was like. My wife-of-those-days questioned the wisdom of using this unknown adjunct without following some sort of recipe or procedure, but I countered with the point that it was February 29, and I was taking a leap. Not much of a leap, really- it was a pre-gelatinized cereal, and only 15% of the grist, the bulk of which was good old super-diastatic Briess 2 row. But Leap Beer was kind of a fun name, so it stuck. And we loved the beer. It was your basic blond ale with a little spicy something extra, and the unexpectedly heavy body that rye brings. Many subsequent batches of beer included rye, but I never made anything like that first experimental ale again, until today. Technical geekery below the fold:


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A Tap Handle For Buster

My friend Dan used to have a tap handle that was a spring-loaded wiggly hula girl. This tap handle was so cool that you would actually drink more of whatever beer it was dispensing than you would otherwise, just for the fun of operating the tap. I recently made a tap handle that might have a similar effect on the drinker, made more dangerous by the beer it was designed for, Buster. Also, Buster. Check it out:


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How much can one person eat?

We found out last week when we went on a 4 day eating and drinking binge to Traverse City. Wow.
Highlights....
 *Incredible scenery! We climbed the big dune (Sleeping Bear), and walked o'er many a hill o'sand to (finally!) reach Lake Michigan. Driving from Bellaire to Traverse was gorgeous too, as were the turning trees everywhere!
 *Beer! Including stops at Walldorff brewery in Hastings, Michigan Beer Cellars in Sparta, Short's, Right Brain (yeh!!), North Peak, and Jolly Pumpkin. This deserves its own post, and I'll set Mr Cicerone onto that, I think.
* Cider! Tandem Ciders in Suttons Bay. If only we'd been able to ride OUR tandem there. The ciders are great, especially their dry Farmhouse and the Pommeau. And the pickled eggs!
*Food! Where to start. Okay- here we go...

9 Bean Rows bakery & coffee house in Traverse City. Good coffee, lovingly prepared fresh for each patron. They had an incredible pastry selection, but not being much for sweet things at lunch, we had their quiche, made from scratch including the puff pastry crust. Delectable- the crust was flaky perfect, and the filling (spinach and goat cheese for me, and classic Lorraine for Mr Cicerone) was light, creamy and just delectable. The best quiche I've ever had.


Mission Table on the Mission Peninsula. It also houses the Jolly Pumpkin pub and restaurant. We had a fantastic dinner there, enhanced by JP Bambiere in the JP pub beforehand, JP beers paired with our meal, and more JP after dinner back at the pub.Our meal was an exquisite selection of small plates, each made from locally sourced fresh ingredients. For starters- beet & parsnip salad in a buttery sauce, and exquisite rabbit ravioli, enjoyed with JP La Parcela pumpkin beer. Next up- wild mushroom risotto, fresh (local) whitefish on a bed of white beans (Oh! This was divine!), with Jolly Pumpkin's Oro De Calabaza. Then, Madrugada Obscura stout for dessert back at the JP pub.


Brasserie Amie in Traverse City.Another place with fantastic home-made pastries. But, we opted for a savoury lunch of fried green tomatoes on corn cakes, topped with fried eggs and tomato relish, and a truffled omelet rolled around liver pate. Groan.... They have an incredible selection of Benedicts there, too, but we didn't make it back, sadly. Too many dishes, too little time!

Red Ginger in Traverse City. We enjoyed a delicious appetizer of calamari cooked in a Korean spicy orangey sauce, which we paired with Rogue's Morimoto Soba ale. Mr Cicerone was extremely pleased with his entree of Vietnamese Shaking Beef, a striking dish comprising seared beef tenderloin on a bed of baby bok choy, sweet onions and mint, all nested on a "Shanghai noodle pillow". Umami, umami, umami. Paired with Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba ale. Me- huge shrimp and lots of sweet crab meat atop udon noodles dressed with mustard cream and cilantro. And, a wonderfully nuanced glass of good sake.


The Cook's House in Traverse City. Our final night saw us here, at this tiny restaurant in a house, sitting at "The Chef's Table", which is a counter top, with enough space for 2, at the back of the restaurant about one foot from where Chef Eric and his team cook and plate the food. The best seat in the house if you ask me! (You have to ask to be seated here.)  We spent 3 1/2 hours eating, 8 courses in all. We had chosen the 7 course tasting menu, and Chef had overheard our conversation about a particular dish that wasn't part of this menu, and he surprised us with it! The whole experience was superb. Every dish was perfect- ingredients, preparation, cooking, presentation. One of the most memorable dining experiences I've had. Watching the team work to get all the meals out was also something else. The attention to detail was extraordinary. And, every one of the kitchen staff had a smile on their face- it was truly art to them all. The restaurant is much more wine-focused than beer-focused- there was a wine pairing for every course in the tasting menu. The beer selection was small, but adequate, and we did okay with the small selection, though we did opt for wine with our steak course. Chef Eric managed to chat with us amidst his ongoing, never-ending cooking marathon, and he did say that he was just really starting to learn about craft beer and food, and announced to us that the first beer dinner there was happening soon. There's two scheduled- Right Brain and New Holland. Wish we could go!
So, I'll just post this link to all our pictures from the trip, including the meal from The Cook's House- every course pictured, including our pairings....(click on each picture to read the details.)

 *Hat Shop! (We're still on the "Highlights" list.)

Non-highlights?
*Staying in Cupid's Cove at one of B & B's, chosen 100% because of its proximity to the breweries. How many angels does it take to make a room cringeable?

* Counting the teddy bears in our room at another cutesy B & B (See reason above!)
* Being woken at 8AM while on vacation, by the guests in yet the third B & B, all clomping down to communal breakfast (location, location, location!).

 

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Rats!

Well, not rats. The day the man came and took our problem 'possum away, I came home to this:

I had not noticed another 'mater missing a bite that morning, but reckoned I had just missed it in my rush to work. Looked recent, though...


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Beer Brunch 2011

It's over, again. Only 365 more days until the next one! Here's the menu....


Shipyard's XXXX IPA with grilled shrimp and pineapple tostadas. (The original beer match was Liberty Street's 42nd Parallel IPA, but it was a limited release and we were unable to acquire more.)
Mr Cicerone's Maibock with horseradish deviled  eggs. (Wow!) (It was supposed to be deviled DUCK eggs, but sadly the promised duck eggs did not actualize.)
Mr Cicerone's "Buster 2010" Uber Doppelbock with grape and almond gazpacho. (This soup was really delicious and different. Green grapes, a little cucumber, toasted almonds, yoghurt, buttermilk, cream cheese, a little cayenne and fresh dill, pulverized together, and garnished with fresh red currants. We tried many beers with this dish, and only something as intensely flavoured as the chosen uber doppelbock could stand up to the soup!)
Mr Cicerone's Nugget Pale Ale with duo of toasts & marmalades (Avalon Bakery rye sourdough with blood orange marmalade, and Avalon sublimely-superbly-spectacular brioche loaf with tangerine marmalade.) (This course came about as Mr Cicerone was pondering what might taste great with his Nugget pale ale "which tastes like toast & marmalade") (Note: Trying to have 34 pieces of hot toast arrive at the table at the same time was not necessarily fun.)

Arbor Brewing's Sacred Cow IPA with chick pea curry. (Oh, look! There's Rene & Matt Greff! What a coincidence! For those unaware, they are about to open a brewpub in Bangalore, India, where Sacred Cow IPA will be renamed Raging Elephant IPA.)
Mr Cicerone's Rye Peppercorn Pale Ale & Stone Brewing's Smoked Porter with truffled macaroni & cheese. An oldie but a goodie. We used a Michigan cheese called "Truffle Jack" that had huge pieces of black truffle dispersed through it! Both beers were spectacular with it, especially the smoked porter!

INTERMEZZO Honey ginger-wheat beer paletas. 

Mr Cicerone's Cask-conditioned Stout with crawfish etouffee.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!

.

Mr Cicerone's Atmospherium Saison with miso-dressed cucumbers over soba noodles. A favourite amongst the attendees.

Schlenkerla Rauchbier with bacon, lettuce, & tomato on Laugenbrotchen with chipotle mayo. That would be Nueske applewood-smoked bacon, home-grown Caspian Pink tomatoes, arugula, and home-made mayo made with some of the bacon fat and chipotle oil. (A grueling 30 minutes of continuous hand-whisking the day before. Worth it!)

Dessert:  Dragonmead's Sin Eater Belgian strong ale & vanilla ice cream float. 

Kitty dressed for the occasion

Mr & Mrs Cicerone, thanking everyone who came!
 

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Tale of the Tomato Thief

We have devoted more than a couple posts to fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes, especially our prized Caspian Pinks. Each year, we start plants indoors to get a head start. This year, we used a soil testing kit to help us optimize the conditions for the luscious fruit. We got huge plants, lots of flowers, but... not many actual fruits. It seemed the very hot, very wet weather made for sticky, clumpy pollen, which doesn't spread as easily as when it is powdery. But we did start getting fruits off of our two Caspians. Meanwhile, a Brandywine plant produced exactly one fruit, and then essentially croaked. Mrs. C. trimmed back all the dead leaves and stems and left us with a spindly plant with one big beefy tomato. See?

Well, at least we'll get to try one of the famed Brandywines, we thought. The day came when it was red and ripe, and we planned to have it with our dinner that night. Except when we came home, it was gone! What the heck? Neighborhood kids? Next day, two more ready-to-pick 'maters are found to have large chunks missing from them. Scheiss! A search of the garage led me to the culprit:

This little devil likes tomatoes.

Having had only the odd transient 'possum encounters around the house, I futzed around for a couple days trying to figure out what to do, until the more sensible Mrs. C. located Brian the Possum Guy, who actually knows what to do. Thus...


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More About The NHC Banquet

In addition to the prairie dogs, there was a fine feast prepared by the "Homebrew Chef," Mr. Sean Paxton. If you are interested in food, beer, and their intersection (you're here, aren't you?) his website is an amazing resource.

A Boy and His Mole - photo courtesy AHA/BA

The menu:



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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.

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...


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I HEART New York

Love it, love it, love it! Even in a blizzard. (If there's a blizzard, there are two places to be- at home, with a stocked fridge and lots of books, or NYC. You can get anywhere on the subway -it's not shut down no matter how bad it is outside, or, provided the winds aren't blowing at hurricane force, you can still walk. Even in 8 inches of snow.)
We decided to spend Christmas in NYC this year, both visiting friends that live there, and doing our best to visit as many great beer bars and eateries as we could manage in three (which turned into 4) days. First stop- St Andrew's pub, just off Times Square near our hotel. We arrived there, straight from the airport, at 11PM on Xmas Eve, parched! Mr Cicerone opted for Belhaven's Twisted Thistle IPA, and I decided on Palm, the simple session-style Belgian pale ale that isn't available in Michigan, and I'd yet to try it. I do love this style, but Palm was a little sweet. I prefer De Koninck. I , too, opted for the Thistle when the bartender cried out for Last Call. Mmm.
Christmas Day in NYC.....people everywhere, lots of places open, and not a Santa in sight! I love this place! Lunch found us at Ben's (Kosher) Deli, enjoying a big chopped liver sandwich while Mr Cicerone opted for pastrami and a Brooklyn lager. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly really, the pubs we were hoping to be open were not, so we settled in to Heartland Brewpub for a couple

before heading to the Upper West Side to visit our friends, who fed us a fantastic brisket pot roast (infused with horseradish) along with, on our recommendation,  He'Brew Messiah Bold brown ale. It had been a chilly but pleasant day weatherwise, and sometime as we were walking around I noted to Mr Cicerone, (a little wistfully for his sake), that it would have been perfect if it had snowed, just a little. Little did I know.....


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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.


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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.


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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!

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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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