cdh

OK... maybe I'm revealing a huge swath of ignorance running through my chemistry education, but isn't there no such thing as liquid CO2? I thought one of CO2's biggest claims to fame was that it sublimed from solid to gas without ever having a liquid state... dry ice and all that... What's the deal? I'm really worried for the state of nature if Miller can get liquid CO2...

Bad news for all lovers of Blanche de Chambley, Maudite, La Fin Du Monde, Trois Pistoles and the rest of the Unibroue lineup. The brewery was purchased yesterday by Canadian megabrewer Sleeman. No word on what changes will be made, but my bet is that they're on the way. Stock up on the classics while you can get them! Link to article

I have no fear that my beer will come out weak or insipid with 8 pounds of DME and another half pound of candy sugar in there... are you a barleywine brewer? Or were you reading the recipe as an all grain recipe? I've found that British bitter type beers can be made with a pound and a quarter of dry malt extract per gallon... with nearly 2 lbs of fermentable sugars per gallon in this batch, I'm expecting it to come out in the neighborhood of 7% or a bit heavier depending on how low my Wyeast 1214 goes. Plenty strong for me.

Well... if you want to get historical, copyright didn't come into existence in the Common Law world until Queen Anne's reign... 1730's, if I'm recalling correctly. No copyrights at all before that. Patents, on the other hand, were handed out at royal whim, and conferred monopolies on all sorts of stuff on favored individuals and entities. So modern patents are a lot less than they were historically, while copyrights are a hell of a lot more. Trademarks have stayed relatively stable over time, except very recently, when the concept of dilution of famous marks came into fashion, and then got codified.

No. Doesn't work that way. As said before in the thread, there are 4 flavors of IP- --copyrights, which protect original creative expression (and boat hulls), but not facts; --trademarks, which protect the commercial value in the association of a mark with a particular source of goods and prevent the unfair competition of allowing somebody to confuse the consumer as to the source of the product; --patents, which only apply to novel, non-obvious and useful inventions; and --trade secrets, which require a high level of vigilance on the part of the secret owner, and are totally unprotected from reverse engineering. Recipes could only fit in under the trade secret flavor, and doing so would require a proprietor or chef to make everybody to whom he teaches the recipe (or who could come to know the recipe) sign a nondisclosure/noncompete agreement. That is the best way that the law could protect a creative genius in the kitchen, but if the competition come in, sit down and order all of the secret dishes, and figure out the tricks, then they're free to go forth and replicate them all they want.

Depends on their marketing and pricing strategy. I'm not a believer in many products that proclaim themselves to be "SuperPremium"... that is a decision for the market to make once it has sufficient information to come to a conclusion. If they price it at Kahlua+50%, there's no way in hell I'd think about buying it. If they price it even with Kahlua, then I might try when next I run out of Kahlua. If they price it at at Kahlua -20% then I'd go out of my way to try it. After I've tried it, I'll decide whether it is worth buying again, and at what price point.

Good pastis is one of the finer things...

If you're going to purchase a pastis, I'd suggest getting Henri Bardouin pastis. Best of the bunch , as far as I'm concerned... Which reminds me that since it is so warm and pleasant outside, I should bring a bottle up from the cellar and laze about this afternoon with a tall glass, a splash of pastis and a pitcher of ice water.

I've not yet found anything as pleasing as the Austin brewed Celis White was. I really miss that. It had the perfect flavor and body. I find that witbiers succeed or fail based on their mouthfeel more often than not. Some are too dense, some are too thin, but Celis White really was the right balance.

This was a 5 gallon batch, so not so small... I'd just noticed I'd forgotten to mention that, kinda taking that size as the uniform standard that everybody would assume... then thought the better of it after the post-editing window had already closed. So, this is a normal sized batch, at least as far as I'm concerned. I don't have a kettle that could handle a 10 or 12 gallon batch, and I only have about 12 gallons worth of bottle space readily to hand, so if I want to drink diversely, I have to brew small.

Well, your geography would certainly make a big difference to the answer, and you never said where you were until a couple of your fellow denizens of the mountainous west gave away your secret. Were you in the mid-atlantic east, I'd say go to Moore Bros and pick up the full case of 12 that they sell for $100 and call the Bon Marche collection. Wine shop owned by highly reputed sommellier, which maintains a limited select set of wines... his good taste reaches down into the lower priced wines too. The contents of the collection keep on changing with new interesting stuff making its way in regularly. But since you're nowhere near South Jersey or Delaware, my advice doesn't do too much good for you... particularly since a flight to PHL from Colorado would blow your budget before you got here.

There are a few of us here... check out the Chef's Beer thread from a few months back. btw, just noticed I forgot to mention that this was a 5 gallon batch, and was diluted accordingly before the yeast got pitched.

Since the Chef's Beer thread worked out so well last time around as an educational resource for homebrewers, I thought I'd let everybody know that I'm brewing again, and anybody who cares to is welcome to join in the recipe and ask any questions along the way. This time, since it is spring and and sunny and beautiful, I've decided to brew a Belgian Blonde, which should be a great late spring and early summer beer. Recipe follows, largely inspired by something over at the homebrew digest, a great homebrewing resource on the web (hbd.org), but trweaked to fit what my homebrew shop had handy: 4 oz Belgian Biscuit malt 4 oz Belgian aromatic malt 2 oz Caravienne 4 oz Munich malt all steeped in 2 gallons of water at 150 F for 30 minutes and sparged with a half gallon at the same temperature. After removing the grain, bring it to a boil, and add 8 lbs of Munton & Fison extra light dry malt extract, 8 oz of clear candy sugar and 1 oz Pride of Ringwood hops (6.5% AA) and let boil for 45 minutes. add 1/2 oz Stytian Goldings for the last 15 minutes of the boil. pitch with Wyeast belgian abbey type yeast, or ardennes. allow to ferment a couple of weeks, and when yeast activity has subsided rack and prime with 1/2 cup corn sugar and 1/3 cup clear candy sugar. Have fun brewing, and feel free to ask any questions you like.

Tis the season of marshmallow making, it would appear... Just made a big bunch of them the other day. Have been wondering what the differences between the egg-white ones and the whipped gelatine ones are. The final results seem alike... Did I not need those six egg whites in there after all? The recipe I use was from a workshop I took with Dorie Greenspan, and her recipe brought the syrup up to 265, and threw that into some eggwhites at stiff peaks (which double in volume when hit with the hot syrup), and then beating a hell of a lot of gelatine into that. They have turned out perfectly... but a friend who uses just the whipped gelatine method comes up with a nearly identical result . So, pros and cons of the egg white method?

And getting back to the tea... There are very distinct characteristics that define the Darjeeling style of tea and the Assam style of tea, and they go beyond geography. Darjeeling often appears to have been processed in a less mechanized, more rustic manner, evidenced by close examination of a sample of darjeeling. You'll see some unevenness in the leaf color, with the brown oxidized leaf juxtaposed with hints of green, unoxidized leaf... that has always made me wonder about the method they use to roll the leaves before leaving them to wither and oxidize... and become black tea. Darjeeling is always characterized by its high-notes. It has fruity notes, it has sharp notes, it has the capability of becoming quite astringent if brewed with water that is too hot, or left to steep too long. It is fragile, delicate, and easily wrecked by following the instructions printed on every tea box that demands water at a rolling boil and five minutes of steeping time. Assam's dry leaves, on the other hand, generally appears more uniform, and are definitely allowed to oxidize more than Darjeeling is. Assam leaf will always look darker, though the leaf form is more variable. Assam is a center for the CTC method of processing, which takes leaves and machines them into a more uniform appearance, and allows for a much more full oxidization. Some gardens there still use the traditional method that maintains the leaves in a more whole state. The flavor notes of Assams are more low notes. There is a toasty, cookie-like note that is characteristic of Assam teas. Assams can take a more vigorous brewing like the standard tea box instructions. Their tannins don't become so astringent like Darjeeling's do. Beware that these are generalizations, and you'll find that some growers are experimental and do break with the traditions that lead to the tea's characteristics. And... I've not played with enough of the Nilgiris or Dooars to be able to characterize them... does either have a characteristic style? The examples of both that I've tried have been overly astringent and tannic... probably a sign that the growers need some practice... maybe just my poor selections. Anyway, those are my personal thoughts.

The Homeskillet This is a lovely variation on the classic cocktail the Manhattan. It was invented shortly after I picked up my first bottle of Maraschino liqueur as I was playing around to see what it could do. Adding a little to a Manhattan really changed the drink into something new, and my friend and guinea pig who tasted the experiment with me named it. 2 oz. Bourbon (or Rye if you prefer a dryer drink) .5 oz Sweet Vermouth (never Martini and Rossi) .25 (or less) oz Maraschino liqueur 2 dashes Angostura Shake over ice, and serve either up, or over ice with a bit of seltzer. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG969 )

The Homeskillet This is a lovely variation on the classic cocktail the Manhattan. It was invented shortly after I picked up my first bottle of Maraschino liqueur as I was playing around to see what it could do. Adding a little to a Manhattan really changed the drink into something new, and my friend and guinea pig who tasted the experiment with me named it. 2 oz. Bourbon (or Rye if you prefer a dryer drink) .5 oz Sweet Vermouth (never Martini and Rossi) .25 (or less) oz Maraschino liqueur 2 dashes Angostura Shake over ice, and serve either up, or over ice with a bit of seltzer. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG969 )

Oh, and Doc-- I'll do my best to get my hands on some of the Maraska... The Pennsylvania liquor monopolistic behemoth does list a few "Maraska" branded products in the database. I'm betting that the Wishniak variety is what I'm looking for? It is listed as 62 proof, which makes it similar in strength to the antique Luxardo I have down in the liquor rack in the cellar. The newer stuff has dropped down in its proof to 50 or below, and just isn't as good as the antique...

Thanks for the kind words, Doc. Just trying to give markovitch a place to start from. As to the veracity of the cocktailtime writing, I am ambivalent about its value. Cocktails are one of the few places left in the world that a few tall tales and superstitions can still survive... I'm happy to let that continue to be the case. Cocktails are an art, not a science, and all artists get a liberal serving of poetic license in my book. If I figure out that some bit of lore is wildly inaccurate I'll note it for personal purposes, but I'll not try to knock any cocktail myth off of its pedestal... unless it contradicts a myth I like better.

This topic reminds me of my first year out of college when I was living in NYC and every Friday was cocktail night at my place, followed by whatever amusements the city offered afterwards. I started by keeping expectations low and invited people over for "cheap gin and tonics" and would stock a 1.75 of reasonably good, albeit cheap, gin, i.e. Seagrams or Gordons, neither of which will set you back more than $20 even today. Then I started reading Hotwired.com's cocktail columns, and took inspiration each week to add something suggested there to my bar. The content is still around at http://www.cocktailtime.com, and it rotates, though nothing new appears there anymore, sadly. Make sure to read The Alchemist's column... Paul Harrington is well wise in the ways of mixology... wonder whatever befell him in the years since the new content stopped over there. If you'd really like some suggestions, here are the highlights of my mixological evolution: a mexican style lemon press- squashes citrus most satisfactorily. You'll look funny at most bottled citrus juices ever after... except in Texas where the Central Markets juice fresh citrus daily and sell it in half pints and pints. Rare, and to be encouraged elsewhere... makes an evening of cocktails so much easier on the host. Seville oranges- only available in January and February. Sour like lemons and limes, make excellent drinks (and hollandaise sauces, etc). Campari- you love it or you hate it, but you can't make a Jasmine (see cocktailtime) without it. Orange bitters- took six months to get around to mail ordering a bottle from Rochester down to NYC, but such an excellent opener to a new world of cocktails. Peychaud's bitters- Randomly stumbled across them while shopping in Balducci's and, having heard of them on cocktailtime, I picked them up. With them, my Sazerac drinking days began. Pernod (or its relatives like Henri Bardouin) -- don't go here if you hate black jelly beans, but these Absinthe replacements (generically called pastis) are key to many tasty beverages if the anise flavor doesn't wack you out. Maraschino- Luxardo in particular. A sweet syrupy liqueur derived from sour cherries and their pits. Adds a floral complexity to lots of drinks, and makes a nice dressing for a fruit salad. This is a key ingredient in my own signature cocktail of my own invention, the Homeskillet: 2 oz Bourbon (or rye if you're feeling dry), .5 oz good red vermouth (not Martini and Rossi...echhhh!), less than .25 oz maraschino (how much less depends again on how dry you like it) , and a dash or two of Angostura. As to the base boozes, my advice is to experiment and find what you like. Sapphire and other "high end" gins are less interesting to me than good old Beefeater. Especially in a gimlet. I'll second Doc's rec of Evan Williams for an affordably priced Bourbon, and also say that Famous Grouse is a great blended scotch for mixing cocktails with. There are so many kinds of vodka out there that you have to experiment. Avoid the ones that smell like rubbing alcohol.. beyond that, figure out what you like. Vermouths ar a matter of taste. M&R's Rosso tastes musty to me, so I say Echhh! and avoid it. I like Noilly Prat generally... Cinzano Rosso is tasty too. Haven't played with the really expensive ones like Vya... I'm just cheap when it comes to Vermouth. Best advice is to take it slowly, find an inspiration, and let it guide you. I owe lots of my tastes and skills to cocktailtime... and can't think of a new site that is as good as the reruns that are still over there are.

Indeed, Doc! Must agree that vodka as a cocktail component is low on my priority list. That's not to say that a simple vodka on the rocks is not a very tasty beverage (if the vodka is good enough!) ... There is no spirit I hate, just spirits that get along better by themselves, and spirits that play well with others.

I'll agree that the food there is great. As is the space... great interior design job. I've never been treated rudely either, but have only been twice. I think that Salt got a lot of discussion over on Chowhound, and since a lot of us PHL egulleters are chowhound refugees, the been-there, done-that effect may be coming into play. When out-of-town foodies ask for recommendations, it is always on the list I give them. But I've not been in a while, so have no new news to report about the place. I remember them playing with fennel pollen to good effect, and a great reinterpretation of the classic skate and brown butter dish. What's new on the menu? Hits? Misses?

Was a great tour of some of PHL's more serious watering holes. Rich has done a great job at putting together a tremendous fun day. Even for somebody who was just driving the van and not sampling the wares.

Welcome to egullet's beer forum!

Fascinating! I've never heard of cinnamon leaves before. I'm interested in how different they are from the bark. As to everybody with the mock shock and outrage in the importation, I don't think there is actually a import problem for dried leaves. Think of all the tea and coffee that get brought back into the country by tourists all the time. I think the issues on import are live and viable stuff that might harbor disease. Once something has been dried like bay leaves, I don't think it is an issue the beagle minders would care about. Talk about chilling effects in action, looking at the reactions here makes me think hmmm...