paul o' vendange

I used to make a cassoulet with a rich brown ale I brewed, and a mustard-herb-breadcrumb crust. Never tried the gingerbread but know, hearing it, it would be wonderful. Thanks. Paul

You will find that brewers and beer drinkers are generally a friendly lot. The only numbskull is the one who puts on airs - By its very nature, beer is a convivial drink, so sidle up to the bar (or farmhouse, or monastery, or what have you) and join for a tipple or two! Paul

I will go against the grain and say, if you've researched it, and want to do it, do it and don't look back. I am going to presume you're your own person, and you asked for some good literature on how to do it (can't help there), not the folksy-streetwise party line of how tough it is. It is tough, but if you want it, get it and make it your own. Paul

Slightly off thread, but with Theakston on the Ommegang. Great company, great ale. I enjoy their Ommegang, which they list as a "burgundian" brew. Rich, off-red, wonderful. And, as Theakston says, cheap. Paul

I would think the Porter would be great; as would Summit's Porter, or Bell's line of dark ales. I think that in addition to the lower bitterness, the roast notes from the roast barley and roast malt go well. I don't know about Sierra's Porter, but I know in my own brewing I am fond of using Northdown or Northern Brewer in my strong dark ales, as do many breweries I know of. By my taste, these hops have a wonderful roast fruit (think: baked plums) character, which I like in my big dark ales (i.e., "Black Stag Imperial Stout," a winter warmer, at 9.6% alcohol). Hadn't occurred to me, but this fruit character would be great with the flamande. Enjoying the discussion. Paul

You beat my clicking, Carolyn. If this were poker, I'd say "Fold." I'm sorry for your loss, as well. Paul

13 years old. Catered party for 20. Multi-course meal. Fresh on the heels of Jacques Pepin's La Technique, a wunderkind in the making. Dessert: Crepes Suzette. Boil the butter/grand marnier, pour entirely too much in to the chafing dish. Light. Explode. Forelocks and eyebrows have that certain roast-flesh bouquet. Panic, and reassure at the same time, "everything's fine, everyone," while I drip flaming butter across the host's table and floor. Of course, this was preceded by, at 8, I think it was, a flaming broiler full of lamb chops, panic again, throw the flaming foil into the trash and splash it on the kitchen curtains...almost fry the kitchen, all before 10. Cheers!

Mnebergall, you're fine, I'm the loser; I stand corrected. Stella Artois is indeed a lager, and the largest "Belgian" brewery. I guess I put it out of my radar. My mind was on carbonnade, and what I prefer to go with it, and I spaced. I must also admit my bias: to me, Stella Artois is to Belgian brewing what (sorry, fans) Budweiser is to American brewing. In my humble view, a non-distinct, characterless product, made by a behemoth (Interbrew, increasingly, the owner of the world's once-finest independent breweries). Apologies to all who may love it, I just see the once proud independent breweries going under to the "family" called Interbrew, and I don't like it. And with a country so populated by distinctive, smaller breweries (many of them in a 600 s.f. farmhouse or the like), I can't see using anything but craft Belgian ale in the food. My $0.02. Under any circumstance, Cheers. Paul

Mnebergall, the Belgians do not make lagers or pilsners (a type of lager) generally (I can't think of a single brewery, actually). They make ales, meaning beer brewed with top-fermenting yeast. They also use wild yeasts and bacteria in their ferments. To the point at hand. One reason Belgian ales are specified is due to the generally low level of hop bitterness in most Belgian ales. Many traditional Belgian brews use hops which have been stored for a length of time - aged - to reduce the level of bitterness: alpha acids (humulone, co-humulone, and ad-humulone) are the bittering component in hops; they are very volatile, and aging strongly reduces their presence in hops. Sierra Nevada, the quintessentially aggressively-hoppy, American Pale Ale, is hopped on orders more than just about any Belgian ale, even more so when you are talking Belgian dark ales (i.e., "Bruin"), which are generally less bitter still. Not that that is a bad thing - I love what hops can add to food. But not what I would think is a substitute for a recipe calling for Belgian ale. Paul

Mike, booze and college students is indeed a problem - twas ever thus. But I think the marketing gurus were doing a public service, in a way. These kids can't afford a six pack of craft beer. But they can afford maybe one single serve. I don't think too many of the college students are buying 4 of the 22's (in truth, they're probably buying a 22 of Rogue Imperial IPA and a 30-pack of Goebbels, but that's another story). Paul Beans, nice link, thanks.

I know when I was planning on our own brewery, our talks with retailers led us to strongly consider the 22 oz. for a certain demographic - the college age beer fan. In the U.P., where we were going to do it, people are nuts for 22 oz. beers - e.g., Rogue's lineup - as they can't spring for a 6 pack of craft ale, but can for a 22 oz. Paul sorry - should specify for non-U.S. comrades - "da U.P." is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a remote paradise of snow, big trees, and hearty folks.

Not to put too fine a point on it, that's marketing BS. It's unlikely anyone would be able to pick "Angus" out of a lineup of equivalent graded meat - it all looks the same once the skin's off, and any of the other traditional ("British") breeds such as Hereford or Shorthorn provide the same approximate level of marbling and fat cover. There's currently a lot of research going on to identify genetic markers for tenderness and marbling, and from the preliminary results, there's not a significant genetic difference between Angus and the other two. This is all interesting, and timely for me. I am considering this very thing for my own startup. I have never used Highland beef, but from discussions with other chefs and with our purveyor, fits some nice quality parameters I am looking for. Will have to see, of course, cook with it and see how our guests take to it. Also looking at Longhorn. Nice discussion. Paul

Mayhaw, mostly 100% agreed. Bud has an amazing amount of care in what they do, and a regimen to back it up (and, with Miller, has had a lot to do with the leading edge of brewing in this country, as with Miller's dedication to producing light/skunk resistant isohumulone and hop products). By my taste, just wish it were devoted to something of what I would feel to be deeper character and flavor, but each to their own. A minor quibble - I have never understood nor have I bought the argument of a "finer" bubble of C02 by any process. CO2 of a given purity is just that - C02. No method of artificial or natural carbonation can alter that. In solution, it is not a bubble. Out of solution, as induced by the cap popped off, or tap drawn, it will have the same physicality regardless of the method used to put it there. The things which alter the bubble size have to do with the length the bubble travels to the surface (or the length of run on the beer line), or the serving temp, rather than the manner in which the CO2 is introduced. I have found "creaminess" in lower CO2-volume beers, or, of course, nitro pours, but have never detected any difference between beers of like CO2 volume, regardless of the method. My thunks. Paul

No question, Bud's QC is bar none the finest in the world. It occurs to I've never really thought of diacetyl as a "green component," in the same way I've thought of acetaldehyde as "green" - acetaldehyde being a precursor to EToH, and diacetyl and VDK/diacetyl being chains of other reactions, but I can see why it would be considered so - produced as it usually is by inadequate crash cooling and lagering regimens (esp. among ales). Actually, I have rarely found diacetyl in any lager save spoiled ones; I am more apt to find sulfur (again, absent an incomplete conditioning regimen) as typical lager yeasts produce a tremendous amount of sulfurous by-products. As with all things, what is anathema to some folks is a plus to others. In most of my brewery experience, VDK/diacetyl has been considered an absolute curse, indicative of poor cellarmanship and "dirty" ale. I personally enjoy a touch in the ales I brew - a richer, rounder complexity, esp. among my strong ales. Just a touch, though, e.g., I consider Redhook to be too much a "butter beer." C'est la vie. Sorry to hijack the thread - interesting discussion, though, Mayhaw. Paul

The "green" character is probably due to acetaldehyde. Though Bud denies it, the beer has long been associated with beyond-threshold levels of the compound; it is quite often present in krausened beers, which if I'm not mistaken Bud is. It has a "green apple" aroma and mild taste, in minor quantities. As to the "day old - fresh" idea: water is indeed fresh after a day. Doh! (Sorry, couldn't resist - my glasses are craft-ale colored)... Paul

Thanks, GG. I had not seen this. May every day be the Feast Day of St. Jacques of Pepin. Let me join in the Chorus - I have a deep affection for the man, though I've never met him. La Technique was my bible as a young teen - I tore through it cover to cover and see even now the dog eared pages and food stains of work, encouraged by a master. Reading The Apprentice brought it further home. Many long years, Chef. Thanks. Paul

Perhaps it's a matter of semantics, but I couldn't disagree more. Value is all we have as consumers, which I measure as the right amount of money spent for the experience. I've gleefully dropped hundreds and pissed and moaned about $1.50 -the only thing I require is that I leave the table saying "it was worth it." Apparently, for Adam, it wasn't worth it. And I don't condemn him for the evaluation. Paul Edited to add: Adam, a belated congratulations on getting into Tisch, not an easy thing to do. I wish you many years of good work ahead.

Ludja - Initially, I used 2/3 grated horseradish to 1/3 bread crumbs, but found that I can probably push the flap even more, and have gone up to 100% horseradish and love it. The wash is a simple egg white wash for binding, pressing the fish after into a horseradish "dredge." Cheers! Paul

I, too, like to use it in crusts. The heating mutes a bit of the heat while preserving the wonderful flavor and piquancy. I make a horseradish crusted salmon, with a black pepper-cabernet sauce. Paul

Chris, just came back to the thread after being away. You bet, will send the spreadsheet when I get home. I actually have a ton of things I wrote while briefly a student at Heriot-Watt, and while working in the industry - including an exhaustive protocol for establishing the quality control regimen for a "real ale," cask-conditioning brewery. More than happy to share with any who want it. Paul P.S.: neglected to mention originally, with Chris fully on the dry hopping. With the exception of some of my dark ales, just about every one of my beers - bitters, IPA's, ESB's, at times even my robust porters and imperial stouts - gets a strong dry hopping regimen. If any want to know that routine as well, just let me know. Cheers, Paul

(Minor Sunday celebration - goodbye, Chicago) Gravlax with Red Onion Confiture, Buckwheat Blinis and Creme Fraiche Veuve Cliquot Vintage Reserve 1993 Braised "Poulet a l'Estragon" and some Chimay Grand Reserve Chilled orange mousse with a chocolate-espresso tuile Paul

I would agree on the all grain argument. Syrups are wort that have been mashed for a middle-of-the-road mix of long and short chain sugars; resulting in middle of the road fermentation profiles. Additionally, many syrups contain things other than pure barley malt, to save money. Check out your syrup's content. Secondly, typically when starting out, as most here have said, the culprit for a less than "crisp" beer is a high final gravity - a good deal of residual sugars in the beer due to a less than voracious ferment on the part of your yeast. Go with OKbrewer's comments, use wyeast or white labs, do a good starter and, if you can afford it, buy an oxygenation system, which consists of a stainless airstone, filter and tubing to hook up to those mini-O2 supplies. I bought mine, I think it was, for $25. Prior to their anaerobic phase (fermentation), yeast require oxygen to respire, and to multiply. Each cell will typically produce up to 4 "daughter cells," and so on, up to the capacity dictated by the O2 content of your wort. With a poor O2 content, you will only get so much growth, and a limited number of cells will have to do yeoman's service on your wort - typically petering out and dying before the job is done. With oxygenation, and the proper amount of yeast, you will experience not only a more robust fermentation but a quicker one. Mine takes about 3 days to reach final gravity, and I brew strong beers (6%-8% a.b.v., some higher). Anyone, if you would like a spreadsheet listing wort volumes, starting gravities, and optimal yeast counts at various starting gravities (in terms of Wyest smack packs or white labs vials), let me know by PM and I will send you the spreadsheet I've developed (free - not a sales pitch). Finally, my advice would differ somewhat from what the others have said. I would consider using pellets over whole hops. Hop bittering potential is housed in two essential acids in hops - alpha acids principally (humulone, co-humulone and ad-humulone), and to an almost negligible extent, oxidized beta acids. These acids are extremely volatile. Whole hops, especially those reserved for home brewers (commercial brewers typically get the lion's share of the "good," meaning freshest product), have a good deal of surface area exposed to air - and each month they sit in your homebrew supplier's store, they lose a considerable portion of the alpha acids to the air. To take an example from your Sierra Nevada, which I believe uses Perle, Nugget and the now ubiquitous Cascade Hop. Cascade stores poorly. Whole Cascade hops as "5.9% alpha acid" will only truly be 4.24% a.a. after 6 months at 40F, in your refrigerator, if they are not in some sort of oxygen barrier or inert bag. If they are in an inert atmosphere, they will fare better, 5%, but you get the point. Pellets are made by essentially milling whole hops and then pressing them into pellets. The pelletizing process is harsh, which many use to justify using whole hops. But once made, the surface area exposed to are is negligible compared with whole hops, and they will not degrade nearly as fast. Now, if you have a filter and you are simply straining your wort into your fermentor, you will need whole hops as they act as a natural filter bed. If you use pellets, you can create a whirlpool - stir the whole wort for 5 minutes, creating a vigorous whirlpool. Cover, and let settle for at least 1/2 hour. Siphon off the side and you should obtain a brilliantly clear wort. Carbonation is a function of pressure and temperature, to obtain the actual amount of C02 in solution. Typical amounts for ales range from very low for "real," cask ales, to 2.5 volumes +/- for bottled ale, slightly less for draft beer, say 2.3 (or whatever your taste is). Lagers are typically higher. I maintain 2.5 volumes, as I counterpressure bottle fill all my products. To obtain 2.5 volumes, at 40F, you would need to set your pressure gauge to 12.3 PSI. Either leave this in the fridge for several days, or, as I do, place your tank on the counter, hook up your system, and rock your keg back and forth. First, you should do what you can to bleed air from the keg; I waste a lot of CO2 by filling and then bleeding the tank innumerable times, as air ruins beer. (the only effective way to prevent air intake is to counterpressure rack - beyond most homebrewers). But if you still have yeast in your beer (you will unless you've filtered it), the still-living yeast will help to respire the residual oxygen. You will hear, as you agitate, the gas seeping in from your tank - a good thing - and then will stop as the pressure in your keg equalizes with the pressure in your tank. When it stops, continuing rocking, and so forth, until rocking further results in no more CO2 going into your keg. At that point, presuming your keg is still at 40F (it won't be), you have 2.5 volumes of CO2. I typically put the keg back in the fridge for a few hours, and repeat. (By the way - the tank goes on the counter so that the regulator assembly is higher than your keg gas intake - although pressure out from the CO2 tank should prevent any beer backup, putting the gas tank higher ensures no beer backs up into your tank regulator as you agitate). Finally, at serving, unless you've got a dedicated tap system (as in a bar), I would think serving at 7-10 psi would be high - Bernouli's principle, your 1/4" beer line, at 7-10psi, will cause the beer to rock out the gate and you end up with a glass of foam. When I don't have my beer hooked up to a tap, but rather just a 3/16-1/4" line and plastic tap-spout, I back the pressure off to 2-3psi to serve, and then back up to 12.3 or so to maintain. Force carbonation is not complicated, but it is probably a thread unto itself. PM me if you want further info. To recap, in my opinion: - You will only get so far using syrup, as the mash profile is out of your hands. - Use pellets, not whole hops, to have a better chance of using hops closer in actual bittering performance to the listed alpha acid percentage. - Force carbonate at 40F, 12.3 psi for 2.5 volumes CO2. Higher temps will mean less carbonation; lower PSI will as well. There are pressure/temp charts available to find the carbonation level you would like. Any questions, feel free to PM me. Paul Formerly, Goose Island Beer Company

In theatre school, Trinity Rep Conservatory, 1989. Living on a 25 lb wheel of cheddar cheese - from May of 1987. From the Trinity Rep warehouse. Monotony broken up with cereal, doused with instant coffee, when I could afford it. My cat came bouncing in merrily every morning, expecting something different from "le Fromage Stank." I used to say to her, "when I do well, you'll do well...when I do bad, well, ..." Thus ran about a month or so of my life. Paul

Brine brine brine brine Brine brine brine brine Brine! Wonderful brine! (sung to the tune of Monty Python's "Spam, wonderful Spam!" Paul

I first learned to use the veal breast through Madeleine Kamman, in "Making of a Cook." Some state an arguable axiom, "all meat and no bones yields flavor and no body, all bones and no meat yields body and no flavor," but, personally, I have never found that to be strictly true. Using bones only, with only the barest of meat on the bone, I obtain a wonderfully rich, flavorful stock - aided by a prodigious amount of aromatics, of course, and a very long remouillage. Nevertheless, there is no denying that using the breast or meaty scraps yields more flavor. When I have used the breast, I would strip it down, grind it, and make a ravioli out of the meat that is there, in concert with other things. Additionally, as Kamman warns, there is a danger of so much body in a bones-only stock that viscosity can turn to a clinging mouthfeel - lips "stick together," and so some portion of the animal contribution to the stock should be made up of meat. I feel I avoid this effect by using tomatoes in good amounts, which to her is anathema but which helps to cut the "clinging effect" and, in my view, aids in clarification by the effect of the organic acids. I hold to no dogma. My veal stock leans towards the no roast method of Thomas Keller, as I use it so much as a base and appreciate the "clean" character resulting from the no roast method Keller advocates. I use a ton of stocks - duck, lamb, chicken (white and brown), quail, pheasant, fish, lobster, shrimp, just about any animal I use is also extracted into its own stock, with the exception of pork, which I find too sweet as an integral stock (although my veal stock contains a split pig's foot for its gelatin and touch of sweetness). If you use beef stock you are certainly not alone. Unless I'm mistaken, no less than Paul Bertolli and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, for example, use it and do not, to my knowledge, use veal stock. They, too, use a combination of meat and bones in their stocks. Paul