Monday Rant: Food Pairings with Wine and Beer

Nice curves. Photo via Wikipedia

I've touched on the subjects of both beer and wine quite a few times in the past with a few posts. It was within these posts that I discussed and shared a few links and studies about the health benefits of both concoctions.

Over the past few days I've been pairing different types of cookies with the homebrewed mocha stout I have. One day this might transpire into a post of it's own, but I developed a conundrum last night when it comes to food pairings.

Both beer and wine snobs alike have been pairing their favorite adult beverages with all sorts of different foods. Since I planned on picking up a few bottles of wine tomorrow on my way home from work for a certain someone, I wondered which category of food pairings was more intriguing: pairings with wine or beer?

It's really a tough question to pose as I've obviously become more parsed in the ways of pairing foods with my favorite beers rather than wine. I've paired pilsners with spicy foods and fish. I've had stouts and porters with barbecue. Hell, I've even experimented with German foods and Marzenbier.

When it comes to wine, I've pretty much only tried white wine with Italian food (eggplant parmesan, to be exact). What I do love is that sour, tomato taste mixing well with a dry wine. It's awesome.

Still, I'm interested to find out what pairings there are out there in the world of wine. Are they similar to pairings with beer? Different? We will see.

A History Lesson at Appalachian Brewing

Let's say you're touring the Gettysburg Battlefield and the heat is fairly brutal, which it usually is this time of the year. Not far from where the Confederates first stepped foot into the battlefield (just off of Buford Avenue) is an exquisite watering hole that not only brews its own beer, it provides you with a happy and full stomach.

As far as I've checked, Appalachian Brewing in Gettysburg features the most tapped brews (16 beers) at a time anywhere in town.

If you check out this place regularly, you'll notice that most of Appalachian Brewing's flagship brews are featured on tap as often as possible. These flagships include the infamous Mountain Lager (4.5 percent ABV), Water Gap Wheat (4.5 percent ABV) and Susquehanna Stout (4.6 percent ABV) just to name a few. If you're not in the mood for beer, be sure to try the homemade root, ginger and birch beers.

There is also some excellent food to pair your beers with at this place. If you're in the mood for a light lunch with whomever you're eating with, just grab a couple appetizers. I can vouch for both the pretzel logs, which comes with beer mustard to dip, and the Canadian Poutine, which is fries, gravy and cheese curds.

The menu also provides a wide selection of paninis and sandwiches. I've even been there at lunch and found numerous wraps and hoagies on a select lunch special menu.

If you want something heartier than that, the Brewer's Mac n' Cheese is the closest thing I've ever had to Rock Bottom's chicken mac n' cheese dish. Don't forget about the Mile-High Meatloaf or any of Appalachian's burgers.

I went with the BBQ Clucker sandwich.

You honestly can't go wrong here if you're a first-time visitor to Gettysburg. Go for lunch or dinner. Hell, One of the days last week in which I was there, I used up two of my meals at Appalachian Brewing. Appalachian is based in Harrisburg, but it also has pubs/restaurants in Collegeville and Camp Hill aside from this one in Gettysburg.

I've never had a beer that I didn't like from Appalachian. I wanted to get this write-up in as soon as I could before I started to review some of the beers I've tried. A few of them are among the best brews I've ever tasted.

I almost forgot to give you a brief history lesson I planned on sharing with you all. History is just feet from Appalachian Brewing's doorway. Arguably the most famous picture of the entire Civil War was taken just right across the street from the establishment, on Seminary Ridge.

The three Confederate prisoners stood next to what is now the stonewall as you turn onto Seminary Avenue.

Monday Rant: Miller 64 Ad Campaign

I'm getting tired of having to sit through these new Miller 64 commercials every other television break. It's already enough that the existence of light beer annoys me.

The song is too catchy and annoying. I always find lyrics from it stuck in my head hours after I've seen the ad. The people depicted in it look like jackasses as well. First, you must give credit to Miller for some excellent marketing. That's how it's done. All of that and the fact that there are people out there that actually believe it's a healthier option.

Just because you consume a beer that's among the lightest in calories on the entire market doesn't mean you can still be a lazy bum every day.

Since I started this blog back in September of 2011 I've consumed more craft beer than I have at any point in my life. I also joined a gym at the beginning of January. I"m down approximately 18 lbs since I joined.

My weight loss certainly isn't because I decided to drink only the cheapest and lightest beer out there. I haven't changed my consumption of beer at all. I actually got off of my rear end to do something somewhat active. It's not like I put together this Schwarzennegger-esque workout either. I just try to be active and watch what I eat a little more closely.

By all means, keep thinking you're drinking of light beer will help you keep weight off if you're still a couch potato. I just hope you know that the next time you chug down six or seven beers and then to decide to consume half of a pizza with your buddy that once your liver is processing alcohol (regardless of what you drank) you're putting on weight once you choose to scarf something afterwards.

 

For the Masses: Monday Rants

One day last year I was cruising through Reddit's Beer page and a post I came across asked what readers looked for in a beer blog. Quite a few users on this thread were adamant that they get sick of reading beer review after beer review. Every day I write a post for this blog those comments are engraved into the back of my mind.

As I do plenty of times, I'm once again developing a new posting style. I've always strove to set myself apart when it came to keeping up with my posts on this blog. Yes, I do love trying new beers almost everywhere I go as well as sharing my views on said concoctions with others.

With that being said, I don't intend on trying to keep readers coming back to this blog to nothing but countless beer reviews. Over the past few months it's become obvious that I've tried to diversify the content I produce. Now, you get two or three beer reviews per week with some other posts concerning craft beer news and a few other creative things I've been able to come up with. I've written about interesting places I've been able to drink and stuff my face at as well as a few posts detailing some interesting beers I constantly push others to seek out and try.

Last week I went off about how I resent the sweetness of malt beverages. I classified it as a rant. This week an idea sparked in my head. I hate Mondays as most people do. I hate relaxing all weekend only to reboot everything up to start a new week. So, on most Mondays you can expect a rant in the form of a blog post. (I know that deep down you've never been this excited at any point in your entire lives. Don't worry, I'm kidding.)

Now, not every rant post I write will have intentions of degrading something. Some of the posts might just be things from the top of my head  That's why I intend on writing a rant post at the beginning of each week and calling it the "Monday Rant."

I already have a good idea as to what direction I want to go with this. The first official Monday Rant, which is scheduled to post next Monday morning will concern my love/hate relationship with darker beers.

Cooking With Beer: Bratwurst

Boiling bratwurst in my choice of beer is an experiment that's in it's fairly early stages. To me, it was never as simple as just tossing the links on the grill and the entire process was over. I've always tried to incorporate as much beer as possible into the cooking of bratwurst, just not as a drink pairing after the meal was finished.

Image via Wikipedia

Cook em' baby.

The best bratwurst I ever had was while on a family vacation during my high school years. One of my uncles decided to make a pot of the infamous sausage. I noticed that he boiled/simmered them in a pot of beer and onions for approximately half an hour.

When it came time for dinner, I was instantly transported to the quaint bier gardens of Germany. the only thing that was missing was a nice pint of lager. Only I was a bit too young to realize it.

Every other week or so I grill or boil myself some brats. I've always used a 50/50 mix of water and beer in my boiling pot. From time to time I switch up which beer I use for the boiling. Beers I've used include the following:

• Church Brew Works Thunder Hop IPA
• Yuengling Traditional Lager
• Sam Adam's Oktoberfest
• Penn Brewery Oktoberfest

It's always been a tough decision on what beer to use in the boiling process due to being overcome with a feeling of guilt. So, it takes a bit of convincing to tell myself that the beer is being spent for a worthwhile cause.

Always make sure to take a fork and puncture the links a few times prior to boiling. This ensures that the beer soaks its way into the meat deeper than it normally would. I try to add onions to the mixture every chance I get. The onions add a little more kick. I add some sea salt and pepper then boil for about 15 minutes. Toss them on the grill for another 10-15 minutes and you've got one hell of a dinner.

Recommended Beer Pairings: You can't go wrong with any traditional German styles such as Oktoberfests/Marzenbiers and more.

I'm always looking for new ideas to cook with so I'm always open for tips and suggestions. Please let me know what you think!

The Beer Snob Visits Fat Head's Saloon

Other than The Library for the draft and wing specials, the other joint I've frequented the most on Carson Street is Fat Head's Saloon. This place has one of the more numerous and one of the most diverse beer selections (42 brews on-tap at a time) of any bar or pub in the South Side.

When you step up to the bar, you have to make your selection from one of the more creative tap lists in the Pittsburgh area. It's pretty unique and informative. Not only is each beer named on the board, it's style, alcohol-by-volume and its native state are right alongside it to clear up any questions you might have. Each time I've came into Fat Head's, I've also found the beer lists easily accessible. There are many at the bar and appear to be on each table. This comes in handy for people that want to know exactly what they're drinking.

The atmosphere is pretty relaxing. The outside is brick as well as the inside and this gives Fat Head's plenty of character. The brick walls inside have assorted artworks strewn about and make it seem that you're hanging out in a street alley.

If you decide to hang out in the bar area you can see the 42 beers on tap. The wall behind the tap handles appears to be stainless steel. As for the actual bar, its grey color compliments the metal behind the taps and blends the entire area together. One of the more relaxing and aesthetically-pleasing pubs I've come across.

Don't forget that Fat Head's also has a cask system, in which it usually features one beer at a time. From time to time there are assorted wines on the hand pumps as well. The beer selection is fantastic. I've never visited and not found something I didn't want to try. If you're curious as for what to look for, Fat Heads always has brewed some of their own beers and usually features some on tap.

Head Hunter IPA (7.4 percent ABV) and Caveman Keller Bier (5.7 percent ABV) were the only two tapped for this visit. Both were very good brews. I can honestly say that from all of the house brews I've tried, I haven't been disappointed a single time. Keep an eye out for what's on tap.

Fat Head's is arguably more famous for its food. The most notable thing on the menu is the South Side Slopes sandwich which features kielbasa, fried pierogies, onions and horseradish sauce. I didn't get a chance to try it during this trip, but its definitely something on my bucket list. I'm sure it's a lot better than the disappointing pulled pork and fried pierogie sandwich at PNC Park was.

Since Beer Snob Sr. made the trip too, we decided that we couldn't go wrong with the usual delicacy of a bar hopper: chicken wings. My aforementioned friend went with the homemade Fat Head's sauce, which is a regular hot sauce, but with some sweet undertones.

I chose an odd flavor for wing sauce: jalapeno cheddar. It just jumped out at me. I couldn't refuse it. It was one of the oddest, but most intriguing experiences I've had with a chicken wing. The jalapenos added a hot flavor that was pretty damn near perfect. It's not too often that you come across a texture in a wing sauce like this was.

As I said earlier, this place is one of my favorites on the South Side. Always a great brew selection, great and aesthetic atmosphere and some awesome grub. I was able to try four new beers while on this visit. I've mentioned two of them. I plan on reviewing those and the two others in good time.

Make sure you're following the Beer Snob on Twitter! 

Experimenting with New Mexico's Green Chile Cheeseburgers

A while ago Beer Snob Sr. told me a story about a certain delicacy he was lucky enough to enjoy while working in New Mexico. A tale was told about a certain type of cheeseburger which provided a flavor he had never come across and also hadn't been able to replicate in almost 10 years of trying.

Fast forward a few more months. My girlfriend's father tells me of a time in New Mexico. The first words out of his mouth were about a cheeseburger with green chilies on it. The taste of these burgers were so unique that he also couldn't find one that tasted anywhere close to the ones he had in New Mexico.

According to New Mexico's state website, the green chile cheeseburger originated around 1950. When Americans began to make use of highways more and more, burger establishments began to pop up along roadsides everywhere. In New Mexico, a few places took the state's staple crop and added used it as a burger topping.

Since I had two people tell me how mind-blowing the taste of the green chilies and cheese was on these burgers, I had to dive into it myself.

To begin, I had to find the most important ingredient in this experiment: the green chilies. I got myself a small can of them, minced some onion and mixed it with the chilies. Once the burgers were grilled and the cheese was placed, I gave them a nice helping of my onion/chile mix.

This being my first attempt, I was disappointed. The culprit was the onion. Too much use of the onion completely drowned out the powerful flavor of the green chilies. I reported my disappointment to Beer Snob Sr. and he was then driven to try the grand experiment once again.

After he made one more attempt at recreating this elusive flavor, he told me to not use any onion. Just put the chilies on the burger without doing anything to them. Another touch he added was rubbing the beef patties in chili powder before grilling them.

I replicated this procedure and was much more pleased this time around. The taste of the chilies comes through. The chilies aren't that spicy, but the chili powder on the meat packed the punch I was looking for.

I'm looking forward to playing around with this recipe in the future. Maybe some pepper jack cheese to add some more spice instead of regular American? Tabasco sauce? I've also read some things saying that red chilies work as well.

Recommended Beer Pairings: With anything beef, I usually lean towards a type of Pale Ale. With these burgers last night I went with a Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian IPA

The Beer Snob Visits Colasessano's

There are two pizzas in the Pittsburgh area that I feel have some of the best pizza in existence: Mineo's Pizza House in Squirrel Hill and Di Salla's Pizza in Homestead. I've come across another Italian hub that has some fantastic pizza, but must admit that it's a little off of the beaten path.

Colasessano's in Fairmont, W. Va. is a staple in the area and has almost as much history as the Primanti Brothers chain does here in Pittsburgh. There was only one restaurant up until about three years ago when another opened. Just within the last year another establishment was opened in Morgantown for all of the college folk.

Surprisingly Colasessano's is famous for its pepperoni rolls, something that's hard to find around here. Luckily I make a few visits to the Fairmont (the pepperoni roll capital of the world) area every year.

Heaven.

I've enjoyed the pepperoni rolls, but my favorite food to get there is definitely the pizza. In my opinion, what makes Colasessano's pizzas stick out from ordinary ones is the homemade sauce and the addition or either hot or mild peppers, which help to develop a unique flavor you can't find anywhere else.

The meat you order as toppings go right on top of the sauce and a thick, stringy layer of mozzarella cheese crowns the top of the pie. All of this is atop an inch-and-a-half thick layer of Italian crust. It's pure heaven.

There are plenty of other Italian dishes to enjoy at Colasessano's other than the pepperoni rolls and the pizzas. You can check out the menu right here. The homemade sauce is also an option to get inside of a pepperoni roll if you so choose. Check it out if you're ever taking a trip that far down I-79.

The Beer Snob Visits Jim's Drive In

An original Jim's Dog.

On Skyline Drive in West Mifflin rests a building that isn't out of the ordinary at all, except for the big red letters that read "Jim's." I'm sure if you didn't know what could be found from behind its service windows, you'd never know just like I didn't towards my final years in high school.

They say that some of the best food is in the most obscure of places. Well, the best hot dog I've ever had comes from this building in West Mifflin with the big red letters.

If you get an original Jim's Dog, you get a hot dog with cheese, onions and the homemade special sauce. In my opinion it's this special sauce that makes Jim's unique. Nobody knows what is concocted together to make this sauce except for the people that actually make it. It's kind of like Kentucky Fried Chicken's and Long John Silver's secret recipes.

You can buy jars of the sauce in select Giant Eagles in the area, but a source tells me that the the sauce you buy in stores still isn't exact compared to the sauce used at the shop. So, get to Jim's Drive In when you get a chance. You wont be disappointed.


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