SLIF XVIII

Well, apparently, my calendar tells me that it is, yet again, Friday, and that can only mean one thing, another edition of SLIF! So, lets not wait around any longer, lets get right to it!!! Here you go, here is SLIF, edition XVIII !!!

The Muddy
Do you love stouts? I do, they are up there among my favorite styles. I especially like imperial Stouts. That is why I was pretty excited when I got my hands on a bottle of Goose Islands "The Muddy". A third beer in a series celebrating the city of Chicago and its history. According to the Goose Island website, this beer is brewed with "molasses, brewer’s licorice, and Belgian dark rock candi sugar, The Muddy is an imperial stout with amplified sweetness for a taste as distinctive as the Chicago blues that inspired its creation." The blues influence it refers to is of coarse the blues legend Muddy Waters, while not from Chicago, made some of his best music there. To me, this beer was more smooth then sweet, with only a faint hint of licorice (but just enough) a touch more of sugary sweetness. An easy to drink, smooth but very flavorful stout, this beer is perfect now that the weather is cooling off, and stronger, heftier beers are in order! You can learn more about the beer, and where to find it here....





The Beer Czar's Second Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting!

This past weekend, I hosted my 2nd Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting! It was a great, albeit small group of good folks, all getting together to blindly rate a selection of 8 very good, to great pumpkin beers! Want to see the beers we tried, and how they rated? Check out the link, and see what beer took our top spot, as well as where the other 7 beers came in!  (Pumpkin Beer Tasting link )

Pumpkin Beer Mac and Cheese
Speaking of pumpkin beer, one of the "snacks" I made for the pumpkin tasting was this kick ass recipe for Pumpkin Beer Mac and Cheese. This is one of those recipes that I was hoping was just half as good as I was hope it would be, and turned out to be even better! An easy recipe, for a GREAT dish for any fall gathering!! Check out the recipe here.....it is amazing!







Want to work at a Brewing?

Do want to work at a brewery? Or do you need work? Do you know someone that does? Well, if you live in the east valley, your in luck. Mesa's  first and only Brewpub is opening very soon, looking to hire some people for a number of positions, from dishwashers, to hosts, to line cook. So, if you or anyone you know wants, or is in need of work, check them out here.....




So, there you have to folks! Now, go forth into the weekend, and have a great time! As always, please remember, to have fun, but be smart, and stay safe, plan ahead!

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

The Beer Czar's Second Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting

This past weekend, I hosted my 2nd Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting. This is proving to be a very fun event for me! Aside from the fact I love to get together and drink a few beers, I also, unashamedly LOVE pumpkin beer. Pumpkin beer is kind of the cool beer to hate among beer people. Given its popularity, ubiquity and the fact that just about every brewery makes a pumpkin beer, many of which are just not good at all. It's getting harder to find those truly good pumpkin beers. That is exactly why I hold this event, I'm here to help folks! I get a selection of what I think (in many cases, its just what I've heard, since I haven't tried many of them) are good examples of the style, and then ask friends and family members to rate them, blindly, so I can come up with my sort of "best of" for this year's pumpkin beers.

This year, was a smaller, more laid back affair then last years, but equally as fun. This year, we had a total of 8 new beers to try. So, I gathered them around the table, poured them some beers, and let them go to work. Here is a list of the beers we tried, in the order they scored (#1 being the highest score....)

(click on the link to learn more about that beer)

1. Southern Tier's Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout - Lakewood, NY
2. Epic's Fermentation without Representation's Imperial Pumpkin Porter - Salt Lake City, UT
3. Southern Tier's Pumking - Lakewood, NY
4. Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter - Tempe, AZ
5. Pike's Pub and Brewery's Pike's Harlot's Harvest - Seattle, WA
6. Grand Canyon Brewing's Pumpkin Spring's Porter Williams, AZ
7. Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale - Milton, DE
8. Unita's Punk'd - Salt Lake City, UT

This years winner

So, there you have it, the list of Beer Czar's top Pumpkin Beers for 2014! Overall, I think a pretty good list of some really good pumpkin beers! Nice to have a couple of Arizona beers in there this year too. Next year we are planning a slightly larger event, so we will have room for a few more folks. If you would like to be a part of next years event, or any other events we might have in the near future, please let me know and drop me a line at thebeerczar@gmail.com





Here is a quick video with some more pic's, and the results, set to some awesome music!

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

Cooking with beer - Pumpkin Beer Mac and Cheese

 

OK, I found this recipe on Pintreast a while back, and thought it looked pretty good, so I posted it on my Facebook page. Well, a bit has changed since them. For one, it proved to be a very popular post, and I had a lot of people asking for more info about it (mostly people that weren't on pintreast and couldn't see the whole recipe), so I figured with all the demand, I should post it on the blog. The main reason however I wanted to post it here, well, I actually made this over the weekend! I served it at my 2nd Annual Pumpkin Beer Tasting, and let me tell you, it was Fan-freakin-tastic! One of the better beer recipe's I've made. If you like pumpkin, and you like mac and cheese, you MUST give this recipe a try. Just ask anyone that was there, and they can back me up on it.

One tip, this recipe makes A TON of it, so, it may be best to at least half the recipe, unless you planning on serving a dozen people or more (seriously, it makes a lot)




To view the original post, with author notes click here.... (photo credits go to them as well)

So, here goes....

Ingredients

• 8 cups dry elbows
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 6 Tablespoons Flour
• 4 cups milk
• 24 ounces pumpkin flavored beer (nothing fancy, I just used Blue Moon Pumpkin)
• 24 ounces (10 cups) Freshly grated Extra Sharp Cheddar
• 2 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 15 ounce can pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and cook pasta according to instructions on the box. Only cook until al dente, you don't want to overcook it, because the beer cheese sauce will cook them further.
2. In a separate large pot, over medium-high heat, add the butter. Cook until melted and bubbling.
3. Whisk in the flour, creating a roux, until golden brown, 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the beer and milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and add the cheese.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, continue stirring 4-5 minutes until cheese is fully melted and the sauce begins to thicken.
6. Stir in the cayenne and pumpkin pie spice.
7. Mix in the pumpkin puree and cook 3-4 minutes longer.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
9. Strain your pasta, and pour it into a large pan. Pour the beer cheese sauce on top and mix into the pasta.
10. Optional--you can add some panko bread crumbs on top if you like some crunch. We prefer it creamy!
11. Cover the pan with tin foil and Pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes.
12. Remove and allow to cool. If the sauce still seems soupy, don't fret! As it sits, it thickens and absorbs into the pasta. Enjoy!

 

Seriously, if you are heading to any sort of fall, autumn or "harvest" potluck, or just having friends and family over for some food, this just a great fall dish. Even if you aren't into beer.

 

So, let me know what you think, enjoy!

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

Cooking with beer - Beer-Candied Bacon

I have posted this recipe before as part of a Fathers Day breakfast. I was actually asked to post it again on its own. So, here it is.....this look fantastic!

 

Beer-Candied Bacon

1 lb thick-cut, high quality bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp beer ( I like to use a nice brown ale)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine brown sugar and beer in a small bowl, whisking well to form a thin syrup. Set aside.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top. Place the pieces of bacon on top of the rack, overlapping if necessary. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush one side of the bacon with the beer syrup. Flip, and coat the other side with the syrup as well. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and repeat process another time or two more, until bacon is crispy and browned, and you have used all the glaze.

Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour before serving.

 

 

 

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends

 

The Beer Czar

Butterbeer recipe, made with actual beer!

Harry and his odd looking friend with a Butterbeer

Over the past few years, I've seen a fair number of "butter beer" recipes (the fictional drink enjoyed by Harry Potter and crew in that series of books and movies). Sadly, very few of them actually contained beer, and the ones that have, didn't even look good enough to warrant a try.

Well, I saw this posted on line today, and I must say, this one looks good, and, well, rather timely given the time of year. A very simple recipe, involving only 2 ingredients (5 if you make your own butterscotch sauce, recipe for that below). This looks like it would be a prefect drink to make for a Halloween party, or even a Thanksgiving gathering (after dinner of coarse. It even looks like it did in the movies.

Again, its super simple, and looks delicious!

I originally found the recipe on Popsugar.com, you can see their complete article here......

Real Butter Beer Recipe….

12 ounces of a sweet, pumpkin ale, like Wasatch or Pumking (or even, god forbid, Blue Moon Pumpkin)
3 to 4 tablespoons butterscotch sauce (recipe below)

1. To make hot Butterbeer: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine beer and 3 to 4 tablespoons butterscotch sauce. Whisk occasionally, and cook until beer just begins to boil. Taste, and adjust with more butterscotch if necessary. Transfer to a mug.
2. To make cold Butterbeer: Pour cold beer into a blender. As blender is running, carefully pour butterscotch in a steady stream. Blend until just combined. Avoid over blending (which can flatten the beer). Taste, and blend with more butterscotch if necessary. Transfer to a mug.

 For the Butterscotch sauce……

4 tablespoons salted butter
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, add butter and sugar. When butter is melted, whisk butter and sugar together and then whisk in heavy cream. Bring to a foamy boil, and cook 4 minutes, whisking occasionally, until mixture deepens in color.
2. Turn off heat and carefully whisk in remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream, followed by vanilla extract.
3. Transfer to a small 8-ounce mason jar. Do not scrape down sides of the pot (the burned-on caramel may make your sauce gritty). Allow butterscotch to cool slightly before securing with a lid. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Fills one 18oz Mason Jar….

 

There you have it! Try that, and enjoy!

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends

 

The Beer Czar

 

 

Caption Contest....

OK, I don't know what we will have for a prize, but I wanted to have a caption contest. Since this photo may be considered "offensive" by some, I didn't want to post it directly on the Facebook page, so I just posted a link....

OK, come up with the best caption/title for this photo!

Milk Stout???

 

 

Lets get creative!!!

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends!

 

The Beer Czar

SLIF Vol. XVII

It's back!! After taking the summer off, SLIF is back! I'm not sure if it will be back as the bi-weekly edition it was before, monthly, we shall see, but its back. I found some great stuff to share with you. A lot of which has to do with recent, or upcoming events that are taking place in the area. So, without further ado, here we go, SLIF!!


Street Taco Festival this weekend!

You've heard me talk a lot about El Palacio, the wonderful Mexican restaurant in Chandler that hosts some amazing beer dinners. Well, they also host a Street Taco festival, and its tomorrow, 4pm to 10pm at their restaurant in Chandler!! $5 admission, kids are free. Buying a ticket gets you into a raffle to win a vacation as well! What else do you get? How about taco eating contest, a salsa competition, live entertainment, a street taco station, a margarita hut, Corona’s sand bar, beach games and more!!! I will see you there!

For more info, or tickets, stop by the restaurant, or go to www.rockintacoaz.com.

SanTan Oktoberfest!!!

October 4, 3pm to 11 pm!!! Chandlers own SanTan set to celebrate Oktoberfest in downtown again this year!! So break out your lederhosen and build up your tolerance, its always one hell of a celebration! Food, beer music and more, this one is a must! On, and this year, Reel Big Fish will be preforming! As well as Iration, and 80 Proof!! For more info, tickets and more check out the event site here.... Also, look for SanTan's Oktoberfest Beer in cans in stores now!!!

How to order your Oktoberfest beer properly...

Want to order that Lowenbrau or Spaten at Oktoberfest, but aren't quite sure how to pronounce them authentically, well, fret now more, Lowenbrau has a pronunciation guide for Oktoberfest, complete with audio! Check it out, its pretty cool......click here.







D-backs Oktoberfest

The Dbacks are hosting their own Oktoberfest coming up Sept. 26th at the Ballpark. Each Oktoberfest ticket package includes a 16 oz. D-backs Oktoberfest beer stein and access to an exclusive beer garden inside the ballpark. Click here to buy tickets.....

There you have it! This weeks SLIF! As always, have a great, and happy weekend, be smart and stay safe!

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends!

The Beer Czar

Guinness goes Blonde!!!

OK, when I say the words "Guinness", what is the first thing that comes to mind? Dark, black, stout, Irish? Yeah, me too. Well, you also get those "heavy", "a meal in a glass", "you drink it with a fork" and a few other misconceptions about this ubiquitous Irish Stout. However you feel about it, love it, tolerate it, there are a couple things we all can agree on about it. One, if you go to Ireland, you HAVE to have at least one glass in a pub, and 2, its very dark.




Well, that is all about to change. Now, Guinness seems to think introducing a lighter, American lager into the market will stir things up just a bit.

This will be first release in Guinness's upcoming "Discovery Series", celebrating Guinness's 250+ plus year tradition. The series will offer up a wider range of beer styles then we are use to seeing from Guinness, which are, generally, "black" beers of some sort (with the exception of the short lived "Guinness Gold" from around the early to mid 80's I believe). These will be a line of "fusion" beers released in the coming months.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle (scheduled to hit stores in a week or so...) and thought I would give it a try.

Some info.....according to the release from Diago....
5% abv, 149 calories per 12 oz. serving. No GMO additives or isinglass used (hear that Food Babe!). Yeast is Guinness 125 old yeast, crystal malt, Mosaic, Willamette and Mount Hood hops.
Oh, and it tastes best served cold, in a 16oz Guinness branded glass!

It poured a little darker then I would expect from something called an "American Lager". Its darker then a Bud, or Coors, more amber then pale yellow. Good carbonation, not a ton of head, but it was there.

OK, now, as far as flavor goes, like a lot of beer folks, American Lager isn't something I get excited about. However, unlike a lot of beer geeks, its not something I find all that offensive either. American Lagers has a VERY mild, sometimes none existent flavor profile, and to me, something so mild can hardly be all that awful. It can hardly be very exciting either, but offensive is hard to do with so little flavor, but that is just my opinion. That being said, I also don't spend money on this style for that very reason, its not awful, but its not that good either. Tasting Guinness Blonde, I will say, it wasn't bad.  Had more flavor then the beers in its same class, with a sort of clean, citrusy flavor. Far more flavor then the aforementioned Bud, or Coors. It has some bready sort of biscuit/bready flavors in there, with a very (VERY)  slight hop presences. One thing I found, like with most American Lagers, serve it cold, and drink it that way. Don't let this warm up much, its not really enjoyable over 40 or so degrees. Served very cold however, I didn't find anything really wrong with this beer. I would take this over most beers of this style, and can see myself drinking one after mowing the lawn, or hanging by the pool (why they waited for mid Sept to released this has me scratching my head a bit).

My thoughts on this beer. Again, there is nothing really wrong with it. Will it win over the fiercely loyal American Lager drinkers? Maybe. Will it win over craft drinkers? Probably not. People that already enjoy Guinness will probably find this a more then suitable alternative to its darker parent, and that is where I see this beer finding its place. Not sure Bud or Miller drinkers will give up there fridge space for it, but my fellow Irish beer drinkers will probably enjoy it, at least from time to time.

Now, will they spend their hard earned money on it? That remains to be seen. I think some serious marketing is in need for Guinness to get this one off the ground, so we shall see.

Until next time
Bottoms up my friends

The Beer Czar

Summer Beer Photos!!! 2014 edition!!!

 

Well, here it is folks, our 2nd Annual Friends and Fan's Photos Summer Beer pic's post! In case you've missed our past 'Friends and Fans Photo series, we've done a number of them. Summer beer pic's, winter beer pic's, 100th post Celebration, we try and mix it up a bit. These are among some of the most popular and fun posts we do, especially the summer photo ones. Almost all of these pic's were sent in, collected or brought to my attention by fans, and readers. In some cases, I saw these pic's on different Facebook group pages I belong to, and I got permission from the poster to use them
.


OK, now he's got the idea!!!

So, look forward to our next "Friends and Fan's Photos" post. Not sure what the theme will be, any ideas? Shower beer photos, Thanksgiving beer, beer in the outdoors? What do you think? Let me know....

Now, without further ado, here we have, 2014 Friends and Fans Summer Beer Photos! (hang in there, there are quite a few of them this year!)

Starting things off, a pic of myself in my parents pool, enjoying a traditional "shandy" my dad made for me. (learn more about that shandy here)

 

Here is my lovely shandy!

My dad, aka Papa Czar, enjoying one himself!

 

Sticking with the family for now, my older brother said he got his hands on some Sculpin all the way out in Maine this summer. I was happy for him, until I saw the pic of it! Not beer, but still funny, and pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

 

Here we see my fellow Franklin Pierce alum, and fellow Fine Arts Ed. student and current art educator,  Laura, enjoying a shandy of her own at the start of her vacation in New England! It looks like its off to a good start!

 

Here my fellow Fryeburg Academy alum, the lovely Libby, enjoying a day on Long Lake in Maine with her husband Gregg, an a couple of good beers! He's drinking a Newport Storm, while Libby enjoys a Sleeman's Honey Brown Lager...

 





We've seen these two hotties before! Nikki and Kayla beating the AZ heat with a couple of cold ones by the pool!

 

 

 

Here is Harpoon Brewing's Summer/4th of July pic submission, I included it for obvious reasons....

 

 

 

 

Another one of myself, the Beer Czar, and Mrs. Czar enjoying a couple of fine beers while taking in the sights and sounds of the amazing Stone Brewing Beer Garden in Escondido, CA (see more pics from the gardens here....)

 

 

Another fellow Fryeburg Academy classmate of mine, Adrienne enjoying a Shock Top, the sunshine and the pool! Not a bad way to spend the afternoon!

 

 

Honored to have the Brewmaster Seth of Tuckerman Brewing Company, in my old stomping grounds of Conway NH, enjoying one of their many tasty brews, and I would image, admiring his own impressive display of facial hair as well! Thanks Seth!

 

 

 

This is my former student teacher aid from NH, my good friend Crystol, enjoying a refreshing, cold Natty Light while trying to beat the muggy summer heat of West Virginia

Here is another of Crystol enjoying a drink of her own creation. She tried my summer shandy recipe, and didn't care for it too much, so she added some melon liquor, and that did the trick. We now call this "Crystol's Melon Shandy"

 

 

 

Here are some of my family in Mich. My mother in law Jan, enjoying a Shorts brew while showing off some of her new jewelry. My dear cousin Cari, enjoying her VERY FIRST beer, and she was kind enough to share it with us! Her very first beer? A Founders Oatmeal Stout, while sitting AT Founders no less!! No training wheels needed for her! Her husband Mark, is shown below, enjoying a Founders Porter! (good choice Mark, one of my favorites as well!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

More family photos! Here my little sister Leah and my darling niece Isabella enjoy a beer, and a root beer in the Stone Beer Garden in Oceanside, CA

 

You just never know who you may run into on summer vacation! Here I am, with none other then The Masked Blogster himself, touring Stone Brewery in Escondido, CA

 

 

 

 

More fellow collage classmates, Erin, and Becky (whom we all know from "Ghost Stories with Becky" enjoying a few cold ones while Becky was visiting Erin in VA this summer.

 

 

 

Facebook friend and previous contributor Roger, from CT enjoying a great beer and a smoke on the links....

....and some homebrew by the lake!!!

 

 

 

Here is my dear friend, and former co-worker, the lovely (and very flexible) Shelli, enjoying some beer yoga by the pool, with a Four Peaks Kiltlifter! I think we could do a whole post on beer yoga pics, who's with me?

 

 

One more Franklin Pierce alum Katie, former room mate and cheerleading team mate of my college girl friend, enjoying herself on the Jersey shore with a beer in hand, and an awesome hat!

 

 

 

An anonymous submission, but I wanted to share it anyway. Just a great island beer pic. Classic summer beer photo!

 

 

 

Facebook friend and member of the League of Extraordinary beer drinkers, Peggy, enjoying the sun and a fantastic beer on the CT shore!

 

 

 

OK, wouldn't be a summer beer pic post without at least one topless pic, and since no one sent any in this time (which is a first...don't worry, there is always next time) I got this off the Instragram sensation "The Topless Tour" Actually a cool internet trend that doesn't suck, and can be quite beautiful. This one was taken at Angels National Forrest in California.

 I got this one from fellow "League of Extraordinary Beer Drinkers" member Phil, with a stunning photo taken in Big Trees State Park, in Arnold, CA.

 

 

 

 

Here is fellow Beer Blogger "Beer Snob Chick" enjoying a beer at the Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival in Keystone CO. Check out her blog here.... (she is into beer yoga too!)

 

Here, my old college roommate Brian, enjoys a beer, and lobster role, at one my old hangouts, Cappy's, in Camden, MA!

Brian is a member of a sailing crew on the boat "Shamrock Sensation". Here they are taking a break and kicking back with a Guinness on deck.

(here is a look at the boat Brian crews on)

 

 

 

 

Eric, a member of "The League of Extraordinary Beer Drinkers" enjoying one fantastic IPA, on the banks of the Cumberland River, in Madison, TN.

 

 

 

League Member Eric, with a  collection of some very tasty beers at Big Bear Lake, CA

League member Ian, on Sunset Beach OR.

 

 

A sexy beer pic from League member Jessica, enjoying the few weeks of summer she gets to enjoy all the way up in Alaska!

 

John, from Rio Vita, CA

Fellow co-worker Malia, enjoying some Sierra Nevada White IPA poolside. Best way to keep cool in Arizona!!

 

 

 

None other then Mark Pyle, at The Breakwall, in Conneaut, OH

 

League Member Nathen, enjoying a classic at Tigers Stadium in Detroit.

Here, my friends and newlyweds Aren and Lauren enjoy a Granville Golden Lager atop Grouse Mt. in Victoria BC Canada!

 

 

 

 

Below, are a collection of beers from an old Fryeburg Academy classmate, and sister of my prom date, Rachel, enjoying some Guinness at some Irish Pubs, and more importantly, a Bud Light at a Sox Spring Training game in Jupiter, FL

Jacksonville, FL 

West Palm Beach, FL

 

 

 

 

What would be a Summer Beer Pic's post without at least ONE Oberon pic? Here, Vikki, member of the Facebook group "Beer Drinkers United" enjoys a bit of the sweet golden nectar on Burt Lake in Michigan.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a set of photos from another High School classmate, that also now calls AZ home, Pete. Pete obviously takes beer, and relaxing seriously, and has a pretty cool cooler as well! Check these out!

 In Pete's pool, the beer gets its on raft!

 

 

 

 

The following photos are either anonymous submissions that I know nothing about, and the person submitting provided on additional info about them. They are some pretty cool photos, so I wanted to share them with you all. Check some of these out!

 

 

 

Very cool pic!

I think this is from an ad, but I don't care...

Classic! (but why Light?)

I thought this was a funny pic!

This pic is a riot!!!

'Merica!

Sexy pic!

I love these kinds of pics! Great summer beer pics!

OK, so only one decent cleavage shot this time....lets work on that
for the next one!

 

 

 

I want to thank everyone that submitted, or just allowed me to share their pictures! These are always popular posts, and I want to thank everyone for taking part!

 

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends!

 

The Beer Czar