Virgil's theory of beer and food

If you've ever talked to Andy Borbely (manager of Seven Saints) about the main four countries for brewing, he'd have told you that there are four major brewing countries, and that they bring four different things to the table, I do agree with most of his points, but I take them in a different way.

1. Germany. To Andy, it's the area that brings us "seasonal drinking" and rigid standardization. The most prominent example, is Oktoberfest beers around the harvest time. Another example is Dopplebocks for the Lenten season. To me, Germany brings us lagers. Most every German beer style (short of Hefeweizens) are lagers.

2. England. Andy says they are important because of discovery and development of beer styles. To me, England brings us ales. Almost every (traditional) English style of beer is an ale. They go from stouts, to pales, to bitters, to milds.

3. Belgium. Andy and me both agree that Belgium brings us beer that has a strong yeast profile (think Trappists). Additionally, they give us styles of beer that are tart, spicy, and aged for a real long time.

4. USA (USA USA USA) Andy says we in America take from all those other countries and make it BIGGER and BETTER (although better is a relative philosophy; but it's kind of true), and that we aren't bound to tradition. I agree, and share his reason for throwing USA on the list. We didn't invent IPA's, but we make them really really good (get some from Russian River). We didn't invent Imperial Stouts, but try Three Floyds Dark Lord compared to a UK made Imperial Stout, and see which you like better.

There are other countries with up and coming brewing influences (and they had beer all along) but they are either importing their beer preferences (like Mexico's German Influence) or Brewdog (Scotland) taking the American route and making the BIGGEST.

There are good beers all over the world, and they all got there for specific reasons. What those reasons are, isn't because those countries started out to have those reasons. They got there for bizarre reasons.

Yeast is one of the most important components in beer. If you don't have yeast, you can't make any alcohol. The yeast is what separates the ales, lagers, and wild yeast beers. The yeast imparts flavors. Yeast is (or was) magical. Yeast availability helped in the process of defining what beers come from an area, but (in my opinion) yeast wasn't the major component of that definition.

To me, the thing that really drove the (traditional) beers that were drank in an area are the (traditional) foods.

If you ever read a book on pairing food with beer, (like the Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food) you'll see him talking about trips to various countries, and how well the beer goes with the food. If you clicked on the link to the book on Amazon, you can click on the "click to look inside" go to the first pages, and start reading. He talks about traditional beers, with traditional foods.

Did those traditional beer and food pairings come about by accident? Hell no. Certain countries make certain beers, to go with certain foods. It can't be that much of an accident. The food in a country has to drive the beer in the country.

Go to a traditional German restaurant. Order a plate of food, it doesn't really matter what. Eat it with a bock. Try some sausages with an Oktoberfest. Eat a piece of German chocolate cake with a schwarzbier (or a berlinerweis). Get some schnitzel with a maibock. It's hard to make a mistake if you match a traditional German meal, with any traditional German beers (unless you have a desert beer with your meal, but even then it won't be too bad). If you are willing to waste your money, try it again with a Miller Lite. See which works better.

Go to a traditional English restaurant. I'm not going to say... ok I will say it... but the brits aren't really known for the tastiness of their foods. If you think of the English, you probably think: Doctor Who, Monty Python, the Queen, bad teeth, and bland food.

If you read the book excerpt, you saw Garrett Oliver discover flavor in beer while in England. That's easy to do, if you compare it to the mass produced American beer. But, honestly, traditional British beer is kind of ... meh. Go to a local better beer beverage shop. Get some traditional British beer, don't get anything from them that says "Imperial". Don't get the major beers that you are accustomed to, (Sam Smith, Newcastle, Guinness (it's Irish))... heck, get them. Drink them. Think about beers that are made by American breweries that are the same style. Which beer is more flavorful? Which beer seems to be bland? Is it ... meh? Which came first? meh food, or meh beer?

Ok, so you say the British invented IPA's. When did this happen? Doesn't matter what IPA story you believe, the IPA didn't come about until AFTER there was an established trade route between India and Britain. What came back to the UK from India? cotton, silk, dye, tea, opium... and spices. Does any bland beer go with spicy food (forget what you've been taught that a light beer goes with spicy food, it's wrong)? No, but a really hoppy beer will cut through spicy flavors. To me, the IPA is a perfect example of a beer that was developed specifically to go with a style of food (Anglicized Indian food).

When you think of Belgian food, what do you conjure up? Other than Belgian waffles. Do you think cheese, frites (fries), mussels, chocolates? Or did you just stop at Belgian waffles? Do you know what style of beer is recommended for mussels? Belgian gueuze. Why would you pair an extremely tart beer with mussels? Who had this idea? Have you ever tried it? It's outstanding! Which came first, people eating shellfish, or drinking beer? What other areas are known for eating shellfish? Coastal Europe (France, Italy, Spain), a traditional beer from that area is Saison, which also goes well with shellfish.

So now we get to America. Good ol' US of A. Here, we make some really crappy, mass produced swill. It's the stuff most Americans drink. Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors, Budweiser, these are some of the best selling beers in the US. You can get it at almost every gas station here. But what's right down the street, on every block? McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut. We have crappy mass produced food, and crappy mass produced beer. All those places are wonders of efficiency and the process. They are perfect for each other. You wouldn't want to waste a good beer on a Big Mac, also you shouldn't want to drink a Bud Light with a good piece of meat. Oscar Meyer weiners go fine with budweiser. Don't waste your butchers time by getting good sausage and having crappy beer, get a good bock for that sausage.

So, we here have some really bad food, and really bad beer; but we also have really good food, and really good beer. A bad restaurant will have a bad beer selection. A good restaurant should have a good beer and wine selection. There's a reason that the Olive Garden doesn't have an extensive beer list.

Even in Champaign Urbana, think of the restaurants with the best beer selections: Crane Alley, Radio Maria, Seven Saints, even Jupiters at the Crossing (I'm leaving out the wine places); what do they have in common? Those are places where you can get some really good food. (Some people may disagree with the food lists, but it's debatable). Their food is creative and not your everyday restaurant fare. Even the pizza at Jupiters is more creative than what you'll find at Pizza Hut.

Chain food, gets chain beer. Creative food, gets creative beer. Yes, you can find some crappy beer at creative restaurants, but why would you ruin the dining experience. If you don't know better than to get Budweiser, you probably won't like the dining options at those places.

The one glaring with Virgil's theory of beer and food, is Mexico. There is an excuse behind this. Mexico is probably best known for it's lagers (Corona). They are decent thirst quenchers, and if drank in enough volume can put out some of the fire that comes with some Mexican dishes. Except, that the style of beer was brought over by German settlers. Mexico didn't really have a strong brewing tradition before the Germans. BUT (and this is a big but), go get a bottle of Dogfish Head Theobroma. It's based on an old Aztec recipe. Theobroma is made with cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, honey chilies, and annatto. Try that with some authentic Mexican cuisine, (not tex mex from chili's). Fire-y Mexican food has recently (past 100 years) found it's match in West Coast IPAs. The beer goes so well with Mexican. Just like (I believe) IPAs were originally made to combat the new found flavor in spices brought back from India, the West Coast Pales seemed to be developed to go with the food of the region.

Good beer can stand on it's own. Good food can stand on it's own. Match the two together based on the areas they come from, and you'll have a great dining experience.

Just as good beer goes with good food, bad beer goes with the bad, and meh goes with the meh.

CU Beer Weekend; October 29, Halloween

It's Halloween, um... horray.



Seven Saints

New Belgium Ranger IPA
Southern Tier Oat

Tuesday: Brewsday Tuesday, Boulder Mojo for $2.00. Fat Tire Drafts $2.00
Wednesday: Whiskey Wednesday, Micro



Radio Maria

1) Pyramid Apricot
2) Southern Tier Pumking
3) Rogue Somer Orange Honey Wheat Ale
4) Bell’s HopSlam
5) Arcadia HopMouth Double IPA
6) New Holland El Mole Ocho
7) Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
8) Arcadia Jaw Jacker
9) Southern Tier Jahva Stout
10) Ommegang 3 Philosophers
11) Avery Anniversary Seventeen
12) Boulder Beer Company Oak Aged Mojo Risin’
13) Delirium Dark Brown
14) Left Hand Fade To Black
15) Brasserie Blanche de Bruxelles
16) North Coast Old No. 38 Stout
17) North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
18) Petrus Oak Aged Pale
19) Victory Storm King
20) Nogne Porter
21) Port Wipeout IPA
22) Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly IIPA
23) Krusovice Pils
24) Capital Imperial Weizen-Doppelbock
25) Southern Tier Mokah
26) Hofbrau Original Lager
27) PBR

Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30
Saturday: $6 John Daly's, Salsa Night at 10.
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR; Bloody Mary Bar
Monday: 25% off bottles of wine; Board Game Monday; Softball Beer Specials
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft
Thursday:$5 Mojitos, Caipirinhas, and Brazilian Cosmos; Open Decks: local dj's perform.



Blind Pig

Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodite Canada, Stout, 6.5% abv
Hoegaarden Belgium, Belgian White, 5% abv
Southern Tier Un*Earthly Lakewood, New York, Imperial IPA, 9.8% abv
Unibroue La Terrible Canada, Belgian Strong Ale, 10.5% abv
Rogue XS Hop Scotch Newport, Oregon, Scotch Ale, 7% abv
Boulevard Tank 7 Kansas City, Missouri, Saison, 8.5% abv
Avery The Beast Boulder, CO, Belgian Strong Ale, 16.31% abv
Schlafly Pumpkin Maplewood, Missouri, Spice Ale, 8% abv
Fuller’s London Pride England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Duchesse de Bourgogne Belgium, Sour Ale, 6.2% abv
Stella Artois Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Bear Republic Big Bear Stout Healdsburg, CA, Imperial Stout, 8.1%
Dark Horse Sapient Trip Marshall, Michigan, Abbey Tripel, 8.5% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3%
Lagunitas IPA Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 5.7% abv
Krusovice Imperial 12° Czech Republic, Bohemian Pilsener, 5% abv
Two Brothers’ Resistance IPA Warrenville, Illinois, India Pale Ale, 6.9% abv
Arcadia Whitsun Battle Creek, Michigan, Wheat Ale, 6.2% abv
Lindeman’s Framboise Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Old Speckled Hen England, Premium Bitter, 5.2%
Guinness Dublin, Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv



Blind Pig Brewery

Blind Pig American Pale Ale ABV 5%
Blind Pig Weizenbock ABV 7.4%
Blind Pig Helles Bier ABV 5.6%

Two Brother’s Dog Days Lager Warrenville, IL, Dortmunder, 4.9% abv
Dark Horse Scotty Karate Marshall, Michigan, Scotch Ale, 9.75% abv
Rogue Chipotle Newport, Oregon, Spice Ale, 5.5% abv
Schlafly Pumpkin Maplewood, Missouri, Spice Ale, 8% abv
Dark Horse Perkulator Marshall, Michigan, Doppelbock, 7.5% abv
Capital Island Wheat Middleton, Wisconsin, Wheat Ale
Petrus Aged Pale Belgium, Sour Ale, 7.3% abv
New Holland The Poet Holland, Michigan, Sweet Stout, 5.2%
Rogue I²PA Newport, Oregon, Imperial IPA, 9.5% abv
Guinness Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Sunday: Trivia Night; 7-9pm, win gift cards
Wednesday: Mug Night, buy a mug and get $2 off draught beer



Crane Alley

Morland's Old Speckled Hen 5.2%
Thornbridge Japuir IPA 5.9%
Avery IPA 6.0%
Victory Prima Pils 5.3%
Southern Tier Creme Brulee 9.6%
Mikkeller Big Worse Barleywine 12.0%
Flying Dog In Heat Wheat 4.7%
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen 5.1%
De La Senne Zinnebir 5.5%
Left Hand Sawtooth 5.3%
Founders Red's Rye 6.6%
Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter 7.5%
Dark Horse Raspberry Ale 5.5%
Avery Ellies Brown Ale 5.5%
St Bernardus Abt 12 10.0%
PBR 4.2%



Black Dog Smoke and Ale House

Cask: Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Rogue Dead Guy
Port Brewing Old Viscosity
Anderson Valley Brother David's Double
Dark Horse Scotty Karate
Left Hand Milk Stout




CU Beer Club

Tuesday: Happy Hour, 6pm Mike n' Molly's

alcohol in the news; extra on tap episodes 14 and 15

From Extra 92.1

Extra on tap Episode 14

Interested in Pumpkin Beers? In this episode AY delves into the scary world of Pumpkin Beers.



Extra on tap Episode 15

What does it mean to "taste" beer as aposed to appreciate it. AY gives his definition of respecting beer and how to understand the intricate flavors and textures of the vast beers available.

I'm a moron, day 2 (quitting smoking, part 4)

It's day 2. Twelve hours into day 2. As of right now, everything seems to be going well. This morning after breakfast with Scott and Brad, I really felt as though I was going to go outside and smoke, and then I realized, I don't do that... so I didn't.

After yesterday, many of the triggers/routines have been broken, so it's getting easier.

I'm still having difficulty concentrating. I find it easier to just stare off into space than to try to focus on anything.

I'm not angry (yet). I don't think I'm irritable, however nothings really pissed me off, yet.

Right now, this seems almost easy. But, if the past is any indication, the worst will be tonight around 7 pm.

I'm not too hungry. I'm not extra thirsty. I don't feel much different other than I have a cold (but I had that before).

I don't understand people who need medication to quit smoking. It's just three days of this.

Stay tuned for the freak out tonight.

Alcohol in the news; Wine forces public to pick a party

From WCIA 3 CBS/ Illinoishomepage.net

Wine forces public to pick a party

A Central Illinois winery is serving up a drink that both Democrats and Republicans can cheers to. The Walnut Street Winery in Rochester has created political wine.

Winery owner, Loren Shanle, says the red and blue sealed bottles have the same blush wine inside, but the labels make all the difference. One is sold as GOP wine with a cartoon elephant on front. The other, features a donkey. It's, of course, for the Dems.

If the wine sales are a reflection of next week's election results, the winery says Republicans have the upper hand.

"We've had people come in and say 'I like that wine'. I'll say 'Which bottle would you prefer?' I've had people say 'I'd rather not say.' One person last year said they were an Independent and the ladies poured out both," says Shanle.

Last year the Walnut Street Winery created "Barackoberry" wine. It never hit the shelves, however, because the federal government wasn't crazy on the idea of the President and alcohol being linked so closely.

soft news.

Alcohol in the news; Halloween Beers from the Corkscrew

From WCIA 3 CBS/ Illinoishomepage.net

Halloween Beers from the Corkscrew

Nick Bland from the Corkscrew brought a beer and a wine to the show.

The beer is Southern Tier Pumpking. The beer is available throughout town in retail and at the bars. It's on tap in quite a few bars.

The wine is Werewolf from Romania.

Alcohol in the news; Popular drink being called a "blackout in a can"

From WCIA 3/ Illinois homepage.net

Popular drink being called a "blackout in a can"

Caffeine is a stimulant, alcohol is a depressant. Not a great combination,” said U of I alcohol counselor Mary Russell.

The drink is sold in the Champaign Urbana area.

It’s called Four Loko, but others call it “blackout in a can.”

The U of I and others are trying to stop students from drinking it.

The alcoholic energy drinks have three times more alcohol than a beer, plus it tastes good. Russell says just one can could cause a 120 pound woman to have a blood alcohol content of twice the legal limit. She says it can counteract your own body’s self defense mechanism.

“So you keep drinking when you should stop so it raises the blood alcohol content higher than it might than if the student had the natural body mechanism in place to go ahead and stop,” said Russell. Downing one can of Four Loko is like having between five six beers. The alcohol counselor I talked to admits that may sound appealing to some college students. She’s urging people to be careful with the alcoholic energy drink because it’s gotten a lot of people in trouble.

It’s been revealed that nine college students were sent to the hospital after drinking Four Loko at a party near Central Washington University. The University’s President is planning to ban all alcoholic energy drinks. Ramapo College in New Jersey banned Four Loko earlier this month. There are twenty-five places to buy Four Loko in the Champaign-Urbana area.

Look for articles on this everywhere. This beverage will be compared to satan and hitler before long.

No, I haven't had it.

Oh look, it's in Time.

"Blackout in a can"; Alcoholic energy drinks keep wreaking havoc

It's definitely a tool of satan. There is no way anyone could drink this and consider themselves to be a responsible consumer of alcohol. At least, that's what I understand from reading this story.

alcohol in the news; After delays, brewpub ready to begin work in Champaign

From the News Gazette

After delays, brewpub ready to begin work in Champaign

CHAMPAIGN – Construction is expected to begin soon on the long-awaited brewery and restaurant planned for downtown Champaign.

Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works recently filed a building permit application with the city of Champaign for just over $1 million of work in the M2 building at Neil and Church streets.

Finally...

The space will be "somewhat similar" to the Normal restaurant, "with some exciting, new changes," he said.

"It will be a little more contemporary than the space here (in Normal) which already has a metro industrial look. We'll take that even farther in Champaign."

The Champaign space will be about 1,000 square feet larger and will have a larger bar area. It will also have room for the brewery with its fermenting tanks, barrels for aging beer and other equipment. The beer will be brewed on-site and within view of diners.

In Normal, the brewery produces about 45 to 50 different beers, and Potts expects to do the same or more in Champaign. Throughout the year, the restaurant and bar serves about 16 to 17 beers at any given time. They tend to always feature about five beers, and the remaining are rotated throughout the year. They'll do some barrel-aging of beer on-site as well.

Potts is Matt Potts, the owner.

Construction on the restaurant is expected to last about four months, with a projected opening date in early spring 2011.

I believe that's the third year in a row that they've planned on opening in the spring.

Where I'm at right now and what you can expect (quitting smoking, part 3)

My last cigarette was at 11:15pm yesterday. I'm currently 11 hours into this fun ride of withdrawal and triggers. I really want a cigarette right now.

No, I REALLY want one right now. My body almost just got up and walked out the door to go have one. Even though I know I need to make it through the 72 hours, right now, I want to smoke.

I can feel my heart racing. Well, it feels like it is, although I just checked my pulse and it's relatively normal. It just feels like my heart is throbbing. I'm having a bit of trouble focusing my attention. My brain just wants nicotine. (It's probably not helping matters that I'm sitting here typing about nicotine... ah nicotine... how I love you...).

I'm kind of jittery.

This is the fun stuff.

Honestly, If I can try to control my urge to actually stand up and walk outside and smoke, this is kind of fun. I don't think too many other people would consider this fun... but right now, this feeling, it reminds me of that first cigarette. (I've had that first cigarette a couple times, this is my third time at the stopping).

The first cigarette, it makes you light headed. It makes you jittery. It makes you cough.

I don't have a headache (but then I don't get headaches). I'm not physically sore from withdrawal (yet) I'm kind of stiff from softball last night, but that's not nicotine related.

So, what can I do when this feeling hits. The biggest thing is to avoid nicotine. This feeling will pass. Eventually. I may have some strong desires right now to smoke, but those will be gone in about 62 hours. Also, this is only 11 hours, this is nothing. The real good stuff is yet to come.

If I had a cigarette right now, I'd be at this exact same point tonight at midnight. I'm not willing to do that.

To make this time pass, the easiest way to calm down is to focus on my breathing and take deep breaths. If that doesn't calm me down, I can go for a walk. Triggers kick in the symptoms. Taking a walk will remove me from the trigger, then it's broken.

It's almost the half day point. I've gone longer than this without smoking when I've been asleep. This is just a craving brought on by a trigger. Calm down...

Today will be a day of trigger breaking, tonight should be fun. For me, historically, the second day, around 6 pm, hour 42 has always been the point where I freak out.

I probably won't write about what I'm going through again today, so follow me on twitter (link in the top left) for live updates throughout the evening. It should be a fun day.

phases of the quit (quitting smoking, part 2)

So, you decided to quit smoking. Here's what you have to look forward to.

Seventy two hour of nicotine withdrawal. That's three whole days of withdrawal. Whoo hooo.

Here are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal (from Google health):

• Craving for nicotine
• tension
• irritability
• headaches
• difficulty concentrating
• drowsiness and trouble sleeping
• increased appetite and weight gain

That's the fun stuff. (FYI, this is the third time that I've stopped, but I stop for the wrong reason, so I start again)

Remember, nicotine withdrawal lasts for 72 hours. That's three days. That's just for the physical part of withdrawal.

There's only one way to quit nicotine, and that's cold turkey. Anything else, is not really quitting, now is it? Cutting back isn't quitting. The patch isn't quitting. Gum isn't quitting. Switching to lights isn't quitting. There's only one way, and that's to just stop. (If you smoke more that 3 packs a day, you should cut back for a while, and then quit once you get down to a pack or less a day, nicotine withdrawal can be fatal, as can Delirium Tremens for people who consume large amounts of alcohol).

Once you've decided to start your three days of nicotine withdrawal, what kind of cool stuff can you expect? From my experience, (and remember, I've done this a couple of times) the fun stuff starts about 11 hours in. This leads to the second part of your withdrawal. The first is the nicotine withdrawal itself. The second part is triggers.

Triggers are the things that make you want to smoke. They are the things where normally, you just reach for a cigarette without even thinking. If you smoke a pack a day, you probably have several triggers that you know about, and probably some that you don't realize that you have. Most peoples first trigger is waking up. Cigarettes are part of your "morning routine". For me, I got up, urinated, then went out and smoked. Within 5 minutes of waking up I have my first trigger. The next one happens after getting dressed and ready to leave. If I'm driving myself, I'd get in the car and light up. If I was getting dropped off, I'd get ready quicker and then have one before getting in the car. Then I get dropped off and light up while walking in. That's my smoking routine.

Other triggers of mine include various portions of the road. If I'm going to a certain place, I know where to light up so that I'm flicking it out as I pull in. From my house to Hooters, if I light up on Windsor at the Lincoln Ave stop light, I finish the smoke right when I pull in to Hooters. So, when I get to that light, it's a trigger. You probably have some mile markers and roadside attractions that you light up at. When I was driving from Danvers to Champaign, I'd have three cigarettes on the drive. One after filling up with gas, one at LeRoy, and one just after Mahomet.

During the day, in addition to specific times that you smoke, you probably have various other triggers. If I'd get done working on a problem, I'd smoke. If I spent some time talking on the phone, I'd smoke. If I got done writing a blog post, I'd smoke. Have a meeting? Smoke one before, smoke one after. The meeting only lasted 15 minutes, doesn't matter, have one after.

You'll start to notice triggers, as you come across them. Don't give in. The cool thing about triggers is that once you break it, it's broken. If you are like me (which you might be) a trigger is "I ALWAYS have a cigarette when..." Break a trigger, and you can remove that line. Because you didn't do it once, the trigger is broken. I drove past that stop light, so therefore I don't always have a cigarette when...

The problem with triggers is that they can kick start a physical withdrawal symptom. You can be doing fine, avoiding all your triggers, but then... a bad phone call, and all of a sudden you REALLY want a smoke. Don't do it. If you are serious about quitting, then don't do it. If you want to have that same feeling 10 (or so) hours later... don't do it.

So, to quit:

Step one, don't smoke for 72 hours. Don't have any nicotine during that time. You don't need the patch, you don't need gum, you don't need to cut back, you need to avoid nicotine. Withdrawal starts from the minute you stop having nicotine. It lasts for 72 hours. Any nicotine just adds 72 hours from the end of that.

Step two, break your triggers. Don't always have one when you... Just don't do it.

*man, do I want a cigarette right now*