Beer Report

Who Doesn't Love Short Ribs?

Especially When They're Bathed in Beer?

What could be better than cooking with beer and meat? Check out this recipe for braised hoisin beer short ribs with creamy mashed yukons and sesame snow peas from Dave Lieberman.

Ingredients

For the ribs:

3 pounds beef short ribs, about 10 ribs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 to 12 garlic cloves smashed
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
12 ounces good ale (recommended: Bass)
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 cup hoisin sauce
Creamy Mashed Yukons, recipe follows
Sesame Snow Peas, recipe follows

Beer Bellies Chocolate Cupcakes

Great for Beer and Chocolate Lovers

What does every beer drinker dream of? A cupcake that’s titled after their bellies – check out this recipe from the Food Network courtesy of Jennifer Burke for beer bellies chocolate cupcakes.

Ingredients

Batter:

1/2 cup cake flour
1/3 cup Plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 Tablespoon natural malted milk powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ounces stout beer
1 Tablespoon coconut butter
1/2 Tablespoon Meyer lemon juice
2 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 egg, lightly beaten
1 ounce SCHARFFEN BERGER Bittersweet Dark Chocolate (70%), roughly cut into shards (about 1"x 1/4" x 1/8")

Fast Food and Beer/Wine Movement on the Rise

White Castle is now Incorporating Beer and Wine into the Menu

Everyone most likely knows White Castle from Harold and Kumar’s 2004 hit movie where these two well known stoners only crave this food and head on a journey to get the ‘best’ burgers in “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” It’s a 90-year-old hamburger chain known for it’s square “slider” burgers, but now, don’t worry you can get beer and wine if you go to the store in Indiana and most likely nationwide soon.

What Better Way to Celebrate the Holidays than with the Best Brews?

Check out the Most Favored Holiday Beers this Year

There are a lot of products that stock shelves for each holiday, but none quite fill the shelves as when it’s time for the Christmas season. A lot of these items are definitely just a way to capitalize on the season, but who’s to say that these products might not be some of the best to be sold…especially when it comes to beer.

Holiday brews start to hit the shelves around mid-November, after the pumpkin ales are cleared off the shelves. Lining them in their place are heavier and richer brews that capture the holiday spirit that comes with late November to December.

These beers are reminiscent of the holidays since the flavor profiles capture the main tastes of the season, such as chocolate, cinnamon, and even winter fruits to other styles of beer such as porters, doppelbocks and stouts that are made for a quiet and cozy night by the fire with someone special. Read more about What Better Way to Celebrate the Holidays than with the Best Brews?

The Best Winter Beers

Cold ones for cold months

The colder temperatures may be brutal as the sun shows its face less and less, but winter does bring with it its fair share of perks. There's nothing quite like curling up next to a fireplace, drinking homemade hot chocolate, or engaging in snowball warfare. As nasty as winter gets, I never would have wanted to be a kid who grew up without it. And now that I'm an adult, all sorts of new wintry treats are available to me: namely, my favorite kinds of beer.

Can I Have a Latte and a Glass of Pinot Noir?

Starbucks will be Selling Beer and Wine in the Near Future

Starbucks is usually a hot spot for the morning rush, but as things start to quiet down, so do the stores. There has been an ever increasing demand for products that can be sold during the afternoon and evening shift.

The Seattle-based coffee giant announced the plan the week of December 6^th, 2011 to have beer and wine for sale by the end of 2012. The Seattle Times reported that there would be an offering of small plates like almonds and bread with olive oil dip that will be served as well.

Holiday Hangover Remedies

For those with copious amounts of Christmas cheer.

The holidays are upon us and many, like myself, choose to cope with the Seasonal Affective Disorder and forced good cheer by self-medicating, and by that I mean drinking. Copiously. In point of fact, I believe that is the official activity for holiday cheer. Whether it’s to grease the social wheels at the inlaws, ease into the awkward office party, or anesthetize yourself to what will no doubt turn out to be a terrible Christmas, many of us tend to over-indulge on the holidays. However, after the embarassingly emotional tell-all to the father-in-law, after the incriminating photos have been taken at the office party, and after you’ve woken up on a strange floor, it’s inevitably time to deal with the consequences. By consequences, I mean the pounding headache, gut-churning nausea, and dental sweater; the hangover. Here are a few hangover remedies that may just give you an afternoon of your life back. Read more about Holiday Hangover Remedies

Hanson's Making a Comeback?

MMMHop Indian Pale Ale to Launch Early Next Year

In 1997, a newly emerging pop band came out with a tune that would penetrate the ears of millions as we all turned up our dials and became infected with “MMMBop.” The saavy tune that although didn’t make much sense, sounded great, but the boy band and brothers soon disappeared after their number one smash hit. There hasn’t been much talk about Hanson since the late 90s until now. The trio of Taylor, Zac and Issac will soon be selling their own beer. According to AceShowBiz, the promoting their Indian Pale Ale that is reported as their own brew soon and it will be available early next year.

Warm up this Winter

in a Beer Garden

Beer gardens are nothing new as they have been adapted from the German “Biergarten,” which is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local cuisine are served. The concept originated in southern Germany, specifically Bavaria in the 19^th century where darker lager beer was most popular. Since then, the beer garden has become a generic term for open-air establishments where any type of beer is served.

The characteristics of a traditional beer garden usually include trees, wooden benches and solid meals, not snacks or something resembling fast food of any type. The largest traditional beer garden in the word the Hirschgarten in Munich, which seats 8,000. Beer gardens are all around the world including Austria, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Read more about Warm up this Winter

If You've Ever Needed a Reason to Drink Beer...

Here are Just a few

If you have ever found yourself looking for a reason to drink beer, then you’ve come to the right place. There are great reasons to drink beer, not just because it’s great for being social, but it has health benefits as well, here are some:

Beer reduces stress

Alcohol in general has been shown to reduce stress. Studies conducted over the past two decades have identified several factors that render certain people particularly susceptible to alcohol’s stress response dampening (alcohol dampens physiological activity in systems that respond to stress, which subjectively means that alcohol consumption reduces stress) effects due to alcohol-induced changes in the central nervous system.