| Beer Gourmet News
January 2010 - Issue 2 |
| Greetings! |
 Along with the New Year comes excitement and anticipation for what the year will bring us. Here at Fahr Beverage we are looking forward to a bigger and better year with new surprises along the way.
We are happy to announce that we will now be distributing Millstream Brewing Company beers of Amana, Iowa. You can find out more information on all of the Millstream beers that we distribute on Our Brands page on the Fahr Beverage website.
Here are just a few beers you should watch for:
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| Beer Gourmet Pairings |
Following Restaurants in the Cedar Valley have Beer and Food Pairings. Check them out!
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| Upcoming Event |
The Third Annual Beers to You and Gourmet Too plans are underway for this wonderful fundraising event for the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
3-7pm at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa.
Come Sample more than 40 beers paired with gourmet food from 30 of the Cedar Valley's top restaurants!
Tickets are available at the event website or by phone 1.319.273.4TIX
$35 Friends Members
$45 Non-Members
You don't want to miss the Cedar Valley's PREMIERE Beer & Food Tasting!
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| Tasting Basics |
Enjoyment of a beer comes from appearance, aroma, taste, mouth-feel and drinkability.
Appearance is the way the beer looks as you hold it up to the light. Is it clear, what is the color of the liquid, what carbonization?
Aroma, is when you hold the glass to your nose and what volatile components are we smelling. Remember there are 10,000 different aromas.
Taste, is what non-volatile components are perceived on the tongue like, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory. Everyone's taste receptors are more sensitive than others, so this is a matter of opinion.
Mouthfeel, are the tactile sensations in the mouth such as cold/heat, drying, fullness/viscosity, and astringency/puckering.
Drinkability, is basically whether it is wonderful and enjoyable and if one sip leads to another. | |
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| Cheers to 25 Years! |
 Boston Beer Company is Celebrating it's 25th Anniversary of Samuel Adams Boston Lager and to commemorate the year, they are taking Boston Lager retro. Starting in January you will see Boston Lager packages in the market with it's original packaging for a limited time.
Samuel Adams Boston Lager is the company's flagship beer and the one that Jim Koch is most proud of. Following his great-great grandfather's recipe for a rich, amber lager, Jim Koch used only traditional brewing processes as well as the finest ingredients to brew his Samuel Adams Boston Lager®. So grab a pint of Boston Lager, hold it up high..."Cheers to 25 Years!" |
| Samuel Adams Noble Pils |
This year, the Beer Lover's Choice Program had the highest number of tasters in its five year history, with more than 68,000 votes casts during more than 1,300 tasting events held across the country over the summer.
The voters response to the new Noble Pils was so enthusiastic, with 37,855 votes, that the brewers have decided to make Samuel Adams Noble Pils the new spring seasonal brew. Samuel Adams Noble Pils, a hoppy pilsner beer brewed with all five Noble Hop varieties, will be available nationwide beginning in mid-January replacing Samuel Adams® White Ale as the spring seasonal and in the Brewermaster's Collection 12-pack. |
 John's Generations White Ale |
 White Ale's are belgian style of beer, often refered to as "Wit" beer. Millstream's version of this classic style is a wonderful spicy brew, infused with coriander and orange peel. It has a crisp refreshing flavor, and a slight 'white' haze from the large percentage of wheat used in the mash.
Millstream produced this beer for John's Grocery of Iowa City, the largest and most famous beer and wine retailer in the state of Iowa. The business has been handed down to three Generations of the Alberhasky family, and thus the name.
This beer has quickly become a favorite beer in Iowa, and is also very highly rated. |
| Millstream - Schild Brau Amber |
 The name Schild Brau means essentially 'Shield beer' in German. This is Millstream's Flagship brew, a Microbrew done in the style of the special beers of Munich. This beer is brewed in the style of a Vienna style lager. This style was first developed by Anton Dreher in Vienna in 1841. He used a new type of sweet caramelized malt that gave the beer a wonderful reddish, coppery color and a juicy malt character. Word soon spread to Germany where this style of beer became immensely popular, and stronger versions called Marzen or Oktoberfest were soon made. Millstream's beer uses these same malts to attain a perfect balance between malty sweetness and a firm bitterness. There Hallertau hops are imported from Germany give it subtle spicy flavor. The repeated awards that we have received for this beer only confirm why many people consider this beer to be synonymous with Millstream Brewing at its best. |
| Millstream - Iowa Pale Ale |
 Pale Ale's on the coasts of this country are turning into hoppy monsters, but this beer is more mild, and about balance. It has enough bitterness to match the maltiness provided by the pale malt base. It gets its citrus zing from extensive dry-hopping with Cascade hops. This beer was first made in a few small test batches in 2003. The response was so incredibly positive, that it has worked it's way into a year round beer. A hoppy IPA in the central plains... how exciting! | |
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| BBQ Shrimp & Avocado Salad |
1 cup black beans soaked in 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup Samuel Adams Boston Lager overnight
2 tbsp bacon, diced
2 tbsp diced onion
6-10 jumbo shrimp
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Additional 4 oz of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 diced avocado
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 red onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & Pepper
For the bean mixture, cook the bacon in a saucepot for about 5 minutes over medium-heat, until the bacon fat starts releasing. Add the onions and sweat for 2 minutes. Add the black beans and cover with water. Cook unitl the beans are soft, refilling with water when necessary.
In a hot saute pan, sear the shrimp in 1 tbsp olive oil on both sides |
| Slow-Cooker Chicken Paprikash |
3 tbsps all-purpose flour
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup Millstream Iowa Pale Ale
8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrot
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups sour cream
In a bowl, combine the flour and chicken, tossing well to coat. In an electric slow-cooker, combine chicken mixture, beer, stock, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, carrot, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Just before serving, stir in the sour cream.
Cooks Tip: Serve this traditional dish with egg noodles, mashed potatoes or orzo.
Makes 6 servings |
| New England Clam Chowder |
 1 bottle Sam Adams Light 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup fresh clam juice
2-3 cups heavy cream
2-3 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
2 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1 cup diced russet potato
1/2 cup fresh chopped clams
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup melted butter
Fresh parsley sprigs for garnish
In a soup pot over med-high heat, cook the carrots, bell pepper, onion, Italian seasoning & garlic in hot butter until vegetables are crisp tender. Stir in the flour and lower the heat to low making sure to mix until well blended forming a roux. Cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes to fully cook out the flour taste.
Add the Sam Adams Light, clam juice, potatoes and the heavy cream. Rais the heat to med-high and simmer the soup for 10 minutes or until the soup is lightly thickened and the potatoes are cooked. Stir in the chopped clams & continue to simmer for about 5 minutes longer to fully cook the clams. Be careful not to overcook them. To serve place soup in bowls and insert 3 croutons with a parsley sprig in the center.
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Thank you for signing up for the Beer Gourmet Newsletter! I hope you enjoy getting new recipes each month. If you have friends and family you think would love to read about new brews and could benefit from some new, exciting recipes, please forward this email using the link below.
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