Home Brew - Campground Kolsch

Campground Kolsch
Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alcohol by Volume: 5.78%
Apparent Attenuation: 78%

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Carapils
• 3 lb Pilsen Light dry malt extract
• 3.3 lb Pilsen liquid malt extract
• 1 oz - Hallertau hop pellets
• 1 oz Spaltz hop pellets
• 1 pkg Wyeast 2565 Kolsch Liquid Yeast
• 5 oz - corn sugar (for priming)

Steps:

1. Push the nutrients container in the yeast bag down the corner and smack it to release the nutrients into the yeast.
2. Bring 2 gallons of water to 165.  Turn off heat.
3. Steep Carapils malts in grain bag for 1/2 hour.
4. Lift grain bag out and allow it to drain (don't squeeze the bag).  
5. Sparge the grain - pour 2 gallons of water through the grain.
6. Bring wort to a boil.
7. Turn off heat and add Pilsen light dry malt extract.
8. Bring wort to a boil and let foam subside.
9. Add Hallertau hops - stirring occasionally  (Leave cover off while boiling)
10. 30 minutes after adding hops, add Pilsen liquid malt extract (tip - soak can in hot water 10 minutes before adding to wort).
11. Bring wort back to a boil.
12. 15 minutes after adding liquid malt extract, add Spaltz
13. 15 minute after adding Spaltz hops, submerge brewpot in a bath of ice water and cool wort to 75F.
14. Pour out the sanitizer in fermenter (save for bottling day)
15. Transfer wort to sanitized fermenter
1. straining through a sanitized strainer to strain out hops
2. strain back into cooking pot (wipe out inside with sanitized rag first)
3. strain a third time into fermenting bucket
4. Add water to equal 5 gallons while straining back and forth
16. Take Original Gravity reading (ours was 1.056)
17. Pitch the yeast (add it to the wort)
18. Cover fermenter with a sanitized lid and plug with sanitized airlock (with sanitizer in it) 
19. Allow beer to sit and ferment in 60 area away from light for 2 weeks

We made this beer in May. Most days the temperature was between 65 and 70, so Tim decided to keep the beer cool by placing it in the bathtub filled about 2-3 inches with cold water (sometimes he added ice), draping a wet t-shirt over it, and putting a fan to blow on it. I'm not sure how much cooler this kept the beer, but after tasting it, it must have done the trick. The beer is a bit cloudy, but Tim thinks it is because of low flocculation. After "lagaring" it in the fridge for a few weeks it is beginning to be much more clear.

Enjoy :)

Our Tasting Notes:
  * light taste - slightly malty
  * creamy finish
  * good carbonation
  * very balanced 

Hudson Valley

Practice camping ... definitely something one should do before heading out on a cross-country road trip. In the end, though, what we thought would just be a functional dry-run ended up being a magical weekend! More than anything else, it made us even more excited for our trip out west.

We left the city right after Tim got off work and headed over to Paramus, NJ to stop by Campmor and pick up a few supplies (ie: bed rolls, a ground cover, camping pillows, etc.) We were in a hurry because we wanted to get up to our campsite before dark, but I wish we could have spent an hour or so in there. It is a great spot, with amazingly knowledgeable workers, to pick up camping gear.

Friday Night
We made it to our campsite around 8:30/9:00. Setting up the tent was a breeze. Then we tried to put the rain fly on ... oh my! It started to drizzle, was getting very dark, and (most importantly) we hadn't eaten dinner yet! After several failed attempts we decided we just needed to eat and get to bed. So, we left the rain fly as we had it, got some pizza at a town nearby, and then went to bed. The next morning we had the rain fly on correctly in less than 5 minutes - apparently we just needed food and rest for our brains to think clearly.

Saturday
We woke up to the sound of birds, the weather was perfect, our neighbors offered us coffee, the
showers at the campsite were warm, and the diner where we had breakfast was a great find! From there, our day only kept getting better.

We drove to a local craft distillery - Tuthilltown Spirits. The location of the distillery is picturesque. There are two old buildings on the property used to be part of an old gristmill operation. One of the buildings is now a restaurant and the other is where they sell their liquor. (a new building has been added on the property for them to distill). We took a tour of the distillery; it was so neat to hear the process and know what they were talking about. The process before distillation is exactly the same as making beer. After the tour we had a tasting session. We weren't quite ready to leave, so we bought a bottle of hard cider, borrowed two glasses, sat on the porch swing, and enjoyed the weather and view.

Then we drove up to Poughkeepsie to walk across the Hudson River on a footbridge. The views from the bridge are phenomenal.

Next on our list to visit was Hyde Park, FDR's home. We took a guided tour of the house and then explored the Presidential Library. This was the first presidential library that either Tim or I had been in and it was fascinating. We weren't expecting it to be like a museum (we wonder if they are all like that). The whole museum was curated fabulously - we need to go back because we didn't have enough time to see it all before it closed for the day.

For dinner, Tim had found a craft brewery, Peekskill Brewery, that he wanted to check out, so we made our way down the Hudson to Peekskill. The city is right along the river and has a beautiful waterfront park. After eating and drinking we decided to spend some time in the park.



Sunday
Sunday morning was equally as gorgeous. After packing up the campsite, we made our way back down to Peekskill. We had breakfast outside at a quaint cafe right along the park. Then we spent some time exploring Peekskill. They have a fantastic used bookstore, Bruised Apple Books, where we spent a lot of time.



From Peekskill we started making our way back to NYC. Our last stop before heading home was Croton Point, the widest part of the Hudson River. Tim and I climbed down a mini-cliff to dip our toes in the Hudson River.

Beer Dinner - April 2014

Invitation

What better way to celebrate our love of food and beer than to throw a beer dinner - 5 courses paired with 5 beers.

The dinner was tons of work (!), but also tons of fun! I enjoyed the whole process - planning the menu, choosing the beer pairings, decorating the table, cooking the courses, and visiting with friends.

Tim spent several hours writing detailed and thoughtful beer pairing notes. Here are a few videos (thanks to Anna!) of his pairing deliveries.

Session Beer - Six Point Sweet Action
A session beer is a highly drinkable beer with low alcohol content. Because of the low alcohol content, it's the perfect type of beer to drink when you are going to consumer several beers in a short period of time. We started off the night with this - no food pairing, just something to start sipping while everyone arrived.

AMUSE BOUCHE

Food 

Zucchini slices stuffed with crab meat and topped with an almond pesto

Beer Pairing 

Victory Prima Pils

APPETIZER

Food

Asparagus pizza

Beer Pairing

Perle Bred Pale Ale (homebrew)

ENTREE 1

Food

Pork tenderloin served on a bed of sautéed spinach and topped with an orange garlic vinaigrette

Beer Pairing

Samuel Adams Double Bock

ENTREE 2

Food

Pasta carbonara

Beer Pairing

AleSmith Old Numbskull 

(American Barleywine)

DESSERT

Food

Ille Flotante

Beer Pairing

Delirium Tremens

Home Brew - Perle Bred Pale Ale

Perle Bred Pale Ale
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alcohol by Volume: 6.3%
Apparent Attenuation: 79%

Ingredients:

•  8 oz - Caramel Malt 20L
• 8 oz - Cara-Pils 1.5 L
• 3.3 lb - Golden Light liquid malt extract
• 3.3 lb - Golden Light dry malt extract
• 1 oz - Perle hop pellets
• 1 oz Galaxy hop pellets
• Safale US-05 dry ale yeast
• 5 oz - corn sugar (for priming)

Steps:

1. Boil 2 cups of water and allow to cool in a sanitized jar - to use for re-hydrating yeast later
2. Bring 2 gallons of water to 165.  Turn off heat.
3. Add the crushed grains to a straining bag and seep in water for 1/2 hour
4. Lift grain bag out and allow it to drain (don't squeeze the bag)  
5. Sparge the grain - pour 1 gallon of 165 water through the grain
6. Bring wort to a boil
7. Turn off heat and add Golden Light dry malt extract
8. Bring wort to a boil and let foam subside
9. Add Perle hops - stirring occasionally  (Leave cover off while boiling)
10. 30 minutes after adding hops, add Golden Light liquid malt extract (tip - soak can in hot water 10 minutes before adding to wort)
11. 15 minutes after adding liquid malt extract, add Galaxy hops
12. 15 minute after adding Galaxy hops, submerge brewpot in a bath of ice water and cool wort to 75F.
13. While wort is cooling, rehydrate the yeast by adding sanitized yeast pkg to boiled and cooled water.  Cover and let sit for 15 minutes - gently stir.
14. Pour out the sanitizer in fermenter (save for bottling day)
15. Transfer wort to sanitized fermenter
1. straining through a sanitized strainer to strain out hops
2. strain back into cooking pot (wipe out inside with sanitized rag first)
3. strain a third time into fermenting bucket
4. Add water to equal 5 gallons while straining back and forth
16. Take Original Gravity reading (ours was 1.060)
17. Pitch the yeast (add it to the wort)
18. Cover fermenter with a sanitized lid and plug with sanitized airlock (with sanitizer in it) 
19. Allow beer to sit and ferment in 65-70 area away from light for 2 weeks

Dry Hop:

• Add 1 oz. of galaxy hops in a cheese cloth bag 5 days before bottling

Enjoy :)

Our Tasting Notes:
  * strong fruity smell
  * dry finish (slightly hoppy)
  * good carbonation
  * very balanced - not a strong hoppiness, not overly sweet
  * fruity

Home Brew - Rough Draft Rye Saison

Tim and I love beer.  So, learning how to brew our own beer seemed like a natural hobby for us to pick up.  Our birthday presents to one another this year was a beer-making class and beer-making equipment ... and so the hobby began :)

Our Beer Journal

On January 3rd, 2014 we brewed our first beer - a rye saison, which Tim has decided to name "Rough Draft Rye" (Saison).

Rough Draft Rye (saison)
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.006
Alcohol by Volume: 7.09%
Apparent Attenuation: 90%




Ingredients:

•  2 lbs - rye malt
• 1/2 lb - 2-row carapils malt
• 1/2 lb - caramel malt 60L
• 1/2 lb  - caramel malt 40L
• 1/2 lb - caramel malt 20L
• 6.6 lb - CBW Pilsner Light malt extract
• 1 oz - Northern Brewer Hop pellets
• 1 oz - Chinook Hop pellets
• French Saison yeast
• 4 oz - corn sugar (for priming)

Steps:

1. Push the nutrients container in the yeast bag down the corner and smack it to release the nutrients into the yeast
2. Bring 2 gallons of water to 165
3. Add the crushed grains to a straining bag and seep in water for 1 hour
   
1. we used a cloth bag instead of nylon, but will be switching to nylon for our next brew
2. we had trouble keeping the water at 165, it may have gone up to 180 for 2-3 minutes around minute 17 
4. Lift grain bag out and allow it to drain (don't squeeze the bag)  
5. Add 1 gallon of water
6. Bring wort to a boil
7. Add 1st Pilsner Malt extract
8. Bring wort to a boil and let foam subside
9. Add 1 oz Chinook hops (set timer for 30 minutes)
10. After 30 minutes, add 2nd Pilsner Malt extract and let foam subside
11. Set timer for 25 minutes after adding 2nd malt (immediately)
12. After 25 minutes, add 1 oz Northern Brewer hops
13. 5 minutes later, turn off heat
14. Cool wort to 70
15. Transfer wort to sanitized fermenter
1. straining through a sanitized strainer to strain out hops
2. strain back into cooking pot (wipe out inside with sanitized rag first)
3. strain a third time into fermenting bucket
16. Add water to equal 5 gallons
17. Take Original Gravity reading (ours was 1.060)
18. Sanitize yeast package and scissors - add yeast and cover with sanitized lid
19. Plug with sanitized airlock (with sanitizer in it) 
20. Allow beer to sit and ferment in 65-70 area away from light for 2 weeks 

Measuring Original Gravity (left) and Fermenting Bucket with Airlock (right)

Bottling:

• Create priming solution -
•  corn sugar + 2 oz water 
• boil for 10 minutes
• let cool to 70
• Sanitize 48 bottles and caps
• Take final gravity
• Calculate alcohol by volume 
• Calculate attenuation
• Gently add priming sugar mixture to empty fermenting bucket
• Gently rack beer - ie: transfer beer to fermenting bucket containing the priming sugar mixture via a sanitized plastic tube
• Attach sanitized bottling rod to the fermenting bucket
• stop when you get to the bottom (don't want to add the yeast residue)
• Fill bottles and cap with sanitized caps
• Allow bottles to sit for 2 weeks in a cool dark room
• Refrigerate bottles you want to drink 1 week before drinking  (We didn't wait a week for our first beer ... a few hours seemed like more than enough time!)

 
Enjoy :)

Our Tasting Notes:
  * fruity and spicy - classic saison taste
  * slight caramel undertones
  * dry (bitter) finish
 

Top Chef: June 2013

Our friends and a lovely couple, Torey and Jim, hosted a Top Chef dinner competition in January of 2013.  Torey and Jim would be competing against one another in a round of 5 courses - each paired with a wine, cocktail, or beer. We came ready to eat, not expecting the food to be so impressive to look at and eat.






There were four courses that evening:

• Amuse Bouche
• Appetizer
• Entree
• Dessert

Since both Torey and Jim prepared all four courses, we actually ate eight courses!  We never knew who had prepared which dish.  At each place setting was a scorecard, which we used to rate each dish on:

• presentation
• taste
• execution
• "wow" factor

It was a magical night that everyone decided needed to happen again.

So, the new tradition continued in June of 2013.  This time it was Tim and I competing against our friends, Ian and Katie.  We had the challenge of competing in Torey and Jim's house - so we had to schlep all of our food and plating items to their house where we assembled before serving.  An added challenge was that their building's gas lines were not working - so we had to work without a stove or an oven.  We made do with a microwave and an electric skillet.

I spent several weeks leading up to the competition scouring websites and magazines for recipes that could be made ahead of time and would impressive when assembled.  We did do a test run of a few of the recipes:

• scallops - dry scallops are worth the extra price over wet scallops
• cachapas - we had to figure out how to make it look fancy when serving it 
• strawberry ice cream - surprisingly tricky to make
• almond cake - thankfully we did test this out because our first recipe turned out more like an almond brownie instead of an almond cake

We also took a trip to Crate and Barrel to purchase some cute plating items to make our presentation a bit more impressive!  

Here are the menus for each duo.  I have listed Tim's and my menu first in each category.
We tried to take pictures, but in the rush of everything we missed photographing one or two courses.

AMUSE BOUCHE:

 
Summer Berry Salad in a Parmesan Cup
Assorted berries are tossed with basil and arugula in a parmesan cup accompanied by a mixed-berry gastrique.

 





Minted Watermelon Salad with Honey Yogurt Sauce
Watermelon and other seasonal fruits are macerated with lime and mint and paired with a creamy, tangy sauce.





APPETIZER:

 
Seared Scallops with Pea Puree
Seared scallops are served on a sweet pea puree and sprinkled with a gremolata of parsley, lemon zest, and shallots.  Crispy pancetta adds a slight crunch to each bite.

 



Goat Cheese Crostini
Toasted bread is topped with rich goat cheese, prosciutto, asparagus, or peach, a drizzle of honey, and a dusting of black pepper.




ENTREE:

Cachapas with Adobo Roasted Chicken
Venezuelan sweet corn cakes are served with chicken in adobo sauce and topped with queso fresco.  They are paired with two sauces of distinct Latin American origin: Chimichurri, a parsley-based Argentine sauce, and Aji Amarillo, a slightly spicy Peruvian sauce.



Beer-Braised Carnitas Tacos
Pulled pork tacos feature a chili-lime sauce, fresh mango-black bean salsa, and avocado wedges.  Tacos are served with traditional arroz con tomate.

Dessert:

Almond Cake with Strawberry Ice Cream
A slice of almond cake is served with fresh strawberry ice cream and a reduction of balsamic vinegar is drizzled on the side.

 
Torta di Rocotta
A ricotta cheesecake is scented with citrus and amaretti and paired with fresh berries and a raspberry-citrus glaze.






In the end, it was just as fun to be in the kitchen as it was to be eating and judging.  Ian and Katie were a great duo, but somehow, Tim and I were the winners of this Top Chef competition.  I think we can look forward to a brunch version in the coming months :)

Prague

Last, but definitely not least, is Prague.  People rave about Prague, and I always wondered how they can be so sure that it is the most beautiful city in Europe.  What could set it so far apart from all the other cities that I think are fabulously gorgeous?  I am now one of those people that raves about Prague.  I was sure I was going to be underwhelmed after having my expectations set so high, but I was still floored.

Of course, I can't piece together when we did what, but I'll just share a few highlights here:

The Architecture
Everywhere you look there are beautiful medieval and renaissance buildings.  It's not just a small old town section, the whole city is . Each building is so unique and has a refreshing lack of uniformity that can be found in many European cities (ie: Paris, Vienna).  It gives it a feeling of a quaint town, but on the scale of a large city.  This is really what struck me so strongly and why I was not underwhelmed, but instead overwhelmed by how impressively gorgeous the city is. As trite as the saying is, "pictures cannot do it justice."

Folk Dinner and Dancing
One excursion that we went on was to a location just outside of the city where they host traditional dinner and dancing.  It was a a bit touristy (we were tourists of course), but tons of fun.  Uncle Steve and I even got to dance a traditional Czech dance together :)

Just Palling Around Prague
Regardless of where we were or what we were doing, we always had a great time.  We took a walking tour of Prague, ate delicious meals, toured a small town in the country, braved the trolly system, explored a castle, and wandered aimlessly through meandering streets.

 St. Agnes Convent
 This convent fascinated me - it was so ancient and felt fully of mystery.  It was built in the 1200s with the simplicity and austerity that you would expect from a convent.  However, in contrast to the cathedrals and castles we were touring this plainness was part of its beauty.

Austria

Unfortunately, by Austria my daily exercise of jotting down what we did that day ended.  I had to lead a day-long professional development the day I after I returned and the reality that very little was complete on the presentation forced me to spend my free moments working on that instead. :(

Here are a few highlights from the trip, with much fewer details, but better than nothing.  As Uncle Steve has predicted, the detail and time spent on chronically each section of the trip declined in the same way the last child in the family has almost no proof that they even had a childhood while the first child has 100 pictures from practically every day of their first year.

DAY 1

Beer Garden
We stumbled upon this beer garden in the park just outside of our hotel within the first hour of arriving to Vienna, and it was arguably the best part of our stay in Austria  We crossed a street, entered the park, and were immediately greeted by the welcoming site of tables and chairs nestled in a tree-shaded alcove.  Our daily respites here, after several hours of site-seeing and before heading out for dinner and/or a concert, became the perfect transition from day to evening.

Ballet at the Vienna Opera House
The Vienna Opera House did not disappoint. How I managed to forget to take any pictures of this is beyond me, but Day 1 is completely undocumented in pictures for me.

DAY 2

Schonbrunn

We started the day with a general  tour of the city, part of which included a tour of Schonbrunn.  The palace reminded me a lot of Versailles, which after learning of the connections between Austria and France from that time period made sense.  Marie Antoinette, famous for her marriage to French king, Louis XVI, was actually the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and grew up in the Schonbrunn palace.

Naschmarkt
At the end of our tour we were dropped off at the Naschmarkt which is a famous outdoor market.  It is extremely cramped with vendors and restaurants shoved into a narrow area, but the tight space lends to the high energy of the market.  We grabbed lunch at a tiny restaurant before heading out on our own.

Museum
Our next stop of the day was the Kunsthistorisches Museum.  We did not spend much time here, but enjoyed seeing the large ceiling in the museum which was painted by Mihaly Munkacsy.

 Mozart Concert 
We ended the day with a wonderful concert of famous Mozart pieces played by musicians dressed in the style of his time period.  While the concert was not held at the Vienna Opera House, the building where it was located was also absolutely gorgeous.
DAY 3

Lippizanner
The day for Aunt Elaine and I began with a trip to see the Lippizanner horses.  We left early so we could get a good seat to see them training and practicing with the horses.  Even the training area for these horses looks like a palace.
Around Town
For our afternoon, we decided to just wander through the streets, which was a great way to see the city.

St. Stephens and St. Peters
In our wanderings we stumbled onto two different cathedrals.  As cathedrals are not Uncle Steve's favorite, he pulls out some reading materials, finds a nice spot to sit, and relaxes while Aunt Elaine and I explore them.

St. Stephens was being renovated/restored, but it was still stunning.  The ceiling of St. Peters dome was painted beautifully. You could even take an elevator up most of the way to the top of the main dome before climbing several flights of stairs to finish the trek up to the very top - where I believe a dove was painted if I remember correctly (Although, I'm probably completely wrong).