Thomas Jefferson, keeping in line with his political ideals defined before his day by John Locke, wrote of natural rights. Natural rights for mankind was a fairly radical notion given that the monarch in Britain defined his or her power and authority from "divine right." God ordained it. In writing the "Declaration of Independence," Jefferson had the audacity to say that all of mankind held rights "endowed by their creator," those being "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These rights were "unalienable," meaning the crown nor any form of government could not stand in their way.
The Average Guy takes rights such as these seriously to the point that if I were sitting at Jefferson's side at that point in history, I'd say, "Hey Tommy, consider this to the old list, 'the pursuit of hoppiness.'"* Thomas, it is worth pointing out, was a wine person and credited with the creation of American wines by grafting wine branches from France and taking them to Monticello. So it is logical then that he would have gladly taken craft beer as a worthy pursuit.
Hops were substituted as a key ingredient in beer by the Germans about 500 years ago.... so says Bill Hardy, master brewer and grand proprietor of the Yellow House Canyon Brew Supply store in Lubbock. As he notes, it took the place of some rather unseemly ingredients, and as the Germans hold the ingredients into what can define a beverage as a "beer," hops have become that main ingredient. Hops give it the "bitterness" factor and, as some claim, the mellowing factor of a beer (it's not just the alcohol).
Pale ales are beers dedicated to hops. The IPA, the current rage, is an especially hoppy beer that measures high on the hops' richter scale, called the IBU. Pale ales in general have a high hope factor. Two that Average Guy has tried recently are Shiner's Wild Hare Pale Ale and Mirror Pond Pale Ale.
Shiner is so proud of its Wild Hare that it has a website dedicated strictly to it. Not a fan of overly hopped beers myself, I did enjoy the Wild Hare as it toned down the hoppy tradition of a pale ale as you can see in the specifications of its beer. Mirror Pond has a distinguished hoppy flavor beyond my taste buds, but I think the fan of a pale ale and its hops will enjoy it. Shiner calls its pale ale a "classic American pale ale" while Mirror Pond, brewed in Idaho at the Deschutes Brewery, refers to itself as a classic northwest pale ale.
Neither come close to the rabid hops of an IPA which I tend to avoid, but I will give in eventually in order to provide you with wise words of counsel when it comes to beers.
Try either of these two beers if they are available. Remember, it is a God-given right when it comes to the "pursuit of hoppiness" in 'Merica, by gawd.
*Editor's note - It is worth pointing out that Pursuit of Hoppiness is a beer brewed by the Grand Teton Brewery in Victor, Idaho which I learned as I was typing this. This is meant as an acknowledgement of their trademark and not a review of their beer.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Spring Brake
Spring is in the air here in the South Plains of West Texas, and as such, God (or nature, or Vishnu, or whomever else you the reader hold in esteem) has put a brake on the weather of Artic nature. I am convinced that this was the time of year that settlers in their horse-drawn wagons came to the area and said to themselves, "Beautiful, this is God's country. Let's make our homes here," not realizing God would then release the brakes around mid-April and give us a solid month or two of hurricane force winds. He had them fooled, and as more advanced and high-minded folk, He (or she, or it, or whatever gender/non-gender you assign him or her) has us fooled as well.
We took advantage of the break last week, appropriately named "Spring Break," and our family came together on several occasions to observe the rituals of the cold snap lifting, the geese beginning their long migration north, the whir of lawnmowers starting up, and other familiar sounds of the thaw.
Each Texan is granted a God-given right, ordained by God himself (Leviticus 7), to offer meat for sacrifice via burnt offering and then partake in that offering afterward. Consequently, every Texan worth his or her weight in salt has a smoker of equal or greater proportions to a small house in which to smoke and consume meat in all categories - beef, poultry, pork, fowl, fish, assorted vegetables such as corn on the cob, onions, and creative dishes known or unknown to the end user of the product such as various forms of road kill and other such desired plates.
The days, now the same length as they were before but categorized as saving daylight (please explain that to me logically), gave ample time to smoke an abundance of meat over the break. The beauty of a finely smoked piece of meat (piece weighing less than a ton but over five pounds) is that the time and duration of the smoke is equal to the merriment that surrounds the day. In all, we spent about five days in and around three different cookers - a new gas grill, a smoker, and then a friend's smoker - enjoying such things as steak, chicken, brisket, pork spare ribs, and pulled pork.
Average Guy cannot underscore the importance, then, of how to fill the time while the meat is on the smoker/grill - dominoes, cards, chatting around the table, cigars, wine, and of course the staple to any diet with such things as smoked meat - beer. Now, high-minded educated types (not Average Guy) have a table of foods that mix properly (etiquette) and worthily (taste) with beverages - wines and beers. Rogue Ales (I'm now a citizen of Rogue Nation by the way - even have my freshly minted ID card) even is kind enough to use a legend and figures on the side of each beer telling you what this blends well with. I do enjoy a lighter beer during the smoke, perhaps even a mass-produced kind that is light bodied and not leaning too much on flavor, maybe even best served cold. However, in the event a cigar is lit while the meat is smoking, a lager becomes the choice (although lagers are not light-colored beers alone). With it being Spring Break, a St. Arnold's Spring Bock (seasonal) became that beer of choice. Bock, as was mentioned earlier, means "ram" in German (see Shiner Bock). This is a full, rich dark-bodied beer that flows smoothly and is pleasing in many ways.
With my son back at college, my daughter back on full schedule, my wife back teaching in the classroom (supporting my lazy self), I hope to begin a more consistent review of brew for you. May I recommend, though, the finer things in life like a good day, nice weather, the aroma of smokes in the air (wood of choice, meat, and cigar), and all the other things in life that make it good.
Until next time, I am just the Average Guy seeking the perfect beer one beer at a time for you.
We took advantage of the break last week, appropriately named "Spring Break," and our family came together on several occasions to observe the rituals of the cold snap lifting, the geese beginning their long migration north, the whir of lawnmowers starting up, and other familiar sounds of the thaw.
Each Texan is granted a God-given right, ordained by God himself (Leviticus 7), to offer meat for sacrifice via burnt offering and then partake in that offering afterward. Consequently, every Texan worth his or her weight in salt has a smoker of equal or greater proportions to a small house in which to smoke and consume meat in all categories - beef, poultry, pork, fowl, fish, assorted vegetables such as corn on the cob, onions, and creative dishes known or unknown to the end user of the product such as various forms of road kill and other such desired plates.
The days, now the same length as they were before but categorized as saving daylight (please explain that to me logically), gave ample time to smoke an abundance of meat over the break. The beauty of a finely smoked piece of meat (piece weighing less than a ton but over five pounds) is that the time and duration of the smoke is equal to the merriment that surrounds the day. In all, we spent about five days in and around three different cookers - a new gas grill, a smoker, and then a friend's smoker - enjoying such things as steak, chicken, brisket, pork spare ribs, and pulled pork.
Average Guy cannot underscore the importance, then, of how to fill the time while the meat is on the smoker/grill - dominoes, cards, chatting around the table, cigars, wine, and of course the staple to any diet with such things as smoked meat - beer. Now, high-minded educated types (not Average Guy) have a table of foods that mix properly (etiquette) and worthily (taste) with beverages - wines and beers. Rogue Ales (I'm now a citizen of Rogue Nation by the way - even have my freshly minted ID card) even is kind enough to use a legend and figures on the side of each beer telling you what this blends well with. I do enjoy a lighter beer during the smoke, perhaps even a mass-produced kind that is light bodied and not leaning too much on flavor, maybe even best served cold. However, in the event a cigar is lit while the meat is smoking, a lager becomes the choice (although lagers are not light-colored beers alone). With it being Spring Break, a St. Arnold's Spring Bock (seasonal) became that beer of choice. Bock, as was mentioned earlier, means "ram" in German (see Shiner Bock). This is a full, rich dark-bodied beer that flows smoothly and is pleasing in many ways.
With my son back at college, my daughter back on full schedule, my wife back teaching in the classroom (supporting my lazy self), I hope to begin a more consistent review of brew for you. May I recommend, though, the finer things in life like a good day, nice weather, the aroma of smokes in the air (wood of choice, meat, and cigar), and all the other things in life that make it good.
Until next time, I am just the Average Guy seeking the perfect beer one beer at a time for you.
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