When it comes to fiery concoctions, I find that only BIG beers are up to the test. Doublebocks and Belgian Quads have enough flavor to add to the taste experience as opposed to getting lost as an ordinary lager or pilsner might. Even many ales evaporate when facing such extreme heat.
My favorite paring is to use a BIG Imperial (also called Double) IPA like The Maharajah by Avery. This beast of a beer is loaded with hops (112 IBU’s) and also super malty. It is so strong in flavor and alcohol (9.7%) that it would completely overwhelm ordinary food. But when paired with my Smoked Wings with Habanero Mash, the “unstoppable force” meets the “unmovable object” and bliss ensues. If your palate (and stomach) are up to a real challenge, give this duet a try.
Contrary to popular opinion/practice beer does NOT help with extreme heat from things like Habanero peppers (or Thai Dragon or anything else that high on the Scoville scale). When you need to put out the fire, dairy products are best- hence the popularity of Bleu Cheese dip (the celery is more or less only a means of delivery). Milk and Yogurt are also very good at neutralizing heat. Bread or dry crackers like Saltines are also good in this role. Beer can still be tasty to drink along with such volcanic dishes (see my next column), but it will not really help dampen the fire. So chugging the whole pitcher will not provide any long-term relief. You’ll still be in pain and also be drunk to boot.
A new study by Statistics Canada, the national statistical agency for Canadian business, economy and society, indicates that more Canadians are putting down a beer bottle in favor of wine.
In 1997, 52% of alcoholic beverage sales in Canada were comprised of beer. Wine accounted for a mere 21% of alcoholic beverages sold.
Ten years later, the sales of beer shrank to 47% while wine increased to 28%. The remaining sales were liquor.
When it comes to dollars, the wine increase is significant. On a per capita basis, wine sales amounted to $187, an increase of almost $14 from the previous year.
Wine enjoyed the most popularity in Quebec. An astonishing 34% of all wine sold in Canada was sold in Quebec; 42% of all red wine sold in Canada was also in Quebec. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick were the only two provinces to sell more white wines than red.
As for beer, the top selling beer in Canada remains Budweiser.
All of this makes me wonder about other countries. What alcohol beverage do you drink most often? And what country are you from?
I was struck by this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday, particularly the following photo caption:
At Shaving Grace in Exton, barber Michael Sgarra shaves Brendan Steiger. The shop has beer on tap and a pool table besides haircuts and shaves.
At my old barbershop they turned the place into a month-long Christmas party in December, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I suppose beer on tap year-round can only be an improvement. On the other hand, if you’re going out for a beer you don’t necessarily want it interrupted by a haircut either, even a fancy one. That’s particularly true as I’ve never been one for the new man-as-a-consumer-of-cremes-and-facials trend. Unfortunately, it shows, so beer on tap and a little more time over at the manscaping-101 site would probably do me some good.
image courtesy of Wikipedia (Hustvedt), GNU Creative Commons License
At the request of the good editors of this blog, I am going to offer up a few columns on food, including some recipes. It may not surprise you to learn that The Friar not only likes libation, but also food in almost all of its wondrous varieties. Now having gone to college in upstate New York, I quickly acquired a taste of Buffalo Wings. In my years since graduation I have made wings in all shapes and sizes with varying degrees of success. The recipe I am about to share with you is a more recent (yet highly delicious) addition to my wing repertoire. I find that the smoked meat pairs beautifully with the very hot yet sweet sauce.
Smoked Jumbo Wings with Habanero Mash
Prep Time: 4-6 hours (not including overnight marinade)
The Wings: It all begins with the wings themselves. You really want to get the largest and highest quality wings you can find, and be sure to keep them whole. The Friar is blessed to live in the City of Brotherly Love and therefore goes to Cannuli House of Poultry in the world famous Italian Market to buy his wings. They cost more per pound than the regular sized variety but the extra meat is needed because of the smoking and to be honest, if you are going to spend this long making wings then you want as much meat as possible to savor when you are done.
The Marinade: Minced garlic - 1-2 cloves per pound of wings. Cheap hot sauce - like Franks or Durkees - 1 bottle per 5 pounds. After removing the wings for cooking make sure you reserve the marinade for use in the sauce.
The Smoking: If you have never used a smoker it would take too long to explain the process here. Anyway use good hardwood chunks (better than chips). Smoking time depends on the heat of your fire and the amount of meat you have put in.
The Crisping: Simply smoking meat can produce a leathery skin that is not unpleasant but I have found that if you throw your freshly smoked wings on the grill for 5-10 minutes the flames get the skin to crisp nicely thus simulating traditional wing crunch nicely.
The Sauce: OK - this is the tricky part to relate because The Friar is not a scientific cook. Also when working with Habaneros, one’s heat tolerance comes into play. Anyway, when I make this mash, I make a large amount and store it for future use. First thing is to Ventilate The Kitchen! Take 6 cloves of minced garlic, 1 minced small onion and 12 minced habaneras (consider wearing gloves when handling the peppers). Sautee in oil. When thoroughly cooked down add 2-4 Tbls of honey. Store in a plastic, air-tight container.
Pour the marinade into a saucepan and add 4 tsps of butter or margarine. Heat to a boil. Turn off the heat. Stir in 1-4 Tbls of the Habanero Mash.
The Finish: Pour sauce over the wings and coat thoroughly. Serve!
Quick Prep Variation: If you do not have a smoker or you do not have the time to use it you can simulate the results by cooking your wings on the grill the whole time and using a smoker box insert (a small metal box filled with wood chips that goes on the flames under the grill surface). Cook over low heat for 1 hour. Turn up heat to high and follow Crisping directions.
Enjoy!
The Friar
Note from the editor - not sure if this is the full-board recipe, but be forewarned, these suckers are melt-your-skull hot, so adjust as necessary.
Blatz Brewery was originally called City Brewery of Milwaukee and was run by John Braun. After John Braun died, his neighbor and fellow brewer, Valentin Blatz married his widow and subsequently took over operations.
Blatz produced Milwaukee’s first individually bottled beer, beginning in 1874. By the 1900s, it was Milwaukee’s third largest brewer, brewing over a million barrels of beer annually. It was also the first Milwaukee brewery to market beer nationally and the first Milwaukee brewery to have an online bottling plant.
Despite its success, Blatz was eventually bought out by one of Milwaukee’s other breweries, Pabst, in the 1960s. It was subsequently sold off and through mergers, oddly enough, became part of Pabst again in 2007. Coincidentally, the CEO of Pabst is said to be Thomas Blatz.
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As a follow-up, anybody know the fictitious “histories” of Shotz, Buzz and Duff beer?
The Detroit Red Wings may have taken home the Stanley Cup but Anheuser-Busch Inc. was the real winner with the National Hockey League this year. The St. Louis based brewery renewed its contract with the NHL to have Bud Light remain the official beer of the NHL for the next three seasons. The deal is rumored to be worth $75 million.
But then, you’re not surprised, right? Bud Light has been the NHL’s official beer since 1998. In addition, Bud Light sponsors 21 of the league’s 24 teams.
Maybe it’s the sponsorships (it can’t be the beer, right?) - Bud Light is the world’s best selling beer.
So here’s a fun poll - in the comments below, list your favorite NHL team and the beer that you think would make the best sponsor (and why).
For anyone who loves life and the people they share it with. Find advice, information, and observations on exciting beginnings and everyday journeys of families and relationships.
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