Belgian Wit

August 26th, 2011 Comments off
This brew has been in the works for quite some time.  It is for my neighbor, Dick, who is a pretty zany guy.   When we moved in, I started getting him hooked onto “better” beverages.  It has been both fun and entertaining.

Lately, one of Dick’s favorite beers is Hoegaarden; aka, that refreshing orange-flavored beer.   This was a special batch as he was able to join me for the brew session (#53).   It is really just Jamil’s recipe but I tuned it a little for my system.

Beer Label - Tricky Dicks Belgian Wit
Categories: Beer, Food & Drink, Recipes

Wine Spectator’s Best Baltimore Restaurants

July 22nd, 2011 Comments off
This article from the Baltimore Business Journal caught my attention.   “Three restaurants — Della Notte Ristorante, the Black Olive and Capital Grille — earned the Best Award of Excellence. The ranking is the second-highest award dished out by Wine Spectato”

Am I the only one who thinks Wine Spectator missed quite a few restaurants with excellent wine lists?    Some of the entries on the overall list are questionable at best.   Just my $.02.

Categories: Food & Drink, Wine

The wit and what that has been left behind

April 10th, 2011 Comments off

Via Stan Hieronymus – Pierre Celis has died.    He brought wit, AKA “Belgian White”,  back from the dead in the form of Hoegaarden and the now defunct Celis Brewing in Austin, TX .     Thank you Pierre – well done mate.

Categories: Beer, Food & Drink

Giving up food for Lent

April 9th, 2011 Comments off
No, I wouldn’t even think of trying this myself, but this interesting nonetheless.    He is giving up all food and attempting to live solely on beer.   Check out this link for the full story.

"Three hundred or four hundred years ago, a group of Paulaner monks in a Bavarian region had made a stronger beer in a town called Einbeck and they called it bock. The monks started making a stronger beer, a double beer, called doppelbock," Sorensen said. "The story goes the monks would give up eating and literally would drink this ‘liquid bread’ to sustain them through their Lenten fast."

Categories: Beer, Food & Drink

Maryland Direct Wine Shipping Law Problems

March 31st, 2011 2 comments

It allows 18 shipments per year, but Maryland citizens are only allowed to buy wine shipped directly from wineries. The bill does not allow people to buy wine from retail outlets or auction houses.

Sorry everyone – you aren’t going to be shipping in that hard to find beer.  

More details here.

Categories: Food & Drink, Wine

Maryland Wine Shipping Bill Passes

March 25th, 2011 1 comment

Hooray – some of my civil rights were actually restored today.     Maryland has finally done what 37 states have previously recognized.

It’s clear that this bill isn’t everything that everyone wanted, but it represents progress and I’m glad to take it.       With that said, I still feel that the distributors are entirely too strong in this state.    Short and simple – their lobby killed the effort to be able to buy wine from any retailer.

UPDATE: More info here.

Categories: Food & Drink, Wine

Duesenberg’s American Café and Grill

February 5th, 2011 Comments off
Tucked in the heart of Main Street Catonsville, MD hides a great little lunch place – Duesenberg’s.

The wait can sometimes be long (not many tables), but this place serves up all your favorite American classics at reasonable prices.    French Dips, Burgers, Mac N Cheese ….

I highly recommend this place for lunch if/when you are in the area.
More reviews here.

Duesenberg's American Cafe and Grill on Urbanspoon
Categories: Restaurant Reviews

Wine Shipping to MD Update

February 4th, 2011 Comments off

Considering that Sen. Joan Carter Conway was instrumental in not allowing the bill to get out of committee last year, this is great news.

Via CNBC…. “Sen. Joan Carter Conway, D-Baltimore, on Thursday told lobbyists and two lawmakers during a gathering in a Senate committee room that a bill to legalize direct shipping would be passed.”

Conway later states the obvious…..

"We’re going to give you something," Conway told the group. "It might not be something you’re all going to be happy with."

Stay tuned.

Categories: Food & Drink, Wine

Lifting the ban of wine corkage in MD

January 28th, 2011 2 comments

This article from the BBJ says that Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Frederick County all support this effort.     I’m all for it, but doubt it will get the traction it needs to really happen.

The simple fact is that the restaurant association is against this because this is cutting into their highest profit margins.    It is a reality that restaurants charge 2-3x the wholesale cost they are paying for liquor, wine & beer.

Categories: Beer, Food & Drink, Wine

Freezing Weather and Corny Kegs

January 25th, 2011 Comments off

Just a small note that it isn’t wise to leave a full Corny keg of sanitizing liquid outside during freezing weather.    Yeah – it’s ruined.   Sad smile

Categories: Homebrew