Disaster Area

One of my least favorite jobs is keg cleaning. 

To be crass, it sucks.

Doing a good job is critical, so it takes a very long time, with a lot of waiting time mixed in.  Our little brewhouse was not originally equipped to do large-scale keg cleaning, so I've had to be innovative.

That said, it's a necessary evil.  But, this time around, it's in anticipation for another first for the St. Francis Brewery.  Tomorrow, I'll be heading westward to represent the SFB at the:

Here, I will make 1600 new friends and offer up four of our tasty beers.  The event kicks off at 1 pm, so if you're in the area, pick up a ticket and stop on by.

 

The Dude Cooks

If you've met me, you know my robust physique exposes my love of food.

At an early age, my Mom--a wonderful cook in her own right--instilled in me a love of cooking. She taught me how to cook as a child, and I always found it enjoyable.

In college, I used this love of cooking to woo ladies. It worked! I can thank the talents my mom taught me, in part, to land my wife of seventeen years.

My love of the culinary arts propelled me to start a gourmet club with four other couples. We get together about five times a year to take part in themed dinners. This has been going on for about six years.

The other day, I was chatting with Chef Ron about incorporating more of my beer into the dishes that the St. Francis Brewery offers. I got to thinking about our root beer. It can be a wonderfully versitile ingredient. I decided to experimant a little in my kitchen to come up with a root beer based barbecue sauce.

I reduced an entire growler of root beer to one cup.  I added ketchup and mustard, cholula sauce, cider vinegar, salt and pepper and a little unsalted butter, and simmered it for twenty minutes.

The result?  It was a very sweet sauce with a good heat punch.  I'll try it on some ribs this evening to see how well it works with food.

I'll share some with Chef Ron to see what he thinks.  Who knows--maybe you'll see a root beer barbecue sauce on the menu some day.

Since I was in "Sauce Mode" today, I decided to try one other. 

I love Worcestershire sauce.  I use it as a base for my steak marinades.  However, I find many store bought Worcestershires to be weak.  What the heck.  Why not try making homemade?  I dug around the internet for some recipes and decided to try one out.

This one has eighteen ingredients.  Among them are tamarind paste, anchovies and St. Francis' Doppelbock.   After a three hour reduction, I'll strain all the solids out and bottle it up for myself and some family members. 

Cooking and brewing go hand-in-hand.  If any of you have some ideas for combining beer and food, fire off a comment! 

The Judging Panel Is Set

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Second Annual Homebrew IPA Contest is happening in April. 

I am proud to announce that I've gotten commitments from a slate of judges that are All-Stars.

Your judging panel will be:

Russ Klisch--President of the Lakefront Brewing Company
Jeremy King--Manager of Northern Brewer
Dave Bass--Brewmaster at Milwaukee's Rock Bottom
Ryan Hartman--General Manager of Milwaukee's Rock Bottom
Mike Romans--Proprietor of Roman's Pub, recently included in Draft Magazine's Top 100 Beer Bars in America
Suzanne Thompson--Leader of the Sensory Group at Miller Coors Brewing
Robert Morton--Brewmaster at the Milwaukee Brewing Company
and George Bluvas--Director of Brewing Operations at Water Street Brewery

As was the case last year, the judges will be paired and each pair will evaluate 6-8 submissions.  The top scorers will advance to the final round which will be evaluated by the entire panel to determine a winner.

Good luck to all entries!

Turning It Up To Eleven!!

a.k.a. Cleaning Out The Cooler

Throughout the year, I tend to keg off some of the seasonal beers.  I like to keep them to offer something special for Brewmaster Dinners or other special events.  However, there's a fine line when it comes to beer storage.

We do not pasteurize or add any preservatives to our beer.  Alcohol and hops act as natural preservatives, but craft beer is best served fresh. 

Therefore, for the first time in our history, there will be a total of ELEVEN beers on tap.  I'll debut this at tonight's Mug Club Doppelbock tapping.  Once these extras are gone, they're gone!

Here's our beer list for this evening:
Kolsch
Amber
Weisse
Nut Brown Ale
Stout
Doppelbock
Maibock
Saison
Pumpkin Pie Spice Ale
Harvest Strong and
Oktoberfest

Mug Clubbers may enjoy the Doppelbock this evening.  Everyone else is welcome to stop in Thursday and beyond for any of our offerings.

Final Brew of 2010

Brewing up the Kolsch today.  Beer #104 for the St. Francis Brewery.

After that, there will be a couple of days of minor tasks in the Brewery, a couple of tours, and then a few minutes of reflection on the year.

During those minutes, I will try to put together a pictoral "year in review" featuring some fun times the Brewery has hosted over the past twelve months.  Who knows?  Maybe some of you will appear??

With that, I want to thank all of you who have tipped back a pint or two, or enjoyed the kitchen's wonderful offerings.  Thank you Mug Clubbers who remind me monthly what is one of the best parts of this job.

Thanks to the staff and fellow managers who keep the place running.

I wish you the joy of the Season and the hope of an even better 2011. 

Enjoy your New Year's Eve.  Please, celebrate safely. 

Scott

That Odd Time Of Year

So, our First Annual New Year's Eve Party is coming at the end of the week, and I have no idea what to expect, beer-wise.

At every party that I've ever attended that had an open bar, the party-goers lean toward cocktails over beer.  I think people think they're getting more bang for the buck.

Regardless, this week will be spent making sure all the tanks are full.  Transferring a Nut Brown tomorrow.  The Doppelbock is done fermenting and tastes wonderful.  Plus, it will only get better as it lagers. 

The Chocolate Hazlenut Porter is almost gone.  I'm a little surprised by how quickly it is selling.  St. Francis seems to favor the lighter beers over the darker ones, but lots of folks are taking this one home in growlers.

Tonight I made pork chops braised with Victory's Moonglow Weizenbock.  They turned out great, but the beer didn't come through very well.  Next time, I'll try a stout.

The Gift of Beer

Looking for a great gift to give the Beer Lover in your family?

How about a gift basket from the St. Francis Brewery?

You get two weisse glasses.  A half-gallon glass growler, and a coupon for a free fill of one of our craft brews.

All for only $25!

Plus, you may add a gift card for any denomination.

On behalf of the staff at the St. Francis Brewery, I'd like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed Holiday Season.