Category: Drink

Drink these beers now

Look, I know, when you think beach time and summertime, you don’t think about porters and stouts. I don’t either, except sometimes I do.

From May through September beer enthusiasts are drinking and talking about beers that are crisp, fresh, light and bright, and that’s great. I’m all for it. Most of the time in the summer, that’s what I want too.

You have to shake things up, though. You just do. Sometimes things just get a little too crisp and a little too bright, and nothing resets your palate in summer quite like a rich porter or stout.

Now, OK, I’m not suggesting that you crack open a Guinness at 1 p.m. on a blazing hot summer day at the beach. You’d regret that move. Not every day is a blazing, hot summer day at the beach, though. Especially in New England — though admittedly perhaps not this summer — you have plenty of days at the beach or at the lake or in the mountains where cool breezes stand out more than the fiery sun, so seize those moments and treat yourself to something a little richer.

Imagine taking in the summer sunset on a cool, clear New Hampshire evening with a decadent coffee stout. It’s truly hard for me to imagine something more relaxing and more satisfying than that. I want that experience right now and I think you should want it too.

This notion really came to me a week or so ago when I was on vacation enjoying a porter called “Portah” by Barnstable Brewing of Hyannis, Mass. The deep richness and complexity was unlike anything I’d drunk recently and it was invigorating as I, wait for it, took in the sunset at the beach.

Here are four stouts and porters you should try this summer.

Granite Stout by 603 Brewery (Londonderry)

This is big on chocolate and coffee and I really do think that’s what the doctor ordered. I think summertime is about enjoying something a little extra. Maybe you say yes to that ice cream run on a Tuesday night because it’s summer. Or maybe you have this decadent, delicious brew instead of the ice cream. (Or you have both.) At 8 percent ABV, this is one you can savor over the course of an evening.

Campfire by Throwback Brewery (North Hampton)

This is a smoked robust porter, which, yes, makes it the perfect accompaniment to a campfire or to hearty, grilled meats and barbecue, so says the brewery. This brew is in fact robust, but at 6.4 percent ABV this is much more palatable in terms of its heft than you might be thinking. You’ll pick up smoky notes for sure, along with pronounced rich malts, but again, neither is overpowering. In addition to grilled meats, I think this would pair well with a wide range of foods.

Draken Robust Porter by Kelsen Brewing Co. (Derry)

While the roasty, toasty malts are the defining characteristic here, I think you get a bit more sweetness on this one than you might expect. To that point, the brewery says, it has flavors of dark fruit and raisins, in addition to coffee, chocolate and caramel. This one has layers of complexity to appreciate and savor.

Black Cat Stout by Portsmouth Brewery (Portsmouth)

If you get this on tap, the brewery uses nitrogen, which produces a thick, rich, creamy brew boasting big flavors of chocolate and coffee. This one is pretty dry, and I mean that in a good way. I wouldn’t really refer to a stout as refreshing but this is very easy to drink and one I wouldn’t hesitate to order on a summer day or evening.

What’s in My Fridge
Things We Don’t Say by Wandering Soul Beer Co. (Beverly, Mass.) This was tremendous. Just one of those beers that makes you say, “Yup. That’s real good.” This is a “New England Double IPA brewed with flaked oats, white wheat, and aggressively dry hopped,” according to the brewery. It’s got the citrusy burst that you want, coupled with a balanced finish — and not overly bitter. Find this one for sure. Cheers!

Featured photo: Don’t overlook stouts and porters in summer. Courtesy photo.

Make every day a rosé day

With this incessant heat, what can be more satisfying than a cool glass of rosé wine, either as an aperitif or with a salad or light meal?

Rosés should be served at about 50 to 55 degrees, and an opened bottle should be kept on ice after opening to keep the last glass as cool as the first. Rosé wine comes in countless styles — fruity and fun, or savory, dry and serious. Rosé is produced worldwide, and while southern France, Italy and Spain are well-known for producing rosés, California and New Zealand and other parts of France are entering into this growing market of wine styles. Rosé is made from red grapes, but with just a brief period of skin contact with the grapes in the making of the wine — usually just a few hours to a couple of days — and fermentation in cool stainless-steel containers, the wines are intended to be consumed while they remain quite young.

Our first wine is a bottle of Luna Rosé 2018 (originally priced at $17.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets and reduced to $8.99) and hails from Napa, California. Luna Vineyards dates from 1995, when the current owners of the property brought along with them not only their generations of vineyard management but also some of Italy’s varietals. They were the first to plant pinot grigio in the valley, and this rosé is made from sangiovese grapes — yes, the same grapes that go into Classico Chianti! The color is a beautiful shade of pink. Both the nose and the taste are light and full of fruit. This wine is perfect for sipping or paired with chicken or pork. As a young, inexpensive wine, this is a great place to start an introduction to wine. It is neither too dry nor too sweet. As a young wine, it does not have a strong presence.

Our second and third bottles of wine come from “Down Under.” Kim Crawford 2019 Rosé (originally priced at $15.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets and reduced to $11.45) hails from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. This region and especially Kim Crawford are known for world-class chardonnays and sauvignon blancs. Primarily made from merlot grapes and cool fermented, this wine has a beautiful pink color and a nose of strawberries and melons. The taste is crisp and dry and would pair well with summer salads. The merlot grape has a rich, robust flavor, and when turned into a red wine is paired with steak or other hearty fare. As a rosé, this wine is light and is a big departure from that full-mouth flavor of a merlot red wine.

The other New Zealand rosé is an Oyster Bay 2018 Rosé (originally priced at $14.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets and reduced to $10.99) and also hails from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. This rosé is made from pinot noir grapes. It has a light pink color and has notes of cherry and strawberry to the nose. The berry and herb notes of pinot noir come through to the tongue, allowing it to be paired with appetizers as varied as lamb lollipops and grilled chicken. As with the Luna, this is a good wine for the newly initiated as the flavors are not challenging and there is a medium acidity to the tongue.

Our fourth rosé might be considered a French traditional rosé. The J Mourat Collection 2019 Rose Val de Loire (originally priced at $15.99 at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets and reduced to $12.99) does not come from Provencal, France, known for its diverse rosé winemaking styles, but as its name implies it comes from the Loire River valley. This vineyard is along the western reaches of the Loire, so the climate is treated to warm days and cool ocean breezes at night. The blend of pinot noir, cabernet franc, negrette and gamay grapes imparts a color that is a rich rose, along with aromas and flavors of raspberries and strawberries. With some citric acidity and minerality, and a dry finish, it is perfect for hot weather dining of chicken or salads.

So, beat the heat with any one or all four of these vastly different takes on what is becoming a popular style of wine, the rosé. You will be surprised with the diversity in this style of wine.

Drink these beers now

When it comes to beer, sometimes you just need someone to steer the ship for you, a trustworthy friend who can serve as your guide when it comes to choosing a brew — because let’s be honest, there are just so many to choose from. Even if you can narrow down your style, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Look, I don’t mean to suggest you can’t make a decision for yourself, but you already have to make so many decisions each and every day. Should you shower before your first Zoom call of the day? Which shirt should you wear for that Zoom call? And, then, once the Zoom call starts, should you even keep your camera on?

It’s stressful.

Obviously, if you can navigate that battlefield, you can surely pick out a beer. But your brain might appreciate it if I do it for you just this once.

So here goes. Here are three beers I’ve had recently that I have thoroughly enjoyed and that I think you will too.

Rainbow Dome by Grimm Artisanal Ales (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

I don’t want to be too dramatic but this one kind of blew me away. Sours, as I’ve said many times, can be hit or miss for me personally, but this was a resounding hit. This is a dry-hopped sour ale “brewed with apricots and conditioned on oak,” and the result is a bright, fresh, tart, juicy sour ale that absolutely delighted my taste buds.

This brew, which pours pretty close to the color of an orange creamsicle, features a pronounced hop character, making this an excellent choice for the IPA lover who has thus far steered away from sour ales. There is some light oakiness and some lingering, pleasing bitterness. Just a wonderful brew for a hot summer day.

Your only problem might be tracking this one down. I found this one in a Craft Beer Cellar in Westford, Mass. Good luck in your quest.

Baby Seal Pool Party IPA by Shebeen Brewing Co. (Wolcott, Conn.)

The label features baby seals enjoying a pool party with a puffin serving as lifeguard — absolutely zero chance I wasn’t giving this one a shot. And I’m glad I did.

Shebeen dubs itself “Connecticut’s only Irish brewery,” and, hey, that may be true but by my count only one of the 20 beers listed on their website was in any way Irish, but who cares? Not me. Literally all of their beers sound amazing with very creative labels and names, such as “Puffin Puffin Pass” and “Alpaca Blanca.”

Baby Seal Pool Party is a New England-style IPA brewed with lactose, which might sound a little scary, but really, the resulting brew is hazy, juicy, and also kind of sweet and creamy, and that’s kind of the point of the lactose. You get the big citrus hop character you’d expect, alongside an extra sweet and juicy package.

Is my stomach still trying to digest the lactose nearly two weeks later? Yes. But was it worth it? Yes.

Mountain Time Premium Lager by New Belgium Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, Colo.)

It’s just a beer — a crisp, refreshing, flavorful beer that makes your taste buds say thank you as you drink it way too fast on a hot day. But seriously, this was light and refreshing but also really satisfying and when I say that, I mean it has a lot of flavor. It has more sweetness than you normally get from a Pilsner but it’s still in that same light, bright package you expect.

I would want a few of these by my side when I’m sitting at the beach.

What’s in My Fridge
Citra Brau by Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers. (Framingham, Mass.) Nice and hoppy but extremely light, this is just an excellent all-around, anytime brew that you will probably want to keep a steady supply of. Cheers!

With stops in Loire River Valley and Piedmont region

Take a virtual trip to two famous European wine-producing regions. Imagine the chateaux of the French Loire Valley and the hilltop towns of Italy’s Piedmont region.

Our first wine comes from Montoire sur le Loir, France. Domaine Le Montoire 2018 Sancerre (originally priced at $51.99, and on sale at the NH Liquor and Wine Outlets at $25.99) is a real delight. This is comprised of 100 percent sauvignon blanc grapes and is a wine many shy away from as it frequently tastes of grapefruit or grass. This wine does neither! The color is of straw, with just a slight bit of green. To the nose it has fruit and floral notes along with a bit of lemon zest. To the mouth the citric notes are dominant, with the ever so slight bitterness of marmalade, turned to a very slightly sweet lemon dessert-like finish. This is not a sweet wine, nor is it a bitter wine. This is a very light wine that when chilled can be sipped on a late summer afternoon, along with some fine triple crème cheese and summer fruit: peaches, raspberries, or strawberries. For entrees, light seafood, such as scallops or shrimp, or white-fleshed fish would pair well with this wine.

This wine comes from a vineyard of about 34 acres, planted about Crézancy en Sancerre, a small village of about 500 people in the central Loire River Valley region. The soils are of clay and limestone, which give the wine its slight minerality. The Loire crosses the mid-region of France, just south of Paris. Its proximity to Paris has provided the valley the opportunity to become a major source of wine to the capital of France from its earliest times. Given its wide climate range and chalky soils, the 200-mile-long valley has become the source of an amazing variety of wines. The Loire is also home to an incredible number of grand chateaux and estates constructed from the 1500s to the 1700s in this same central region of the Loire River Valley, the source of this light, bright Sancerre.

Our second wine comes from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, approaching the borders of France and Switzerland. Nezzoni Barolo 2014 (originally priced at $39.99, and on sale at the NH Liquor and Wine Outlets at $19.99) is a prime example of a Barolo wine that is produced from nebbiolo grapes. The Piedmont is a region of Italy blessed with compact villages and roads with hairpin turns as they traverse the many hills and valleys that make up the terrain of sand, clay, gravel and glacial moraine. Almost every inch of land is dotted with vineyards. According to its label it is “refined for at least 36 months in large Slavonian oak casks before bottling. Rich, complex, with delicate tannins and great balance. Pairs well with game, red meat, elaborate main courses, truffles and mature savory cheeses. Serve at 60.8-64.4 degrees F.” The color is ruby to amber and somewhat translucent. To the nose it is spare; to the mouth it is very dry with pronounced tannins. Paired with our barbecued ribs, it was perfect as the wine cut right through the fat of the ribs and the sweet and sourness of the sauce.

This wine is of the 2014 vintage, a vintage plagued by almost incessant rains up until just before harvesting. I fully expect this Barolo should be able to cellar as well as more fortunate vintages for a predictable 20 years. In fact, there may be a true bargain in picking up this Barolo at 20 bucks a bottle!

Beer can be a marinade too

I love the complexity, texture and flavor that a rich, dark beer can bring to a big pot of slow-cooked, braised beef stew. And I love how a crisp, lighter brew adds another dimension of flavor to a big pot of chili. And what’s not to love about a pint of Guinness-flavored ice cream?

But what about marinating a steak in beer? That I wasn’t so sure about. But really, why not?

It’s summer and nobody wants to braise a big hunk of meat on the stovetop when it’s 90 degrees outside. But lots and lots of people do want to stand outside (probably with a beer in hand) as they man their respective grills — especially with the Fourth of July upon us.

First, marinating meat with beer isn’t a new concept, even if it wasn’t something I’d attempted previously. Beer adds flavor and it helps tenderize the meat as well, so all good things. But I struggled more with what kind of beer to use and what meat to use it with.

Based on my research and experimentation, there really aren’t any hard and fast rules. It really depends on what type of flavor you’re trying to impart to your meat.

A lighter beer like a Pilsner or lemony wheat beer would be a nice choice to marinate chicken breasts or maybe even fish filets, like salmon. But a pale ale or an IPA would also add some flavor and complexity to those same chicken breasts or some pork chops or pork tenderloin.

I tend to think darker beers like dry stouts or German dunkels work well when marinating steaks or even just mixed into a burger.

But really, it’s your call, and it’s honestly going to be kind of hard for you to mess it up so don’t stress.

Here’s just one recipe to consider — think of it as a baseline more than anything.

Featured Photo: Try using beer in your next marinade. Photo by Jeff Mucciarone.

Beer-marinated pork chops
12 ounces of beer
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup of minced onion or shallot
2 bone-in pork chops
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients in a zip-close bag and refrigerate for a few hours. Give the pork chops an hour or so to come up to room temperature. Pat the chops dry. Turn on your grill and when hot, toss on the pork chops. Cook them over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until they develop a nice crust on each side. Take them off and let them rest for 5 to 10 minutes. If you have a significant amount of excess marinade, you could simmer it on the stovetop for 5 to 10 minutes and use it as a delicious sauce. Of note, I used a pale ale in this marinade but I think you could use just about anything. Enjoy.

What’s in My Fridge
Sluice Juice New England IPA by Bent Water Brewing Co. (Lynn, MA) This New England-style IPA has big citrus aroma — a breathtaking amount of citrus actually, mainly orange flavors. The beer itself is delicious, very smooth, mild bitterness. This is what you’re looking for when you choose a New England-style IPA. I had it straight out of the can at first and that was great, but I actually preferred it out of a glass as I felt like I picked up more of the aromas. Cheers!

Need to try
The Portsmouth Brewery is offering a Citrus Vanilla Sour that both scares me and intrigues me. This is “a light bodied beer with the addition of orange peel and vanilla beans … [and] a touch of caramel malt is balanced by the tart pithy-ness of the citrus,” according to the brewery. I’ve got to get my taste buds on that.