Some brews, such as Guinness, shine in colder weather while others are more suited to the beachy crowd (ever seen a Corona commercial?). As per American craft beers, plenty of breweries have a summer seasonal in their arsenals, but these eight feature a whole slew of suds to keep you refreshed despite the heat waves (we listed our faves alphabetically).
8. Abita - Maybe it's the local swelter in which they were created, but Louisiana's Abita brews seem well-suited to any hot day, especially Purple Haze, Restoration and Strawberry Harvest -- as fruity as it sounds.
7. Bell's - Some say that spring isn't actually here until Bell's Oberon is released (a notion we far prefer to a neurotic groundhog) and their Two-Hearted Ale may be the best summer IPA in the biz.
6. Brooklyn - Sure, they offer a Summer Ale, but with year-rounds including a nice Weisse, a baseball-adorned Pennant Ale and a refreshing Pilsner, summer in Brooklyn is secure.
5. Harpoon - Harpoon has an aptly named Summer Beer made in the Kölsch style, but their UFO Hefeweizen garnished with a touch of citrus is one of the most drinkable American wheats on the market. The light, crisp Harpoon IPA is only mildly hoppy and is another winner.
We look at what has the beer blogs bubbling these days.
Tonight's screening of "Beer Wars" -- a "no holds barred exploration of the U.S. beer industry" -- is generating a lot of chatter, some positive and some notso much.
A "documentary" from St. Louis's Schlafly Brewery is much less controversial. The takeaway? Beer is good.
Kasper On Tap mulls over the best state for suds-o-philes to live based on the brewery-to-population ratio. Mississippi, you're in trouble, with only one brewery for your nearly 3 million residents.
Finally, according to DRAFT Magazine, a beer at the Masters only cost $2! By modern sporting event standards, that is amazing. We wouldn't believe it unless we saw it with our own eyes: Was anyone there?
It's baseball season, and we're a little obsessed 'round theseparts. The MLB kicked the season off on Sunday when the Braves beat the Phillies, but for us Slashfoodies baseball is as much about beers and brats as it is about worrying how our teams will fare.
With that in mind, this week's Slashfood Ate (8) is dedicated to recent brew-related stadium stories.
Philadelphia Daily News' Joe Sixpack hints at some of the new draft beers at the Phillies stadium.
D.C. Sports Bog brags about the beers at Nats Park this year. And rightfully so. Do any other ballparks offer up Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA?
Not too far up the road in Bal'more, Kasper on Tap reflects on what Camden Yards is serving.
CNBC breaks the story on which stadiums boast cheapest beer prices in the league (the Pirates) and which are the most pricey (thanks a lot, Red Sox Nation).
... But in a sign that the new Yanks stadium is still out of touch with the times, 24-ounce cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon will retail for an absurd $9.
The New York Mets turn up their noses at such piracy, lowering beer prices at their new stadium, Citi Field.
Sports fans, keep your boozin' in line or all of the above will be a moot point: Alcohol sales were banned for game two of the Tigers-Blue Jays series after drunken revelers ruined a rowdy opener.
Seen any interesting new suds offerings as your local ballpark? Can you even afford MLB beer prices in this economy?
Ok, we know it's a little early to talk about apricots, but it's starting to warm up out there and with peak season just around the corner (from May to September depending on where you live) we just can't help ourselves.
The plump, golden-orange fruit is one our favorite farmer's market finds. A fine snack in its dried incarnation, it also makes for stellar tarts and preserves.
Keep it simple with fresh apricots. Drizzle them with honey and pair with ricotta or goat cheese or toss them on the grill. This season we have an eye on Food & Wine's simple recipe for broiled apricots caramelized with honey, an ideal foil for sweet vanilla ice cream. Below are eight tempting recipes to choose from:
Towards the middle of spring, fava beans or as the English call them -- broad beans -- can be found at farmer's markets across the country. Their rich buttery texture and heavenly nutty taste not only complement meats, fish and other fruits and vegetables, but also make them standouts on their own.
Fava beans are eaten around the world as a snack and as a full meal. They're used as essential ingredients in meals ranging from salad to pork shoulder to bean paste. In the Middle East, fava beans are crushed in a sauce and eaten for breakfast in a dish called "ful medames."
In Iran, fava beans are conserved in metal cans and eaten throughout the winter with salt and pepper. They can also be fried and eaten as a delicious crunchy snack, as done in Mexico, Peru, China and Thailand.
To my regular readers, I apologize as it appears I inadvertently happened upon an almost two-week hiatus. The bad news: You missed me.
The good news: We have plenty to catch up on in this week's addition of the Beer Blog Round-Up!
Let's dive right in:
Sick of the same old beer events? Here's a new one for you: a "Simul-cask." Apparently, Dogfish Head has decided to debut their new 75 Minute IPA by simultaneously tapping casks of the brew in four different cities on the East coast at precisely 7:50 EST today. Find additional details as well as participating locations on Beernews.org.
Always worried about his weight, Joe Sixpack discusses the not so easy job of beer calorie-counting (though supposedly mandatory beer labeling is on its way). The post was inspired by the recent release of Does My Butt Look Big In This Beer? -- a guide to the nutritional information of over 2,000 beers worldwide.
Beer Examiner Charlie Papazian wants you to vote for "Beer City, USA." Go help him out and lend your hometown or favorite beer destination some support.
The first seasonal strawberries appear as early as April. The deliciously tart fruit we've come to know today originated in grassy woodlands all over Europe. Find out how to transform these red, ripe, sweet and succulent treats of nature into fabulous desserts.
Strawberries taste delicious eaten plain with a glass of champagne. But in a pie, their juiciness creates a distinctly bitter-sweet flavor that sits on the palate and seems to melt into the pie crust.
Strawberries taste especially rich when paired with milky desserts, like panna cotta and mascarpone. Or, simply add slices of strawberries to a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
This candy-like fruit easily creates a sweet distinctive jam without adding any pectin. Below are eight especially delicious strawberry desserts to try at home:
I will never forget my experience browsing through the open-air market in Potsdam, Germany and discovering the culinary delights of white asparagus. My eyes were overwhelmed by the magnificent sight of thick, extremely straight white asparagus spears. That evening, I cooked this delicate white asparagus and topped it off with hollandaise sauce.
Ever since that experience, I never thought of asparagus in the same way. It went from being a vegetable that I detested throughout childhood to a respected art of nature.
April is the prime month for the asparagus season. While the evenings get warmer, the quantity of the harvest increases. There are four main varieties: green, white, violet and wild. Green asparagus is the one most commonly grown in the United States.
There are numerous ways to use asparagus in a dish. But, as we enter spring, it's time to think about refreshing salads that place this delicious crunchy vegetable at the center. Below are eight different recipes for asparagus salad:
As someone who has spent hours reading about how to perfect the omelet, the Italian frittata is another egg-based culinary delight I admit takes a certain skill. Like making an omelet, you must use just the right amount of ingredients so that the dish is not too cheesy or full of too many mushrooms. A frittata is somewhat a mix of an omelet and a quiche. It cooks over the stove in a skillet and is finished off in the broiler.
When entertaining, I often make frittata, because just one can serve up to 6 people. There are several different ways to make frittata. In southern Italian cuisine, especially Neapolitan cuisine, the frittata can contain spaghetti, macaroni, or another kind of pasta. Check out AOL's leftover spaghetti frittata recipe. A more traditional yet simple frittata might contain onions and Parmesan cheese.
I was grocery shopping yesterday, and I couldn't get my eyes off of cute mini artichokes from California. Ah, the gorgeous produce from California! I bought these artichokes and stuffed them with a marjoram stuffing. I'm a fan of the entire artichoke - the leaves and the heart.
Artichoke hearts taste delicious plain or thrown into a salad. They can also make the perfect braised chicken dish. In Italy, artichoke hearts are mixed with olive oil and transformed into an exquisite spread that's often applied to pizza. Besides stuffing the flower, you can also deep fry it. Or, you can simply go for steamed artichokes with an aioli dip.
Not only are artichokes eaten, but they are also used in drinks. In Vietnam, they're made into an herbal tea. And, in Italy the Italian bitter apéritif liqueur Cynar has artichoke as its primary flavor.
Kumquats are truly nature's candy. Apart from the texture, the taste has a blend of sweet and sour that reminds me of Sour Patched Kids, it's gummy drastically less healthy alternative. Besides snacking on them plain, kumquats make an incredible sauce. They also pair well in a dessert.
They can be candied and then used to decorate and flavor a cake. The hyper-citrus flavors taste exquisite with chocolate or cheesecake. Try it with roasted duck or with braised chicken. Unlike oranges, lemons, and limes, kumquats are distinctly sugary and bitter. Yet, like other citrus fruits, they are versatile and work well in both savory dishes and sweet desserts.
Below are 8 ways to incorporate kumquats into a meal:
When I was in Mexico, I tried a simple sweet and spicy dessert - chunks of pineapple sprinkled with dried chili flakes and salt, and drizzled with limes. A pineapple can be prepared for a complicated dessert or for something as simple as fruit salad.
This exquisite tropical fruit can be grilled or roasted. Recently, I tried Martha Stewart's recipe for grilled pineapple with coconut sorbet. It's the perfect antidote to the cold wintry weather. Pineapples work well in desserts due to its unique tropical sweetness and its bright yellow color. I'll never forget the light fluffy cake toppled with pineapples that I tried last May at Pierre Hermé in Paris.
Studies reveal that certain sweets, like chocolate activate the libido. Just last week, The Times of India had an article reporting on the aphrodisiac effects of chocolate particularly on men. Food scientists tracked down a specific ingredient responsible for these effects - Eurycoma Longifolia Jack.
Chocolates have long been associated with romance. As far back as the eighteenth century, food enthusiasts, like Brillat Savarin, raved about chocolate's corporal effects. So, when thinking about sweets for Valentine's Day, I often think of various chocolate confections and cakes.
Below are 8 chocolates I highly recommend this Valentine's Day:
Dozen Box of Roni's Roses - These chocolates are flavored with rose petal jam, powdered rose petals and exotic rose liqueur. If you're in NY, I highly suggest that you check out Roni-Sue's in the Essex Street Market in the Lower East Side.
Poco Dolce Burt Caramel Tiles - Everything made by Poco Dolce is phenomenal. They have truly mastered the delicious combination of salt and sweet.
Each many Friday afternoons, I sort through the list of recipes, newspaper articles and blog posts that I've bookmarked over the previous week (or two) in order to dish up a tasty assorted eight. Here's the selection this week:
Several weeks ago, Amy made Franks & Beans and I just haven't been able to get them out of my mind.
Love the taste of roasted garlic, but can't quite seem to manage to make it successfully in the oven? CNET's Appliance and Kitchen Gadgets blog introduces us to the counter-top garlic roaster.
I grew up on Swiss Miss hot chocolate - cocoa powder and hot water, as simple as that. While living in Paris, I tried rich thick hot chocolates that made my Swiss Miss alternative seem overly watery and lacking in flavor and texture. So, when I returned to NY, I became intrigued by the many different ways to make this simple drink more exquisite. Mexican hot chocolate is probably my favorite.
If you're looking to spice up your hot chocolate, you don't necessarily have to add anything to the combination besides water, milk, and chocolate. Think about using different kinds of chocolates. For example, a Mexican hot chocolate is made from chocolate that has often been blended with sugar, vanilla and spices, like cinnamon. Taza Chocolate in Somerville, Massachusetts produces a particularly delicious Mexican chocolate that you can purchase online. It's amazing what cinnamon does for hot chocolate.
Of course, you can also create different hot chocolates by adding some rum and a variety of creams. Check out these 8 remarkable hot chocolate recipes below and let us know which ones are your favorite:
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