Sign
up for our |
BrewNews |
Check out our Website at: |
||
Volume 2, Issue 1 |
In this Month's Issue: |
Drink a Wee Bit of History | Recipe for Cold Duck Champagne | Monthly Food Recipe |
Drink a Wee Bit of HistoryBy Richard T Curtin |
||
Article courtesy of Suite101.com | ||
"This is the best beer I've ever tasted in my life". That's a quote from my friend Victor after every new beer he tastes. I love his enthusiasm but I doubt his sincerity. You see, he says it a lot. We have the wonderful opportunity to hang out with the proprietor of a beer store that’s boasts over 500 beers from around the world. That's a bunch of "best beers". I try to be more selective in my 15 or 20 favorite beers, but my preferred beer of the moment is Fraoch Heather Ale .
Pronounced (fray-uhk) this Scottish ale is as unusual as it is delicious. Heather is a wild, flowering shrub. Scotland has ten million acres of wild heather which flowers from July to September. It was used in the brewing of ales long before hops hit the scene. Heather Ale from an ancient Gaelic recipe for "leann fraoich" (heather ale) it has been revived and reintroduced to the Scottish culture. Heather ale has been brewed in Scotland since 325 BC by the Picts, a Celtic tribal race who defended their land from Roman, Saxon, Briton and Viking invasions. However, traces of a fermented beverage made with heather flowers have been found by archaeologists dating back to 2,000 BC on the Isle of Rhum. Archaeologists there discovered a Neolithic shard containing traces of a fermented beverage made with heather flowers. Heather ale is part of Scottish folklore: Celtic fairytales, poetry, ceilidh stories and legend surround the historic brew, including the mystery of how the first whisky was accidentally distilled by warming heather ale over a fire. The Highland clans drank heather ale from cattle horns. If you don't own a cattle horn I recommend drinking the beer slightly chilled from a fluted glass or wine goblet. Weighing in at 5% ABV., Fraoch Heather Ale, has a light amber color with a light to medium body. The beer has a floral, peaty aroma. It has a full malt character, a spicy herbal flavor and ends with a nice dry wine like finish. The maltiness of this brew complements rich and spicy foods. |
||
Check out our website at http://www.griswoldmountain.com | ||
Article Source: Suite101.com |
Recipe for
Cold Duck Champagne |
||||||
January and the New Year is the time for popping a bottle of the ol' bubbly. Our Cold Duck is easy to make and fantastic for those celebrations through the year. | ||||||
Cold Duck Champagne
Recipe Directions: In a large pitcher, dissolve the sugar in lukewarm water. This make take several pitchers to adequately dissolve all the sugar. Pour this into the clean, sanitized carboy. Mix each can of juice with a pitcher of water and also add to the carboy. Activate the champagne yeast according to directions on the packet. We use one cup of warm water and stir well. Let it stand 5 minutes. Pour the yeast into the carboy and stir thoroughly. Top off the carboy up to the neck. Add the bubbler. Ferment in your carboy for three weeks.
After three weeks, clean and sanitize the bottles. In a large measuring cup, mix and dissolve one cup of sugar with one cup of warm water. Add one tablespoon of this mixture to each bottle. Siphon your fermented champagne into each of the 26 bottles. Top off each bottle to half way up the neck, about two inches from the top. Cork each bottle with plastic corks using a capper. Tie each down with wires. Bottles will be carbonated in 3 to 5 weeks. The champagne is very sweet early in its life, much like a wine cooler (the ladies really enjoy it in its early age). The longer you let the bottles set, the drier it becomes. It is excellent regardless of its age.
|
Check out our website at http://www.griswoldmountain.com |
Frank Holes, Sr. is the Vice President of Griswold Mountain Brewing Company and a distinguished crafter of homemade champagne and cordials. |
Recipe of the Month: Roast Loin of Venison with Savory Wine Sauce
|
||||||||
Roast Loin of Venison with Savory Wine Sauce This is an excellent dish for a cold January evening.
|
||||||||
Check out our website at http://www.griswoldmountain.com | ||||||||
Email us at griswold@griswoldmountain.com |