Whisk(e)y, Craft Beer, and Philly Food News For The Week Ending 8/11/2012

Sullivans Cove Tasmanian Single Malt Takes Gold and Two Silvers in London

Luxury Tasmanian single malt whisky Sullivans Cove, won Gold with its French Oak Cask and two Silvers with its American Oak Cask and Double Cask whiskies at the global whisky tasting competition, the World Whisky Masters today in London.

In the highly competitive challenge that saw Sullivans Cove take on other single malts from around the world, it was the Tasmanian that ended up with top prize in the super-premium category. 

Judging panel chair and whisky commentator Neil Ridley said, “The highlights were undoubtedly Antipodean-themed, with Tasmania’s Sullivans Cove distillery creating the biggest surprise of the day with their consistently well produced range of single malts.” Competition judge Shannon McCoy was especially impressed with Sullivans Cove’s offerings, remarking on their unique style compared to other international single malts. 

Between large gulps of whisky Patrick Maguire, Sullivans Cove’s Distiller, was unsurprisingly very excited with the results: “We have put some really hard work into making the best whisky that we can over the years, and it is such a good feeling to consistently come out on top on the world stage!”

These latest medals add to Sullivans Cove’s growing swag of awards won over the past five years in the major international whisky tasting challenges, including Liquid Gold Awards from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible in 2007 and 2010 as well as three gold medals at last year’s World Whisky Masters and “Best Other Single Malt” (for non-Scotches) at the World Whisky Awards in 2007 and 2011.

The World Whisky Masters is part of The Spirits Business’s Masters Series, one of the world’s biggest and most influential spirits blind tasting competitions.

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JG Domestic to Host a Fish Fry with Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery

PHILADELPHIA, PA – On Saturday, August 25 beginning at 6:30 p.m., JG Domestic (2929 Arch Street, 215-222-2363), the acclaimed restaurant and bar that celebrates American ingredients, will serve a fun, down-home Fish Fry with beer pairings from Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery.  For $55 per person, plus tax and gratuity, guests will enjoy a family-style spread by Chef de Cuisine Renaldo Alfonso and a fantastic selection of Bell’s award-winning beers. 

“A summertime fish fry is a backyard tradition – and we’re elevating this comforting meal with top-notch ingredients, including fresh perch from Lake Michigan, and beers from one of that region’s best craft breweries,” says Chef Alfonso.    

The dinner will kick off with a reception featuring House-Made Dried Pork Sausage with house mustard and sourdough baguette and Grassfields Farm Lamont Cheddar Cheese.  Guests will then sit down for a meal including:  JGD Fish Fry featuring Lake Michigan Perch and house tartar sauce;  Sides such as assorted pickles, coleslaw and house fries; Organic Greens Salad with pickled cherries, almonds and cherry-stout vinaigrette;  Beef Pasty, beef turnover pie;  Parker House Rolls with whipped butter and sea salt;  andBlueberry Pie with lemon meringue ice cream. 

The entire meal will be paired with a variety of Bell’s Brewery beers, including:  Oberon Ale, fermented with Bell’s signature house ale yeast mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas;  Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale, defined by its intense hop aroma and malt balance;  Amber Ale, with a mixture of toasted grain and light caramel notes and a range of floral, citrus and herbal hop notes, capped by a clean bitterness;  Porter, which emphasizes the darker, roasted aspects of malt with hints of dark chocolate and freshly roasted coffee;  and Oracle Double IPA, a West Coast-style double India pale ale with an aromatic punch of dry-hop intensity and aggressive bitterness. 

Bell’s Brewery was founded in 1985 and has since grown into a regional craft brewery that employs more than 165 people over an 18 state area, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington, DC.  They brew more than 20 beers for distribution, as well as a wealth of other small-batch beers served at their pub in Kalamazoo, The Eccentric Cafe.  For more information, please visit www.bellsbeers.com.   

Since opening in late 2010, JG Domestic has garnered incredible reviews.  The Philadelphia Inquirer awarded them a coveted “Three Bells: Excellent” review, noting that “having a meal at JG Domestic is to be reminded of the deep stores of untapped culinary horsepower that still drive Garces…the service is friendly yet refined.”  Reviewer Craig LaBan had especially kind words for the ever-changing menu: “This kitchen is flexing its muscle through vivid seasonal flavors drawn from across the land, and, as a result, more spontaneity than most any other Garces restaurant…the only physical threshold really being tested at JG Domestic will be your ability to stop eating.”  The New York Times highlighted JG Domestic, praising their burger as “a beefy dream” and calling their mushroom and cheese flatbread, also available during happy hour, “a gloriously refined, grease-free hangover remedy.” 

For more information, or to make a reservation, please call (215) 222-2363, visit www.jgdomestic.com, follow them on Twitter (@JGDomesticPHL) and like them on Facebook.

Beer Review – Bell’s Oberon Ale

I picked up this bottle of Bell’s Oberon Ale during a recent lunch time beer run to The Foodery. I didn’t plan on picking this up, but since I remember enjoying the Oberon Ale last summer, and since I had yet to review it, I just had to buy a bottle. The fact that there was a mini heat wave in the Philly weather forecast also influenced my decision to buy a bottle of this summer seasonal from our friends in Comstock, MI.

Below is what Bell’s Brewery has to say about their Oberon Ale:

The best part of Philly Beer Week is the cheese?

Photo courtesy of Cherry Grove Farm

My excitement each year for Philly Beer Week comes down to one word “Discovery”.   Each year I set out to find something new.  Taste a new brew, meet a new brewery contact, or learn some neat beer facts.  Yesterday was our annual Ale Monger led Booze Dancer Philly Beer Week mini pub crawl (separate recap post to be prepared by G-lo) and I didn’t have my discovery moment until our last stop.

Sudsy Sunday Report

Wrapping another weekend and enjoying some beautiful weather, G-LO and I, along with honorary Booze Dancer “Crazy Eye”, kicked back on my deck Sunday night and had some great brews (pictured above). 

Beer Review – Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

It’s been a controversy filled week for the craft beer loving community. Here are some of the headlines from across the internet:

• MLCC taking an obscene stance on beer’s name – The Michigan Liquor Control Board bans the sale of Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Belgian IPA.
• Goose Island Brewery of Chicago is selling to Anheuser Busch.
• Bell’s Brewery issues a cease and desist order to Northern Brewer (a home brewing supplier) for selling their Three Hearted Ale home brewing kit which is a clone of Bell’s Two Hearted Ale.

All of this controversy and brew-haha makes me want to drink! Since I just happen to have a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale in the fridge, I thought I would give it a try

Lunch and Beer Review – Misconduct Tavern, Center City Philadelphia + Bell’s Hopslam

“I was just told that the meeting that is scheduled at 1PM today is being postponed until further notice. Please remove it from your calendar.”

- Actual text from a work email received at 10:44AM on 3/3/2011

I’ve been to Misconduct Tavern on two occasions. Once during a post-Christmas bar crawl on a frigid Tuesday night in 2009, and one other time last summer for a quick beer before dinner at Devil’s Den. Thanks to the above email, my afternoon was freed up and I could head on over to Misconduct Tavern for some lunch, and possibly score a pint of Bell’s Hopslam which has been all the rage on Twitter and the blogs for the past couple weeks (second only to Russian River’s Pliny the Younger). Since dining and drinking alone is rarely fun, I gave Limpd a call to see if he could join me. He also had a meeting free afternoon, so we decided to meet up at 12:30.

Beer Review – Bell’s Expedition Stout

Since it looks like the bitter cold weather is back, I’ve decided to try a dark and menacing beer this evening. Though 27 degrees is definitely cold (the current temp out there), I really shouldn’t complain, because it’s not going to get above 30 degrees in Kalamazoo, MI until at least Sunday. Kalamazoo, MI is the home of Bell’s Brewery, but since I’m sure you’ve read our review of the Bell’s Pale Ale, you already knew this.

The Expedition Porter is Bell’s version of a Russian Imperial Stout. Here is a description of this beer from their website:

“Bell’s Expedition Stout offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months, the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.”

I’m not sure how I feel about aging beer, since I generally lack patience (I want my beer and I want it now! Not in six month or a year from now). I’ll leave that kind of work to our friend Miracle Max. Let’s find out how this beer tastes today…

Beer Review – Bell’s Pale Ale

Kalamazoo! That is the town in Michigan where the original Bell’s Brewery and The Eccentric Cafe (their brewpub) are located. Their main brewery is located 15 miles away in Comstock, MI. Bell’s Pale Ale is available year round, and their website offers up the following description:

“Unlike so many of its citrus-oriented cousins, Bell’s Pale Ale favors more herbal, earthy hop aromas. Bitterness is firmly anchored in a depth of malt body, allowing the hop flavors to be bold & appreciated without sliding into aggressiveness. These combine with the malt body to create an exceptionally drinkable pale ale.”

• Appearance: Pale orange and somewhat cloudy. Some sediment is evident, and it eventually settles to the bottom of the glass. Fluffy, half inch head that dissipates slowly. Moderate lacing clings to the glass as you drink it down.
• Aroma: Orange and lemon peel. Yeast. Mild hop scent.
• Taste: Medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel. Citrus flavors at first, followed by a moderately bitter finish.

The Bell’s Pale Ale is very different from the other Pale Ales that I have had over the past few months (Dale’s Pale Ale and Great Lakes Burning River in particular). While the other two beers have an ABV above 6% and a much stronger hop flavor, the Bell’s Pale Ale is noticeably lighter in both flavor and alcohol content (5.2% ABV). While it’s not my favorite pale ale, it is very well balanced and session worthy. Much like the Bell’s Oarsman Ale, this would be a very good beer to have on a warm summer day.

Quick and Easy Sunday Dinner and a Beer Review Featuring Bell’s Oarsman Ale

11AM. Sunday morning. Mostly empty fridge. The usual “Hey Honey! What do you want for dinner?” discussion begins…

Mrs. G-LO was in the mood for some roasted cauliflower, but wasn’t sure what to serve as an entree. Since I was in a decisive mood, I suggested that I make some cheeseburger sliders (they’re relatively inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare, and the kids may actually eat them). Though american cheese and ketchup would be fine for the boys, I thought the wife and I should have something a little different. Carmelized onions, melted Cabot horseradish cheddar, and Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce would be our slider toppings. Here’s the finished product…

Talk about a quick and delicious meal! Wifey hooked up the cauliflower and I hooked up the sliders. Carmelizing the onions took the most time, but it was easy and didn’t require much effort beyond slicing the onions and occasionally stirring them in the pan while they cooked over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. If I had to do it all over again, I would look for a better quality bun. Although the Pepperidge Farms Slider Bun did the job, I think a potato roll or perhaps something more substantial would be better. Can you say mini ciabatta? Maybe next time.

Since I planned to stay up and watch Game 2 of the Philadelphia Phillies/San Francisco Giants NLCS series, I decided to go with a session ale to accompany my meal. With an ABV of only 4%, I thought that the Bell’s Oarsman Ale would be a good choice, and not make me too drowsy (it’s not like you can predict when a baseball game is gonna end). The Oarsman Ale is classified as an American Pale Wheat Ale, which is basically an American version of a German Hefe Weizen. To be completely honest, my decision to pick up this beer as part of a mixed six-pack at The Foodery was completely based upon the bottle’s label, since it reminds me of a Thomas Eakins painting. I guess I’m just a sucker for a pretty picture!

• Appearance: Hazy, golden yellow color. Quickly dissipating head that leaves minimal lacing.
• Aroma: Lemon zest. Yeast
• Taste: Good carbonation. Tart. Sharp citrus palate. The finish reminds me of a dry white wine.

Though I generally prefer to drink a stronger flavored beer, I found the Bell’s Oarsman Ale to be the right beer for last night’s meal. The crisp, refreshing ale  went well with the sweet and salty flavors which were dominant in our roasted cauliflower/slider meal. I give the Bell’s Oarsman Ale a solid B.