HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!

So, again, I’ve been very, very lazy and haven’t been posting much about my ongoing European trip. The latest trip was to Bruges, Belgium to attend a wedding. Check out my lady friend’s post about our phenomenal eating experiences.

Bruges is very interesting. Well, Belgium in general is interesting. It’s a country about half the size of Michigan, with two different official languages in the different Walloon and Flanders parts of the Country – French and Flemish, respectively. In Bruges, they speak Flemish. Because only about 3 million people in the world speak Flemish, they all also speak INCREDIBLY good english, making it a breeze to get around and chat with folks.

Kriek - the Perfect Marriage!

The last stop we hit up in Bruges was pretty much the greatest beer store in the world (Bacchus Cornelius).  Here, I picked up a ton of different kinds of Gueuze and Kriek, which are normally very, very expensive in the U.S. when you can even find them.   These are very unique, Lambic-based beers that are only made around Brussels using wild yeast fermentation.

These Kriek’s were beautiful – very subtle sour cherry hints to the sourness of the Lambics.  Pretty awesome – and I learned to pour fast to create lots of Mousse!

FOAM!

Samuel Adams and I have been friends for a long time.  We’ve hung out at weddings.  We’ve watched the big game together at a sports bar.  Sam has been there for me when an otherwise boring party or get together seemed hopeless.  While Sierra Nevada is preferable, it seems that quite often Sam is the only quality choice.  My true love is my Michigan craft beers, but Sam has been a valued friend—like a steaming mug of hot-chocolate served with melty mac and cheese, with a side of mashed potatoes and apple pie a la mode for dessert, Samuel Adams is comfort beer.

Having said all that, Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat sucks.  They tried and failed.  Miserably.  I bought a six pack over a week ago and still have four of them in my fridge.  Coastal Wheat touts itself as a hefeweizen style beer, with a subtle lemon finish.  I won’t take them to task on the lemon finish, it is present but it seems to conflict with the objectionable, yeasty, initial flavor.  Quite often in a hefewezen you can taste banana or clove, but the overall bready, yeasty mouthfeel dominated, making for quite an unpleasant drinking experience.  No other flavor stood out, other than the lemon at the end.  Overall a big thumbs down for Sam Adams Coastal Wheat.

There is no joy in trashing a beer from an otherwise fine organization.  Samuel Adams has well over a dozen beers on the market; no one person will love them all.  I’m content to check Coastal Wheat off my list and move on to the next beer.  Sam and I will make it through this rough patch, our friendship can withstand one lousy beer.  Besides, I have a wedding to go to next month and I have a good feeling Sam will be in attendance.  It wouldn’t be the same without him.

One place Sam won’t be is the Michigan Summer Beer Festival.  Be on the lookout for the Epic Portions yearly wrap up and best of list sometime next week.  Until then, stay thirsty, my friends.

Tap that!  Awesome ride.

Can’t wait!  Will post recipe soon, but its adapted from Cherry Fever Stout recipe in the Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian, a text that has captivated me for the better part is two weeks.

"Danger Danger, High Voltage!"

In a huge blow to cheap low income folks all over the State of Washington, the State’s Liquor Control Board has decided to  ban “blackout in can” drinks like Four Loko, the drink above:

(Reuters) – Washington state’s Liquor Control Board has voted to ban sales of high-alcohol energy drinks, known as “blackout in a can,” following the hospitalization of nine students in the state last month.

Washington is the second state to outlaw the new crop of highly caffeinated, heavy-alcohol beverages popular with young people after Michigan banned them earlier this month.

The emergency ban will last for 120 days from November 17, while the board goes through the procedure of introducing a permanent ban.

Major brewers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller stopped making drinks mixing alcohol and caffeine after pressure from various states, but smaller companies have filled the gap in the market.

In October, nine Central Washington University college students were hospitalized after drinking quantities of Four Loko brand drinks and similar beverages off-campus. According to the university, the blood-alcohol level of the students ranged from .123 to .35, where .30 is considered lethal.

Four Loko, a highly sugared and caffeinated malt liquor made by Phusion Projects, is 12 percent alcohol, which means one 23.5-ounce can is comparable to drinking five or six beers.

Holy crap!  12 percent?!  I’m too impressed to even consider that: 24 oz at 12% is literally like drinking a bottle of wine…in a can…that is brightly colored…that tastes like regurgitated red bull…that makes drinking MD 20-20 look classy and expensive.

I am Very Impressed.  Impressed that this stuff exists in a state with: Red Bull, Vodka, Columbia Valley wines, Red Hook, intelligent people, and the highest minimum wage in the country ($8.55).  If these BS government crackdowns continue, all these Washingtonians are gonna have to start drinking mouthwash!

November will soon be upon us, and it is by far the most underrated of all the months.  My favorite holiday — Thanksgiving — awaits at the end of the month, football season gets its mojo in full stride, and who could deny that the glorious Guns N Roses anthem, “November Rain” is the most awesome song to have the name of a month in it? 

November also promises to be a memorable month here at EP.  Here is an appetizer of what we have in the works:

I still haven’t forgotten my promise to give Tios a fair and impartial review.  I’ve just been growing my beard to ZZ Top-esque lengths to avoid recognition.

John and I have been on a health kick of late, and we plan on passing along some of our better recipes and ideas to our loyal readers.  Healthy eats, Epic Portions style…

Speaking of healthy eats, last month John and I were given the VIP treatment at Dominos Corporate HQ.  A post about our exploits is long overdue.

I plan a review of the new Fattoush Grill on Washtenaw Ave, which has the Amityville Horror like distinction of occupying Tios old digs.  Tune in as another white guy voluntarily enters a haunted house.

As fall transitions to winter I will shift my beer focus to Winter Beers.  But not before a post about the greatest Cider known to man or beast.

That is just a small taste, who knows what else is in store?  More celebrity interviews?  More peanut butter sandwiches eaten by John?  Perhaps a new anti-Guy Fieri rant?  Stay tuned, loyal readers, if it happens in the world of food, you will read about it here: off the record, on the qt, and very hush-hush.  (200 cool points to whoever names that movie first!)

As some readers may know, I grew up in St. Louis and now reside near Detroit.  One thing the two cities have in common is a sense of rivalry with the Crown Jewel of Midwestern cities: Chicago.  You could always count on some newspaper article (back when people actually read newspapers) touting the respective cities pros and cons when weighed against Chi-town.  Wishful thinking.

You see, there is no way, no how, no chance either St. Louis or Detroit (and I love both, by the way) even come close to the awesomeness that is Chicago.  I’m not even going to work my way down the checklist of reasons why — any objective observer would have to concur that Chicago rules the Midwest. 

Goose Island is the Chicago microbrew.  Sure, there are many others, but for the average consumer, Goose Island is the one on the shelf at the local Megamart.  I’ve always found Goose Island beer to be good, but not great.  Until now…

Goose Island Harvest Ale is pretty amazing stuff.  It had many of the expected attributes one looks for in a fall beer: a roasted malt flavor and appealing amber color.  But what sets Harvest Ale above the rest are the hops.  You end up with this wonderful, bitter hoppy finish on top of the caramel malt.  It makes for a fantastic beer, perfect for fall.

Goose Island Harvest Ale is a worthy representative of the great city it comes from.  Hopefully the beer lovers out there can give it a try; you will not be disappointed.  Harvest Ale is (currently) without peer among the seasonals I have had the good fortune to drink, and that includes Sierra Nevada.  I do plan on reviewing at least a couple more, so final verdict will be withheld for now.  But for the time being, Goose Island Harvest Ale is the beer to beat.