The Summer Pale Ale is in the bottle ...

Yes, my first batch of summer beer is officially in the bottle:  Summer Pale Ale

After my stuck fermentation this past winter, due to cold temperatures in my home this past December and January, I decided I should wait a little while before brewing again.  The temperatures are staying above freezing, for the most part, spring is in full force, and I am writing an article about homebrewing, so there seems no better time than now to start brewing beer for the summer.

For those that are new to the brewing process, you must have other beer ready and standing by as you begin the brew process.  The beer you are starting will not be ready for consumption for nearly a month.  You will need beer ready to drink during the brewing process, while you wait anxiously, and very important after you bottle (during bottling is not such a good idea - remember you will be focused on sterilization and multitasking).  

I'm starting the summer with a crisp and light (in color that is - not flavor) beer in the style of an India Pale Ale.  I use a combination of grains at different toast percentages to create my recipe "mash".  This year's Summer Ale is a combination of Munich, Victory, Crystal, and American 2-row malts.  My blend of hops will be Cascade and Columbus.  The resulting beer should be a nice IPA ready about the second week of June.

I prepared the mash and processed the grains to ready them for fermentation on May 12th.  It takes about 14 days for the fermentation process to conclude before the beer is ready to bottle.  Due to space constraints, I brew one gallon at a time.  That's a little less than a 12-pack.  I can get six 500ml bottles filled from a batch. 

I use the bubble airlock, like the one shown in the photo (right) and then switch to a tube release system as the fermentation slows.  

Once the fermentation is complete, I siphon the beer into a pot and add a little honey to wake-up the yeast.  This is what gives beer it's "head" or frothy foam when poured.  While the purpose of the head is a point of many discussions amongst beer drinkers and brewers, regardless of your position it just seems right that a beer have a some frothy foam on top.  I personally feel that it gives you access to aromas of the beer's components that aren't as accessible to our senses in the liquid portion of the beer itself.  

Once the honey is blended, the beer is immediately siphoned into the amber bottles. I like to use a Grolsch style closure for the bottles.  I find them easier to use than the more commonly seen crown caps, plus it adds a little something special to my hand-crafted beer.

I'm thinking of something special, a meal that is, to celebrate the opening of the first bottles in June.  I'll keep you posted!

Cinco de Mayo ...

Most of us know that Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for the 5th of May; however, there is must speculation as to why and where it is celebrated.  This uniquely American celebration has its roots in Mexican Americans living in Southern California, Arizona and Texas.  It initially spread up the West coast into Oregon and even Washington State.

So now that we know what it is and where it originated, what is the celebration in honor of? The 5th of May celebrates the French defeat by Mexico at the same time the United States was starting into the Civil War.  The celebration is a mix of honoring the victory of Mexico against a perceived oppressor and showing support for the Union and an end to slavery in the US.  Another fun fact is that the most avocados consumed in the US are on Cinco de Mayo and Superbowl Weekend (“Superbowl” is the registered trademark of the National Football League – have to stay legal).

So in honor of the defeat of Napoleon III I am celebrating Cinco de Mayo with some local friends.  Taking a more traditional approach to the menu we made savory and sweet tamales.  A salsa verde and salsa roja (that's a roasted salsa rojo), and no Cinco de Mayo wouldn't be complete without guacamole.   There were two versions, one with crickets for the adventurous and one without.

Appetizers: Guacamole, Tomatillo based Salsa Verde, Roasted Tomato based Salsa Roja. (Left)

Main Course: Savory Tamales: Pork tamales with a chili gravy, garnished with queso fresco and cilantro.  Served over a bed of Mexican style rice. (Right)

Dessert: Sweet Corn Tamales: Masa based tamales with sweet corn, cream, and a little sugar finished with local honey for a tasty and different dessert. (Left)

Beverages: The evening was all about Beer and Margaritas, need I say any more.  This was not a wine night, unless you are talking about Mescal wine distilled into something special; something that if it was made only from the Blue Agave we would call Tequila.

Wine Suggestions -
Just go for it and enjoy a good Mexican light or dark beer, maybe a cold salted Margarita, and finish the night with some good Tequila.  Save the wine for another night.

For my complete recipes click on the links below:
Guacamole            Salsa Verde            Salsa Roja           Pork Tamales           Sweet Corn Tamales

Meritage

Check out this month's Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living Magazine for a great article on Meritage wine.
Page 206-207 http//spokanecda.com   Thank you Arbor Crest Wine Cellars for your assistance with my research.

Tequila: Vino Mezcal

In the spirit of May and the upcoming celebration of Cino de Mayo I thought it would be a good time to talk a little about the other wine - vino mezcal.   Originating in Mexico, it is believed that the original mezcal (or mescal) wines were produced by the Aztecs for ceremonial purposes into a drink that is still around today called pulque.  The refinement of pulque into what many call tequila has its origins with the Spanish exploration of Mexico in the 1500's.  Once they ran out of brandy they needed to find a substitute and pulque was it.

Named for the City of Tequila, Mexico, today there are strict regulations on what can be called tequila, much the same way wine is subject to certain regulations if you say it from a certain region or use a varietal name on the label.  So let's start with the basics and work our way up to defining tequila.

All tequila is mezcal, but all mezcal is not tequila.  Mezcal is made from the piña, or heart (and sometimes called a pineapple), of the agave plant.  It looks very much like a giant yucca plant (see photo below) and similar to aloe plants. Native to Mexico and the  Southern United States, they grow wild and are cultivated for their sap and other edible parts.  The sap when harvested at the base of the budding flower becomes Agave nectar, a great cane sugar substitute used similar to honey in food preparations. It is this sap and starches in the plant that are processed to become our mezcal.  It's been claimed that if you heat mezcal to more than 1400° F you get tiny diamonds.

Back to making mezcal.  The agave takes about 8-12 years to fully develop to a point where the piña is large and mature enough to harvest.  The leaves are sheared off at the heart in a process called "jima" by a person called a "jimador".  Once the leaves are removed the heart is sheared off from the roots at ground level using a "coa de jima".  What that all means is a worker using a very sharp spade-like hoe chops the leaves off and cuts off the heart, which weights anywhere from 60-200 lbs.

Warning: Don't try this at home.  The sap of some agave is a skin irritant causing a rash that can last for weeks and re-occur for years.  Also the ends of the leaves have points like a needle that can puncture the skin and cause problems. 

The harvested piña are transported to the distillery where they are cut in halves or quarters, depending on size.  They are placed in a hornos, or oven (today most facilities use the equivalent of an autoclave) to roast for 20-30 hours.  This process helps to break-down the plant's starches so they can be converted to sugars and extracted.  Once fully roasted, the hearts are removed, passed through a shredder and sprayed with water to fully extract as much sugar as possible. The resulting liquid is called "aqua miel" or honey water, which is collected in a large fermentation tank.  Yeast is added or allowed to naturally occur, much like making wine. In fact, once this stage is complete - fermented to about 5% alcohol, you have mezcal wine.  If the end product is to be 100% agave, then the juice alone is fermented.  If the product is a "mixto" which means it's at least 51% agave and the rest is made up from cane or other sugar, they must be added to the miel before fermentation begins.

The mezcal wine is then at a minimum twice distilled similar to other spirits, such a vodka.  The end result is a blanco or plata.  The styles of mezcal are as follows:

          Blanco (white) or Plata (silver) - un-aged, bottled immediately after distillation

          Reposado (rested) - aged at least two months, but less than a year in oak barrels

          Joven (young) or Oro (gold) - a blend of part blanco and part reposado 

          Añejo (aged) - aged at least 1 year, but less than 3 years in standard size oak barrels

          Extra-Añejo (extra aged) - aged at least 3 years in standard size oak barrels

So at this point don't we have tequila? The answer is maybe. Tequila has two requirements: 1.) the agave plant used to make the mezcal must be Agave Tequilana also called Agave Azul, which you may know as Blue Agave; 2.) it must have been grown  in the Mexican state of Jalisco or specified regions of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.  You may be surprised to know that much of the tequila sold in the US is actually bottled in the US. The spirit is shipped in barrels, tankers, and rail cars to bottling facilities.  You can find authentic tequila by looking for the NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) followed by 3 numbers - four letters - and year.

Whether you ware making margaritas, a tequila sunrise, or straight up neat you now know what it take to bring this amazing distilled spirit to the party.  Many have a love - hate relationship with this beverage, but whether it's tequila or  mezcal, the end result is going to interesting.   As for me, I like a rustic mezcal from Oaxaca con gusano, that's with the worm.