Banana – Lavender Honey Mead: An Arranged Marriage

Bananas and Lavender Honey

It isn’t often that I make something that wasn’t riotously planned out with an exact flavor in mind for the outcome.  This is one of the exceptions.

My wife and I had a couple pastele making days this winter. If you don’t know what pastels are, think of tamales but made with plantains and green bananas instead of corn.  When my wife went into the grocery store to buy the bananas, she said to the produce clerk, “I need ____ pounds of green bananas.”  The clerk told her that if she purchased a whole box of bananas, that she would get a much lower cost per pound on the bananas.

So she bought awhole box.

Pasteles are awesome.  I could eat them until I puke and then eat some more.

On New Year’sDay, we made 100 pastales.

We had 35 green bananas left over.

What do you do with 35 bananas?

Zion Canyon - Jamaican Style Lager

There is a lot going on here for a light lager. And I'm not sure what make a lager "Jamaican" besides being highly carbonated.

There is a lot going on with the flavor of this beer. It's malty and sweet. A lot of residual sweetness is not uncommon in Caribbean beers. Caribbean stouts are usually sweet stouts.

There is a light, but noticeable amount of hop flavor. IBUs = 22, but really don't seem like it. I'm getting a light fruity citrus from the hops. I'm guessing Cascade.

Uinta Brewing - Hazel Amber Wheat Ale

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this beer before. I drink it a lot because I like to buy Uinta's variety 12-pack.

I'm a proponent of Ambers as a nice balance between hoppy and malty beers. I'm also a proponent of mixing styles. however, I find that an amber wheat ale is a odd duck.

Instead of being a strong "I am different" statement, it seems to be a beer that is unsure of what it wants to be.

The maltiness is slightly negated by the creaminess of the wheat.

The hops are there, but appropriate to the style, are not strong. I'm guessing a mild c-hop.

Epic Brewing - Mid Mountian Mild #23

Mild Ales are not a style that I have a whole lot of experience with. There just aren't too many of them around here. Originally, the term "Mild" meant the beer was served young as opposed to other beers that were served aged, or "stale.". Generally speaking, these days the term is used to mean a beer that is lower in alcohol and lighter hopped than their Brown Ale and Bitter cousins.

This beer pours with an inch of white head and maintains between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. The carbonation sounds a lot like Rice Crispies.

The alcohol comes in at 5.1%, which is on the high side for a Mild, but is not distracting from the beer.

Base malts include: Muntons Maris Otter and Briess 2-Row Brewers. Specialty malts include: Weyermann Cara Munich 1, Weyermann Munich Malt Type 1 and Roasted Barley.

New Belgium Ranger IPA

I was not terribly impressed with this beer at first. Oh, another pine-grapefruity IPA. But over time, this beer has grown on me.

Guess its a good thing I picked up a 6-pack.

Here's a quick rundown of New Belgium's Ranger IPA statistics:  ABV = 6.5%.  IBUs = 70.  Hops consist of Chinook, Simcoe, and Cascade.  Malts are pale malt and Caramalt 120L.

Here's what I've come to enjoy about this beer:

Thanksgiving 2012 Results

Turkey Post-Brine

I'm a bit slow getting it up, but i wanted to post the results of my 2012 Thanksgiving Turkey Fry.

My wife and I had a bit of a miscommunication.  I mentioned to her that we could put some oranges and lemons in the brine if she wanted to.  She thought I said that she could stuff oranges or lemons in the cavity of the turkey for the frying. It was an understandable mistake. We've stuffed onions and garlic heads in the cavity of the bird before with great success.

When two sliced lemons hit the 350F oil, the oil started bubbling and frothing like crazy.

I was very thankful for two things: 1) the burner was off on the fryer, and 2) I was standing at the end of a long rope instead of holding an 18lb turkey with my hand.

Epic Brewing - Smoked Porter Release #14

Smoked beers are among the most interesting beers.  Before the invention of electric kilning, all beers would carried this flavor from the wood fires used to roast the malt.  Some of these beers are aggressive and weigh heavy on the palette.  Others are light and refreshing.

Epic's Smoked Porter pours with an inch-or-so of head. It maintains about 1/4 inch of head as it laces down the glass.

This beer, perhaps, is midrange on the smokey scale. Many smoked beers need to be pared with food. But this beer goes down nicely on the palette without becoming overtaxing. Although, I'm not sure I could drink two in one sitting without a major palette cleansing in between.  By the time I finished the 22oz bottle, my mouth was holding onto a serious ashy aftertaste.