I am a huge fan of Lagunitas Beer, including their Brown Shugga special ale, which they release in October. My husband recently made a recipe of Brown Shugga mentioned on this “Can You Brew It?” podcast, and I gotta tell you, it’s the best beer he’s made yet.

We knew we were on to something when, before even carbonating or dry hopping the beer, the wort tasted good. After only a week and a half of letting the beer carbonate in the bottle, it was good enough to drink and continues to mellow and get better as time goes on.

This is an expensive and somewhat challenging beer to make, but worth it. Brown Shugga is sort of like a smaller, heavier-hopped version of a barleywine. It has a full mouth feel, a sweet undertone, and a hoppy bite. But be careful, it’s not for lightweights. Our beer came in at around 10% alcohol.

Here is the recipe. The “I” talking is my husband:

Lagunitas Brown Shugga Ale Clone

Makes a 6 Gal. batch for 5 gallons of beer after fermentation.

Ingredients:

Malt:

16 lbs. American Two Row
3.8 lbs. Wheat Malt (used White Winter Wheat)
1.05 lbs. Crystal 60L
1lbs. Munich 10L
.25 lbs. Caramel 80L
.25 lbs. Belgian Special B 150L

Hops:

75 grams Willamette 4.1% Alpha Acid
13.5 grams Nuggets 12.7% Alpha Acid
32 grams Liberty 4.5% Alpha Acid
43.5 grams Centennial 8% Alpha Acid
21 grams Cascade 6.5% Alpha Acid

Other Ingredients:

0.61 lbs. of Dark Brown Sugar
~10 gallons of water (7 for the mash, ~3 more for sparging)
1 vial White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Directions:

Mash the grain at 155F for 60 minutes.

I used a 7 gallon single infusion mash with a 2-2.5 gallon batch sparge. I collected 6.5 gallons of wort (I recommend trying to collect closer to 7 gallons if you can).

Boil the wort for 90 minutes and make the following hop and brown sugar additions at the appropriate times. I recommend putting your hops in a hop sack so you can pull them out after the boil (optional):

44g Willamette 4.1% @ 90 minutes

10 grams Nuggets 12.7% @ 45 minutes
31grams Willamette 4.1% @ 45 minutes

.61lbs. Dark Brown Sugar @ 30 minutes

3.5 grams Nuggets 12.7% @ 1 minutes
11 grams Liberty 4.5% @ 1 minutes
22.5 grams Centennial 8% @ 1 minutes

After the boil, cool the wort to at least 70F and then transfer it to a sanitized fermentation vessel. Add White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast. I noticed because of all of the hops added in the boil I had a LOT of trub–the dregs at the bottom of the kettle when you are done boiling–and only collected about 4 gallons of wort.

Ferment the wort for 5 days at 64F and raise the temp to 68-70F for the last 2 days. Transfer it to a sanitized secondary fermenter and add the following dry hops to the ~5 gallons of wort:

21 grams Cascade 6.5%
21 grams Centennial 8%
21 grams Liberty 4.5%

I had ~4 gallons of wort so I adjusted my hops proportionally. Let the beer dry hop for 5-7 days back at around 65F then bottle or keg. The beer should finish at around 1.022 final gravity.

Beer statistics:

OG: 1.099
FG: 1.023
SRM: 17.5
IBU: ~55
ABV 10.1%

Cheers!

This Valentine’s Day, I’m thinking of foregoing the usual red wine and champagne and go for the chocolate martini instead.

Ah the chocolate martini. Is there anything more decadent? Dessert and a drink rolled into one. Which, of course, is completely awesome.

I took a look around the internet for good chocolate martini recipes and found two I’m pretty sure are delicious.

The first one is from Julie Swank’s blog:

Heart of Dark Chocolate Martini

Ingredients (makes 2 cocktails):

1 c 2% milk
2 Tbs unsweetened coco powder
2 Tbs sugar
2 jiggers (3 oz.) of vodka
Ice

Directions:

Stir milk, coco and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat, using a whisk to combine.

Remove from heat, and let cool. You can pour mixture into a heat proof measuring cup and set over an ice bath to quicken cooling.

Pour cooled mixture into a Martini shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake. Strain into two Martini glasses.

And then the other is from GarnishBar’s Flickr Stream:

Mint Bailey’s Chocolate Martini

Ingredients (makes one cocktail):

1/2 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz mint Baileys irish cream
1/2 oz Godiva white chocolate liqueur
Chocolate syrup
Ice
Mint leaf for garnish

Chill martini glass by placing ice in empty glass and let stand. Mix mint Baileys irish cream, vodka, and Godiva white chocolate liqueur over ice in a shaker. Shake well or until frost develops on outside of metal shaker.

Remove ice from chilled martini glass. Drizzle chocolate syrup along the inside edges of the chilled martini glass. Strain cocktail from shaker into chilled martini glass and garnish with a mint leaf. Enjoy.

There will be no entry tomorrow–taking the day off–so have a great Valentine’s Day.

Here’s another good cocktail that I made up with Drink of the Week. This time we used green tea as inspiration. And what goes with green tea? Ginger, of course.

And so the Green Tea and Ginger Cocktail was born. We used regular green tea, Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur for the ginger element, and gin to make a cocktail that is light and soothing with just a hint of ginger spiciness. Here’s the recipe:

Green Tea and Ginger Cocktail
(makes one cocktail)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz gin (preferably the slightly herb-y Tru Gin)
1 oz Ginger Liqueur
3/4 oz green tea, brewed
Lots of ice
Lemon for garnish

Directions:

Brew 1 tea bag in 1 cup of water. Combine 3/4 ounce of tea with gin, ginger liqueur, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Swirl the cocktail in the shaker until it is cold. Don’t over-shake or you might bruise the gin.

Fill a martini glass with ice. Pour in the cocktail and garnish with a slice of lemon. Enjoy.

Drink of the Week and I came up with another delicious cocktail. This time, we played around with the pear syrup I made from pears, sugar, and water. We combined it with bourbon, ginger ale, and maraschino liqueur and ended up with a sweet, golden, winter-y drink.

If you haven’t heard of maraschino liqueur, I am happy to report that it is not made from the juice of those candied cherries that were popular in the 1970s. Rather, Maraschino liqueur is made from the entire (real) cherry, including the pits, which adds a subtle almond flavor to any drink. It is a good addition to the home bar.

In this case, the maraschino liqueur gives a nice nutty undertone to the fresh pear in the syrup. That, combined with the caramel notes of the bourbon, makes for one well-blended, darn delicious drink. Here’s the recipe:

Pearaschino

Ingredients:
(makes one cocktail)

Pear Syrup:

2 pears
1 c sugar
2 c water
2 Tbs vodka (optional)

For the drink:

1 1/2 oz bourbon (one shot)
1 oz maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz pear syrup
roughly 1 oz ginger ale
ice
cherry for garnish

Directions:

Make the pear syrup:

Similar to my strawberry syrup. First, cut up the pears. Combine them with the sugar and water in a pot on the stove. Boil for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the syrup has a strong pear flavor.

Strain the pears from the syrup (you can also save the pears and use as an excellent topping on ice cream, yogurt, etc.). Transfer the syrup to a bottle. If you want it to last longer, add a little vodka to the syrup. (Explanation here.)

Make the cocktail:

In a shaker, combine the bourbon, maraschino liqueur, and pear syrup. Shake thoroughly with ice. Strain into a martini glass and top with ginger ale, about 1 oz. Garnish with a cherry. Enjoy!

(Image courtesy Gourmet)

Later today I’m going to the thrift store to see if I can pick up a punch bowl on the cheap. If I can, I will surely be making champagne punch for New Year’s tomorrow. I love champagne punch. I mean, come on, it is a combination of sangria and champagne cocktails, two things I’m a big fan of.

Obviously, there are some horrible champagne punches out there, gross neon things with marschino cherries floating in them. Here is a video that explains how to make champagne punch the right way. It’s worth watching, although the tone is a little snotty and there’s an ad in the beginning. Still, it’s informative:

Here are some recipes I’m considering:

* The recipe from the video
* Citrus Champagne Punch
* Gourmet’s Champagne Punch, pictured above.
* And another one from Gourmet

Happy 2010!

Along with Drink of the Week, I recently discovered the delicious elegance of a banana daiquiri. It is easy to make and a lot lighter than most other tropical drinks. And you know, bananas are in season…

Banana Daiquiri

Ingredients

2 oz white rum
Juice of half a lime
1 Tbs sugar
1 c crushed ice
Half a fresh banana

Direction:

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth (probably about 30 seconds). Strain into chilled cocktail glasses. This recipe serves one, so increase accordingly to serve more.

(Champagne, the low-calorie holiday drink. Image courtesy Glamour Magazine.)

Normally, if you’re consuming with moderation, alcoholic drinks shouldn’t really affect whether or not you gain weight. But with all the parties this time of year, alcohol can sneak up on you simply because you’re drinking more often. Also, holiday cocktails are terribly fattening. Eggnog, which I will soon be trying, has 340 calories. Hot Buttered Rum has 292 calories. A Chocolate Martini can have around 440 calories. Drink two of those and you’ve ingested almost 900 calories… yikes!

Anyway, I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting the low-calorie cocktails. Generally speaking, anything with cream or Kahlua or other thick mixers is going to be the most fattening. That’s your Piña Coladas, your White Russians, your chocolate drinks, and so on. I treat these drinks like desserts and only have them once in awhile.

Secondly, anything with juices, sugar, sodas, or liqueurs have a lot of calories. These are any of the tropical drinks–Mojitos, Tequila Sunrises, Mai Tais, and so on–but also most club drinks, like Long Island Ice Tea. If it is refreshing and tastes like a tropical sunset, it is loaded with sugar and is fattening.

So that is what I consume with caution. Here are some low-calorie alcoholic drinks that I do drink. (The calculations are according to My Fitness Pal, which looks pretty reliable.):

Champagne--a 4 oz serving has 96 calories.

Wine–White or red, a typical 5 oz glass has between 116-125 calories.

Diet Cubre Libre–This is diet soda, 2 oz. rum, and a squeeze of lime. It has around 120 calories.

Gin and Tonic–Gin, tonic, and ice equals 105 calories.

Hot Toddy–According to Drink of the Week, it is 1 oz. brandy, honey, lemon, boiling water, and a tea bag, equaling about 130 calories.

Irish Coffee–1 oz. whiskey, coffee, a little bit of sugar, and whip cream to top is about 185. Skip the whip cream, you’re talking 85 calories.

Straight Liquor–I sometimes just have a shot of good bourbon, about 90 calories.

You’ll notice that most of these drinks are pretty strong. That’s because sugar is what disguises the taste of alcohol, and sugar is high in calories. However, if these are too strong for you, Glamour Magazine has a rundown of low-calorie cocktails as well as a list of lower-calorie substitutions.

In any case, abstaining is always the best way to lose weight.

What are your low-calorie cocktails?

I took an informal survey this weekend. Everyone hates eggnog. I mean, they don’t just dislike it, they hate it. They make faces and say things about it being thick and having eggs in it and what’s with the name? “Eggnog” does not sound appetizing. Who made this drink and why do we drink it?

I don’t know if I like eggnog or not because I have not had it as an adult. I had the nonalcoholic version as a kid and thought it was weird. I admit I’m curious now, so I’m thinking of making some.

It’s an old drink. Apparently, it is traced back to medieval Europe. According to Wikipedia, “the drink adopted the “nog” part of its name from the word “noggin”, a Middle English phrase used to describe a small, wooden, carved mug used to serve alcohol. Another name for this British drink was Egg Flip.”

And:

“Yet another story is that the term derived from the name “egg-and-grog”, a common Colonial term used to describe rum. Eventually the term was shortened to “egg’n'grog”, then “eggnog”.”

Since milk and eggs were not wasted on drinks in those days, it must have been a special drink for the time, and probably only consumed by the upper crust. Not so today, however.

Anyway, I’ll give Alton Brown’s version a try, although Martha Stewart’s is probably good too.

Alton Brown’s Eggnog

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
1/3 c sugar, plus 1 Tbs
1 pint whole milk
1 c heavy cream
3 oz bourbon
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 egg whites

Direction:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until the sugar completely dissolves. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and whisk to combine.

Place the egg whites in a different bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks using the whisk attachment. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

Hmmm, curious. You know, it sounds like it could be good.

What do you think? Do you like eggnog?

As promised, here’s the other cocktail I made up with Drink of the Week. It’s called Deadly Nightshade. Muhahaha!

The drink is a mix of black current juice, current liqueur, and bourbon. We also added some grapes in the glass for a creepy garnish. It’s a bit more manly tasting than the Blood Orange Margarita, but both drinks would be great at a Halloween party. Recipe:

Deadly Nightshade

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz bourbon
2 oz black currant juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz. creme de cassis (current liqueur)
club soda
8 or so grapes to garnish

Directions:

Shake bourbon, juice, syrup, and liqueur over ice and strain into cocktail or old-fashioned glass. Add some ice and a small handful of red or black grapes. Top off with club soda. Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!

Along with Drink of the Week, I came up with a nifty Halloween cocktail made from blood oranges. Get it? “I vant to suck your blooooood (orange margarita).” Halloween!

If you haven’t used this fruit before, blood oranges produce a beautiful ruby-colored juice that apparently reminds some people of blood. The margarita is fairly straight forward and very tasty.

Blood Orange Margarita

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz tequila
1 oz Grand Marnier (or triple sec)
1 1/2 oz blood orange juice
1 slice of blood orange to garnish

Directions:

In a shaker, combine the tequila, Grand Marnier, and blood orange juice. Fill the shaker halfway up with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a glass. Garnish with a slice of orange. Voila!

We also made up another Halloween cocktail, which will be up later this week. Stay tuned.