Top 5 Five Winter and Holiday Beer Recommendations
02 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in basic wine making, beer bottles, custom beer birthday, custom beer labels, Holiday Beer, home brewing labels, wedding favor ideas, winter Tags: alcohol, beers, Boston Lager, brew, brewery, Celebration Ale, christmas, Christmas beer, craft beer, custom beer labels, custom birthday wine labels, dry hopped, holiday, Holiday Beer, seasonal brews, six pack, wine brewing, Winter, Winter Welcome Ale
By Bryce Eddings, About.com Guide
Winter and the holiday season see a lot of really good, small production seasonal brews in the form of Christmas beers and winter warmers. Christmas beers are often malty and complex although there are no rules for how they should be brewed. Some are made with fruit or spice and some rely on artful malt or hops combination for wonderful complexity. The winter warmers are similar though they are rarely made with any adjuncts. Both typically contain more than usual alcohol and are usually available from November to February.
And so, in no particular order, here are my Christmas and winter beer selections.
1. Samichlaus
The king of Christmas beers, Samichlaus is the highlight of the holiday season for many beer enthusiasts. It is a rich, aged doppelbock brewed at the Austrian brewery Schloss Eggenberg.
2. Samuel Adams Winter Classics
This mix pack contains a variety of beers. This makes it a nice way to try some unusual beer for beer lovers who are just discovering craft beer. Though it can change from year to year the mix pack often contains Boston Lager, Old Fezziwig Ale, Winter Lager, Holiday Porter, Black Lager, and Cranberry Lambic.
Cut any shape and design holiday cards
3. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
How do you say Merry Christmas to a hop-head? With a six pack of Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada. Besides have a pretty significant bitterness at 62 IBUs, this beer is also dry hopped which raises the hops in the aroma and flavor.
4. Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome Ale
Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome is a traditional winter warmer and in many ways has served as the modern benchmark for the style. It is big in flavor and alcohol. Though maltiness dominates it does have a good bit of balancing hops as well as hints of apples and caramel.
5. Odell Brewing Co. Isolation Ale
Odell Brewing brews Isolation Ale as their winter seasonal. This beer is packed with hops character without a lot of the bitterness. It’s a bit unusual as a wintertime beer in that it does not carry the huge, dark malt flavors of many of the others.
To read this full article, check out: Top 10 Ten Winter and Holiday Beer Recommendations
Also, if you are looking for great custom beer labels make sure you check out: Custom beer labels
Uses for Your Empties
02 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
in birthday ideas, custom beer birthday, custom beer labels, custom design labels, custom photo coasters, home brewing labels, personalized graduation gift, personalized labels, wedding favor ideas Tags: beer ingredients, beer kit, beer labels, beer making, beer making kits, beer making supplies, Bookplates gift tags, Coasters, custom beer labels, custom design labels, custom wine labels, DIY Home Brew Labels, Favor Tags, Holiday Labels, home brew, Home Brew Label Printing, Party Favors, Personalised home brew labels, personalized coasters, Personalized Wedding Labels, photo coasters
If you enjoy or brew your own beer chances are you may have some stray empties lying around the house, and while they can fetch a pretty penny down at the recycling plant empty beer bottles can also hold other useful purposes. The same thing goes for old wine bottles.
For instance, if you clean the bottle’s inside, fill it with a bit of water, and place a single flower inside you can give your sweetheart a fairly simple, yet charmingly unique wedding or birthday gift.
Another romantic gift idea is the wine bottle candle. You simply wash the bottle well and place a long, narrow candle in the neck of the bottle until it is snug. Wine bottle candles can help add a romantic atmosphere to any ordinary dinner table.
Empties can also be easily turned into Christmas decorations. Just look at the example below!
If you’re looking for a more artistic use for your empties, you could always try assembling broken bottle glass into a mosaic, or you could also set them up for a still-life painting.
Most importantly, if you are a home brewer or wine maker you can reuse your commercially purchased wine bottles and save a considerable amount of money. Don’t forget to re-label your recycled wine and beer bottles with your own, customized beer and wine labels. A variety of expertly designed bottle labels can be found at Labels on the Fly.
Pairing Wines and Chocolate
27 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in custom bottle labels, custom wine labels, wedding wine ideas, wine bottling, wine ideas, wine making Tags: basic wine making, bittersweet chocolate, Champagne, Chocolate, chocolate dipped strawberries, custom birthday wine labels, custom wine labels, delicate white chocolate, designer wine labels, lively dark chocolate, milk chocolate, Pairing Wines & Chocolate, personalized wine, Pinot Noir, Rieslings, Ruby Port, sparkling wine, wedding wine labels, White chocolate, wine, wine glasses, wine storage, Zinfandel
By Stacy Slinkard, About.com Guide
Some say it can’t be done, pairing wine with chocolate, but if you have the right wine to complement the right chocolate it can be a match made in heaven! Whether you are pairing a delicate white chocolate or a lively dark chocolate with wine, there are a few pairing tips to keep in mind.
Tips for Successfully Pairings Wines with Chocolate
Rule #1, typically the wine should be at least as sweet, if not a touch sweeter, than the chocolate you are serving it with. Otherwise, the taste may quickly veer towards bitter or sour.
When pairing wines with chocolate, your best bet is to match lighter, more elegant flavored chocolates with lighter-bodied wines; likewise, the stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. For example, a bittersweet chocolate tends to pair well with an intense, in-your-face California Zinfandel.
Similar to “formal” wine tasting, if you will be experimenting with several varieties of chocolates, work from light to dark. Start with a more subtle white chocolate and end on a dark or bittersweet chocolate.
White Chocolate Wine Suggestions
White chocolate tends to be more mellow and buttery in flavor, making it an ideal candidate for a Sherry (consider the Osborne Pedro Ximénez Sherry $20), for a Moscato d’Asti (try Saracco Moscato d’Asti 2006, $13), from Italy’s Piedmont region offers subtle, sweet bubbles, or an Orange Muscat (try Ventana Vineyard’s Muscat d’Orange for $18). The Sherry and Moscato d’Asti will pick up the creaminess of the chocolates and the Orange Muscat will pick up any fruit tones on the scene. Another route, for pairing wine with white chocolate is going for the contrast pairing approach, this is a little riskier, but when you find a match it can be exceptional. For example, taking a wine like a Zinfandel which tends to have a heavier tannic content and often a higher alcohol level and partnering it with a creamy, buttered white chocolate can have an unusual “melding” affect. It’s like the tannins get softened out by the fat content and make for a remarkable potential for pairing.
Milk Chocolate Wine Suggestions
Pinot Noir (you might consider Mark West Pinot Noir $10) or a lighter-bodied Merlot (try Hogue or Columbia Crest) will complement a bar of milk chocolate, a creamy chocolate mousse or chocolate accented cheesecake. Rieslings, Muscats (try Bonny Doon’s Muscat Vin de Glaciere or the Bonny Doon “Vin de Glaciere” Muscat for $15) or dessert wines tend to hold up well to mild milk chocolates. Also consider a sparkling wine or Champagne for pairing with milk chocolate dipped strawberries. Last, but not least a classic milk chocolate pairing to consider is a nice Ruby Port – a very safe bet when looking for a perfect wine to accent milk chocolate.
To read the rest of this article, please visit:Pairing Wines & Chocolate
Also, be sure you visit Custom wine labels to get your own personalized wine labels for your special event!
15 Summertime Recipes
24 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in custom beer birthday, custom beer labels, custom design labels, home brewing labels, personalized labels, wedding favor ideas Tags: backyard parties, beer, beer glasses, beer ingredients, Beer Supplies, brew, brew beer, Brewfests, brewing, celebrate, craft beer, custom beer bottle labels, homebrew, seasonal recipes, summer brew, Summertime Recipes
Most of us don’t need an excuse to celebrate summer weather. Brewfests and competitions abound, family reunions are planned and backyard parties pop up — even wardrobes get the special treatment with short sleeves and sandals. So why not brew something that tastes great at the beach or barbecue, a thirst-quencher that goes down great after a day of gardening or while grilling?
Summer brewing doesn’t differ that much from brewing during the other seasons. You may slap a few more mosquitoes while mashing, but the biggest difference comes when it’s time to chill your wort and maintain your fermentation temperature. When making a summer brew, make sure to check the temperature of your chilled wort (with a sanitized thermometer). As your tap water is likely warmer in the summer, you may need to add a few more ice cubes to your water bath to cool your wort down to proper fermentation temperatures. Likewise, higher outside temperatures means your usual “cool spot” in the house may be too warm for fermenting.
Try one of these tried and true seasonal recipes from homebrew shops across the country. (BYO calculated the brewing statistics, such as OG and IBU.) Or, use them as inspiration for designing your own summer sipper. In this collection, we present a beach-ready golden ale from the U.S. Gulf Coast, a Mexican lager from California (lime optional), a crisp rye pale ale from Vancouver and many more. Feeling refreshed yet?
DeFalco’s Golden Ale
DeFalco’s Home Wine & Beer Supplies
Houston, Texas
www.defalcos.com
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.011
IBU = 23 SRM = 5 ABV = 4.6%
It’s so bloody hot on the Gulf Coast, this summer recipe is popular pretty much year ‘round.
Ingredients
6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) Alexander’s Pale liquid malt extract
(or 5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) Muntons Extra
Light dried malt extract)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) domestic two-row pale malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) CaraPils® malt
6 AAU Cascade hops (45 mins)
(1.0 oz./28 g of 6% alpha acid)
2.25 AAU Liberty hops (10 mins)
(0.5 oz./14.2 g of 4.5% alpha acid)
2.25 AAU Liberty hops (0 mins)
(0.5 oz./14.2 g of 4.5% alpha acid)
1 pkg. Burton water salts
1 pkg. Nottingham Ale or Wyeast 1056
(American Ale), 1007 (German Ale), White Labs WLP001
(California Ale) or WLP 029 (German Ale) yeast.
1 pkg. Bru-Vigor
0.75 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
In a small saucepan, bring a gallon (3.8 L) of water to 160–170 °F (71–77 °C). Add the bag of grains and water salts and steep 30 minutes. Now, gently sparge (rinse) the grains with hot tap water (ideal temperature 168 °F/76 °C) and bring the total volume up to two or more gallons in your brewpot. Bring to boil.
Turn off heat and add malt extract. Return to boil, add the hops at the times specified in the ingredient list. Add the last does of Liberty hops and immediately turn off heat. Let stand for 20-30 minutes in a cooling bath. Pour the cooled wort into the fermenter. Bring the volume up to five gallons (19 L). If the temperature is less than 80 °F (27 °C), pitch the yeast and the packet of Bru-Vigor (if using) into the wort and place the lid and airlock over the fermenter. Ferment at 65–70 °F (18–24 °C). After fermentation, check the specific gravity. The F.G. should be 1.011 or less. If it is higher than 1.016, allow to ferment and settle for a few more days. Prime and bottle. Allow beer to age at room temperature for at least two weeks. Peak flavor is reached after six weeks.
To read this full article, check out: 15 Summertime Recipes
Champagne and Wine
14 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in custom bottle labels, custom wine labels, wedding wine ideas, wine ideas, wine making Tags: beer, cabernet, Champagne, Champagne and Wine, Chardonnay, custom wine labels, homemade wine, parties, red wine, serve, wedding, Wedding Champagne, wedding wine, white wine, white zinfandel, wine, wine bottles, wine glasses, wine making, winemaking
The Basics of Picking Great Wedding Champagne and Wine
By Nina Callaway
Wondering which champagnes and wines to serve at your wedding? Don’t know how much of each you’ll need? Here are the basics that you’ll need to know to get the perfect mix at your big day.
You may already have a Champagne or wine that you love – something that the two of you drank on a favorite date, or a Champagne that your parents drank at their wedding. If you don’t, there are many helpful sites to Champagne and wine on the net, including wine.about.com. Your caterer will most likely have recommendations for you and will help you figure out how much wine you’ll need for the amount of people you’re having. At most parties, approximately 30-50% will drink white wine (mostly Chardonnay), 30-50% will drink red wine (mostly cabernet), and about 10 to 20% will drink white zinfandel. You’ll want to consider your crowd: more women usually mean more white wine drinkers, more men mean more red wine. I work with a lot of theater crowds which are heavy beer and red wine drinkers.
You’ll also want to consider what entree you are serving. Sauvignon Blanc goes with a wide variety of seafood entrees, as well as poultry and cheeses, and is the best option for pasta with a cream sauce. Chardonnay is a widely popular white that works well with chicken, pork and many seafood dishes.
To read the full article, please go to: Champagne and Wine
