The Beer Witch Blog

2006-08-14T11:48:00.000-04:00

My family went to Thirsty Dog in Federal Hill, a trendy section of Baltimore, Friday night. We have been there several times before, but I never had a beer related blog to write about it in before, so I am going to write about it now.

First off, this is a different Thirsty Dog than the brewery selling Old Leg Humper (what a name!) and Siberian out of Ohio. Those guys are in Ohio. This Thirsty Dog has traditionally been brewed out of Dominion in Northern VA. However, I have been told that they purchased the brew space that used to belong to Clay Pipe, themselves now contracted through Frederick, out on 31 just outiside of Westminster, MD.

Federal Hill is known for being hip and I always feel a little odd going there - like I'm not thin enough or blond enough and my clothes are designed by the wrong people and I'm a complete freak for having a child before I was forty - but Thirsty Dog is one of the exceptions to this. It helps that they are one of the few "bars" in the area that don't panic when a four year old walks in. As a rule of thumb, I tend to think that anywhere that lets you bring a four year old dog will allow a four year old human. I've yet to find the exception to that. And as a further rule of thumb, if children and dogs are comfortable in a tavern, I probably will be too.

Thirsty Dog is certainly more worthy of the word, “tavern,” than, “bar.” Yes, it is dark and a hair cramped at times, but it has an easygoing, amicable, sort of atmosphere. The patrons and the serving staff alike are friendly and helpful.

The one flaw of Thirsty Dog for my family is that there are three things on the menu - chicken wings, salad, and pizza. My son is allergic to wheat, can't stand spicy things, and won't have anything to do with raw greenery. However, the establishment is very welcome of outside food. Mine is not the only child I have seen there happily munching on something bought elsewhere.

Being acknowledged that the menu is limited, it should also be noted that the selections that are on the menu are excellent. It's not just fresh ingredients prepared properly, there is creativity behind the offerings as well. This is the only place I know of to get a Thai Peanut Pizza, for example. And unless you have a peanut allergy, you should get it at some point. It might sound odd, but it is delicious.

Tables can also get sparse, even though there are two floors of them. However, people don't seem to mind you standing around near them waiting for them to leave and many patrons will enter a discussion with you on what you should order when you get the table.

And now, what you've all been waiting for... the beer. The beer is good. It's not something to have screaming orgasms over, but it is certainly respectable quality. The brews are named according to the canine theme and several mixing suggestions are made. I usually get the Muddy Mutt, which is a sort of black and tan with the house porter and brown. My husband prefers the Reserver Dog, however, in which the IPA replaces the brown.

And, yes, any review of the place has to mention that the beer here is served not in one big glass, but in two little ones. So is the soda and water, if you were curious. I don't know why this is, but people seem to like it. I think it has an interesting effect on the mixed selections since by the time you get to the second one, the contents have blended more than the pair in the first glass, giving a moderately different taste experience.

All in all, a very nice place for lunch or dinner, or a late night pizza after clubbing in oh so trendy Federal Hill.

Beerfest!

2006-08-09T16:03:00.000-04:00

When American brothers Todd and Jan Wolfhouse (Erik Stolhanske and Paul Soter) are sent to Germany on a mission to spread their grandfather’s ashes at Oktoberfest, they stumble upon a super-secret, centuries-old, underground beer games competition—Beerfest—the Olympics of beer drinking.

And thus begins a new work from Broken Lizard. Beerfest, opening on August 25th in the US, is sure to bring rise to protests of the glorification of alchohol abuse. Well, it does appear to be a movie about beer chugging. It would be easy to say that it's supporting the concept of quantity over quality and promoting irresponsible behavor. Many beer snobs, and nearly all Baptists, will hate it.

But, it's Broken Lizard. It's not supposed to be taken seriously. You're supposed to watch it and laugh. And since it is, after all, Broken Lizard, the chances are pretty high that you will.

The Official Website

Steak Saisson

2006-08-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

I am not what one might call a good cook. Or even a competent one. This is why I have never delved into the joy that is homebrewing - if I have a hard time make spaghetti without starting a fire, I have no business trying to brew. I feel sort of pathetic for being proud of myself when I manage to prepare a meal without damaging anything... But I do feel proud of myself for it.

Last night, I made steak braised in Red Sky at Night, a lovely saisson from Clipper City's Heavy Seas line. I left it in too long for me because I was using as timer my husband's progress towards home and he neglected to come straight here, but the flavor was really good. It is wonderful cold and excellent for left-over sandwiches.

This would not have to be done with a saisson. In fact, it was a somewhat unusual choice, prompted largely by the fact that I didn't have enough of anything more common - stout, porter, barleywine, etc - to be able to use half a bottle cooking and still be able to serve glasses of the brew with the meal. As it was, my husband wound up drinking stout with it anyway, but he seemed happy with my choice of cooking beer.

The "recipe" such as it is:

Steak (I used a round cut, about an inch thick, but I think I'll use a roast next time)
Salt
Pepper
1 cup of beer

1. Brown the seasoned meat in a skillet with a small amount of olive oil.
2. Put steak into a baking dish with beer.
3. Put in oven for forty minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how bloody you like your meat.

And that was it!

I served this with mashed potatoes, made by mashing four small potatoes and adding maybe a fourth a cup of french onion dip and just enough of the Red Sky to be able to taste that there was probbly beer in there.

The whole meal was really easy to make and the saisson added enough complex flavor to make it seem like the cook actually knew what she was doing.

Welcome to The Beer Witch's blog

2006-08-08T11:32:00.000-04:00

Here are the answers to some questions you may have. . .

Who is The Beer Witch?
She's a thirty year old witch with a passion for quality beers. She currently resides in Maryland, so expect many mid-Atlantic posts in the near future.

A witch? Of the generic neo-pagan variety. It's not really relevant to the blog, but she thought that Beer Witch was a nifty name.

So what is the focus of the blog, other than beer? Is this an industry newsfeed? No, this isn't really a news blog, although there will be news in it. The Beer Witch sees no need to recreate the information readily available in any of several beer mags available, usually for free, from most brewpubs and good beer bars. This is more of an exploration of her personal reactions to beers, beerpubs, and beer-based recipes.

Does The Beer Witch have any relation to brewing? Only as a consumer. The Witch is not employed by any brewery, pub, store, or school in the brewing industry. She doesn't even homebrew as this is too complicated for someone as scattered as she is. She does have multiple mug-club memberships and is known as a patron in many places were good beer is served.

And does she always refer to herself in the third person? No, she does not.