Take two Pils and call me in the mornin'

Sam Adams Seasonal: Noble Pils

When you think “Pilsner”… what do you think? Cheap draft beer at dollar night? A beverage that tastes like bitter swill? A frothy, pale glass of nastiness? Me too! In general I’ve steered clear of Pilsners simply for the fact that outside of the usual family barbeque or college keg party, I usually don’t enjoy the taste. I find the Pilsner as a style to be bland, bitter and somewhat fouled in taste and finish. Some of these beers are old favorites here in the States and by and large, so long as I’ve dulled my palate enough, I can sometimes choke one down… or switch to H2O… or battery acid…

Sam Adams, on the other hand has taken the style and given it a little class. As usual, Jim Koch and his team at the Boston Beer Company have injected a little love into a style that over the years has been pasteurized, over-processed and made simply for profit. Quality ingredients, and a proven brewing process yield a brightly golden bubbly beer that has an initial Pilsner scent, but not the usual Pilsner mouth-feel or taste. Slightly but not unpleasantly bitter, Sam’s Seasonal beer has a heavier feel than your traditional Pilsner, but still is light enough that I would not consider this to be in Sam’s usual wheelhouse of heavier ales and lagers. The finish is what is most pleasant. Years ago, Keystone beer put out a clever advertising campaign against “Bitter beer face”. I think that Sam Adams might want to borrow that from Keystone! The finish is pleasant, has a bit of a kick but a well balanced malt and wheat taste, a distinct piney note and a sweetness of honey that makes this an ideal summer beer.

Pairings:
As you may know, the Pilsner style comes from the Czech Republic (formerly Bohemia – yes, that Bohemia) and was transported over to the United States thanks to a few brave and rather thirsty immigrants. As a result, truly All-American brands like Budweiser (now ironically owned by international beer giant In-Bev) were born. It is for that reason that I’ve chosen a traditionally summer Czech meal to pair with this… it only seems right! I think that the peppery nature of paprika and the spice inherent in the Sam’s Noble Pils will balance nicely. Paprika is a big spice in most cooking from that area, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic & the like. Unsure as to the historical reason, but I can find out! Most people use breast meat when making chicken dishes due to the preponderance of it in the grocery store as it’s considered one of the healthiest alternative in the poultry world. I would advise against it in this case as traditional Czech food (to completely over generalize) is a bit bland. The Chicken thighs will give you a bit more flavor and I tend to prefer them in general for recipes like this. The recipe for this says dumplings or egg noodles. However sides for this meat dish might be rice pilaf, asparagus, marinated mushrooms and if you’re feeling frisky; Borscht – a beet stew common to the former Eastern Block countries.

(Picture Missing, but I assure you it looks delicious...)

Czech Chicken Paprika

Czech Chicken Paprika Recipe
6 – 7 Chicken Thighs
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Onion – Chopped
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tbs Paprika
2 Tbs Lard or Vegetable Oil - Yay Lard! Fat is flavor!
2 Tbs Flour
1 Tsp Garlic, minced
½ Tsp Salt
¼ Tsp Ground Pepper


1. Heat up lard or oil in skillet on medium low heat.
2. Spinkle paprika on both sides of chicken and place in skillet. Place any remaining paprika into skillet.
3. Increase heat to medium and brown both sides of chicken.
4. Add onion and garlic and lightly brown stirring occasionally.
5. Lower heat to simmer, then add flour.
6. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes stirring constantly.
7. Increase heat to medium and add chicken broth and water, stirring constantly.
8. Once a low boil is achieved add salt and pepper.
9. Reduce to simmer partially covered for 40 minutes. Stir on occasion.
10. Remove chicken from sauté pan and add sour cream to sauce.
11. Place chicken back into pan and mix.
12. Add additional salt and pepper to taste (if necessary).
13. Serve on dumplings or egg noodles.


Sam (And Jim), again, your experiments have paid off. Keep stretching yourselves. The chances you’re taking are paying off!!

Na Zdravi! (to your heath! – Czech)

Harpoon's Island Creek Oyster Stout/ Piping 101

THE BREW:
One word... WOW

Allow me to elaborate: I took the opportunity to cheat on my south beach diet to try a beer that I've heard a LOT of buzz about. The beer in question is Harpoon's Island Creek Oyster Stout. While I thought that the naming convention was just a name... I realized after drinking this dark hued velvety goodness that this beverage was in fact brewed with Island Creek oysters. The brew has an initial nose not entirely disparate from that of a Guinness or a Murphy's. It has a very standard Stout Smell. The taste on the other hand was remarkable. Dry and minerally upon first sip, this stout has a bit of a coffee finish and a faint hint of blackberry. I'm not sure if blackberry was part of the process, but there's a slight taste of it in there. This is a beer possibly best had on its own, but I would pair is either with wild game or with a Tarimisu if you're going to go the dessert route.

THE MUSIC:
The Pipes have been going better than in recent history. I've been taking the time to really run through my drills and I've gotten a number of tunes under my belt... on the chanter... Being on the bag, on the other hand, is another story. I've been making some progress there, but again, it's been slow. I can get some noise out of the chanter and I can get a whole scale out, but I'm a long way off from playing regularly. I'm a bit disappointed as I have a St. Patrick's Day Parade in a few short weeks. The biggest difficulty I'm having is getting the drones and the changer to roll all at once. I think my problem has been one of conditioning. I'm trying to get the bag to remain full. Again, I'm making progress, but it's slower than I'd hoped.

Banjo: I made the move today to try to play with a thumb pick and finger pics. I think now that I have these plastic picks, I should be able to progress towards more proficient play. I've essentially had to start from scratch with my technique as playing with the picks is far different from simply finger picking. One of the things I'm looking forward to is double picking with the thumb, it allows you to make the banjo rolls sound a lot faster by playing in two directions rather than one. My hope is to be able to master the basic technique and then hopefully take on a few Earl Scruggs and Bela Fleck tunes.

Coming soon: I hope to try to get a few ideas I have down on tape. At the moment, I have access to a MacBook with Garage Band on it. If I can get these ideas down, I have a friend with a Protools studio and I hope to be able to perfect some of these songs.

As random as these thoughts are, I hope that all of you are doing well.

Best of luck out there,

Rob