ENJOYING PRETTY THINGS by Dann
It's not rare for people to ask me "Dann, how should I drink this beer"? Sometimes its because people see me pouring beer into a glass, even when the rest of the room is drinking from the bottle. Other times its because I don't want to drink a beer because it has been shaken up too much (yeasty), or it just doesn't look attractive to me.
But mostly it's because I'm the only brewer in the room.
I know what you're thinking - Paquette's filling our minds with his beer snobbery. Fair enough. But is it snobbery to turn down a cold plate of food at a restaurant? I think not!
As a brewer I know my job - make good beer. So I do my best to give you a beer that will not only taste great alone or with food, but also one that looks good. To me how a beer looks is almost as important as anything that was done in the brewery. Why? Because it's the final stage. It's what convinces you to actually insert it into your face, which is the whole point.
So here we go with my top beer drinking tips:
- Find a glass with a stem. That way the beer stays colder longer and you can look at the beer while you're drinking it. For cleaning's sake get one that you can easily reach the bottom of with a sponge or shammy.
- Don't mix your glasses. Milk for instance should never enter your beer glasses. Clean separately from dishes (if by hand).
- Clean, really clean your glass and rinse with hot water. Get a shammy to dry it off. Those big clinging bubbles will go away for good. Reading through some of the online beer review sites and blogs, it looks like a lot of people are pouring their beer into unclean glassware. At my house neither Jack D'Or nor SBT have quick head collapse and always lace the glass liberally. Work it out and your enjoyment will be many fold. To get a nice clean glass fill the basin of your sink with HOT water and dishwashing liquid (the goop that goes in a dishwasher). This solution will break down any fat residues present in the basin and will give you a Brussels-bright clean glass. Carefully avoid from getting it in your eyes, mouth or anywhere but the glass really. It's quite nasty stuff.
- Remember that beer-head is beer-beer. Make it grand. Jim Koch pours his beer right down the middle! So should we.
- If you pour half, wait for the head to set and then pour the rest - you'll be able to create a very impressive and lively looking head
- NO beer is less worthy than wine, and if you're drinking wine out of a cup, you're in trouble. So save your McDonald's giveaways for the kids' soda pop. No plastic!
- A second chance: if at first you don't succeed re-pour! That's right, even the worst pour can be poured again with frothy success!
- Beer & Food: beer goes great with all foods but great pairings are rarely obvious. Look to compliment the food's flavour rather than mimic it.
-Forget the mundane: you've made it this far, don't ruin your experience by simultaneously shopping for insurance on the internet.
-Don't review - take notes: Nobody and I mean nobody is the great beer god in the sky. Great beer is a moving target. The worst beer in the world can be the best beer a few weeks later when a new batch comes out. But at the end of the day if its going to be good its going to lead to fun. It'll be hard to have fun drinking a bad beer or a bad time tasting a good one. Search out the great ones and have a fun life.
- Beer is for fun and if the suggestions above won't enhance your fun then carry on as you were.
-Specifically in the case of Jack D'Or: try to re-suspend the yeast that's at the base of the bottle. I find it gives the beer a more balanced character with the intended bitter punch and a glowing peachy colour.
-Specifically in the case of Saint Botolph's Town: do the opposite of Jack D'Or. Refrigerate standing up for several hours and pour beer off sediment.
Another idea to enhance the enjoyment of JACK D'OR: Martha and I spent a late Thanksgiving night at our friends Will and Cindy's (Will is the Head Brewer at Cambridge Brewing Company). Anyway, Will poured Jack D'Or straight into white wine glasses, filling about half way. This allowed for a lot of swirl space and a great opportunity to check out the aroma more intimately. This was our best experience with Jack D'Or thus far so I thought I'd pass it on. Cheers from Dann
