Gather Around the Ancient Fire

Gather around the Ancient Fire everyone, we're going to tell you a story. More like we're going to share more of the unfolding story of Ancient Fire Mead & Cider.

Have you liked us on Facebook yet? While we will continue to update our blog as things progress, Facebook is where the day to day updates, including photos and shares from elsewhere in the mead industry will be found.

Please like Ancient Fire Mead & Cider on Facebook!

Startup activities are still moving along at a slow and measured pace. We feel like we want to do it right, rather than do it fast. Our fellow entrepreneurs continue to confirm this way of thinking.

We are still scouting for a location, and we continue looking in Derry, Londonderry, Manchester and Hooksett.

We recently held our first consumer tasting. The feedback on both the meads and ciders as well as the process was very insightful and helpful. Thank you Lyn, Dave, Kelly, Angel, Eric and Sam for your help. Having friends and fans assist us in determining what our starting lineup might be is very exciting, and we have several more tastings planned as we head into Spring.

We have also been busy piloting lots of different recipes. We have eleven new session mead recipes that will be kegged and ready to drink soon. We can't wait to share them all!

We also have a busy event schedule this Spring. Jason will be heading to the Mazer Cup on Wednesday March 8th to help judge, compete in the home competition and network with industry peers and enthusiasts. He will also be attending our second in-person meeting as members of the American Mead Makers Association (AMMA), the trade association focused on the mead industry.

Mead Free or Die is also fast approaching. On Sunday April 30th the judging for Mead Free or Die will be held at Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry, NH. The competition organizers are actively seeking entries and volunteers (both judges and stewards). You can get more information and register online.

We've also entered the National Homebrewers Competition again this year. This is actually only our second go at this competition and having had a mead advance to the final round back in 2013 we are hoping good things for our entries which include a beer, a cider and several meads.

Please like Ancient Fire Mead & Cider on Facebook!

Cheers!

Margot & Jason

All The Buzz About Ancient Fire Mead & Cider

Behind the scenes activity for Ancient Fire has been brisk recently. There are a few different activities in flight including, business planning, the search for a location, a marketing ramp up and of course lots of pilot batch work.

Our business planning efforts have been the biggest focus, and the exercise of putting together a rational plan has already paid off, even if the plan isn't yet complete. It is amazing how much you learn about what you are trying to do when you sit down to document the process. ;)

We haven't found a location yet, but the hunt is on. In Londonderry and Derry New Hampshire where we live there is a vibrant community of craft beverage producers, and ideally we would like to be sited right in with them. We have looked at potential locations in both Derry and Manchester, with more to investigate this week and next. Once we secure a location we can take a big step in filing our paperwork with the TTB.

Marketing to build brand awareness will be a persistent activity. Our new logo (at the top) is being circulated and the feedback has been both interesting and useful. There may be some enhancements coming, but for now we are going with it because we believe it is largely there. I think one of the biggest things to keep in mind is that it is your brand, that the best brands use the imagery that works for them, and they always assume up front that engaging people to tell the story so that the brand resonates, and better over time, is how you build a successful brand around your graphics. We will be starting to work on a web site, but for now updates and engagement are available at the Ancient Fire Mead & Cider Facebook page. Give us a Like to keep up to date on our journey!

( Release night for 'Fear of a Black Braggot' at Lithermans Limited )

Marketing ourselves before we open is challenging since we can't make product to share and sell. A few weeks back we partnered with Lithermans Limited Brewery in Concord, NH to make a braggot, a style of mead/beer hybrid, and released it from their tasting room. We based the braggot on the Lithermans Tangled up in Bruges, a saison, to which we added wildflower honey, blackberries and black pepper. We named it "Fear of a Black Braggot", and it had plenty of flav and game. On release night Margot and I spent time in the tasting room talking to patrons about beer, mead and our plans for Ancient Fire. It was fun and so worthwhile to help people get to know who we are, as well as build excitement for our launch in 2017. And the feedback on the braggot was exceptional!

( Prepping some ingredients for 'Pumpkin Spice Girls' )

Pilot batch and recipe development work is definitely a big focus for me right now. While I've got dozens of recipes from 10+ years of mead and cider-making kicking around, I am shifting around the style and presentation of some of them to go commercial so I need to make a lot of batches to work out some details before I need to do it at scale. We bought two used 7 barrel fermenters last week, so at least I know how big my next leap is going to be. ;) We will be working in 10-15 gallon formats starting next month when we get a sizable amount of cider from a local farm.

Our session meads, the term session for mead meaning 5-8% ABV, have been received very well and ongoing recipe development is slowly honing in on a lineup that will be worthy of a launch. I am also pursuing ideas for hoppy and sour offerings for this product line. We are hoping to sell lots of flights and growlers of these meads in a rotating lineup to be keeping people coming back to the tasting room, which we will be calling the "Meading Room".

On the dessert mead side we have been experiment with all sorts of flavors including revisiting work with chili peppers that has been a consistent favorite. Maple syrup, vanilla, coffee and chocolate are all getting a workout these days. Fruit meads made earlier this year are tasting very well, and should be fun to get feedback on. A new project I did on a dare is a pumpkin spice mead named "Pumpkin Spice Girls". It is coming along nicely and having tried some pumpkin infused ciders recently I can definitely see why if it is done right squash flavored beverages are quite enjoyable. Gotta use real pumpkin though.

All of the pilot work is leading to a round of tastings with family, friends, brew club and co-workers to solicit feedback. This feedback will be useful to help us further profile people's tastes, but also gauge what products might experience less friction to sell and the value people attach to the products and their quality.

So that's the current buzz (bee jokes, yes!) about Ancient Fire.

Cheers!

Jason

Dinner On The Side Of A Mountain - #TasteCamp

Dinner on the side of a mountain in Fayston, Vermont 

was the scene for the final night of TasteCamp in June 2016.

What is TasteCamp?

The concept for TasteCamp, created in 2009 by Lenn Thompson, executive editor of the New York Cork Report, is a simple one: getting enthusiastic journalists and bloggers together in a region that is new to them, to taste as much of the region’s offerings as possible and speak to as many winemakers, cider makers, brewers, distillers and other producers as possible over the course of a weekend.

Most emerging regions in the world would love to get their products in front of new audiences, but it can be a challenge. With TasteCamp, the new audience comes to them.

This is not a junket — attendees pay their own travel expenses, including their hotel rooms and meals. Through generous sponsors, some meals may be discounted.

The 2016 location for TasteCamp was Vermont, including stops in Bethel, South Royalton, Waterbury, Shelburne, New Haven, and Fayston.

Vermont and I have a long history (35+ years of trips) and the bounty of its food and drink is well known to me. Having said that I would be remiss to not make the point up front that after spending a couple days in Vermont in early June for TasteCamp, I came home having learned and discovered plenty. It was well organized and extremely educational.

Over the course of two days I had the pleasure to enjoy wines, ciders, beers, meads and spirits crafted by a number of different producers, with all of it paired with or nearby to local foods also carefully prepared by passionate artisans.

In a follow-up post I will run down my beverage highlights, and for the balance of this post I will share some pictures of sights along the trip, the good times associated with them, as well as something more about that awesome side-of-the-mountain setting for the Saturday night dinner.

Sing it loud brother! Todd Trzaskos got us kicked off at La garigista. 

La Crescent vines at La garigista and Marquette at Shelburne Vineyards.

Winery dogs. Not a violent movie. ;) La Garagista and Fable Farm.

Wines, ciders and beers, oh my! (Stowe Cider in the center)

A motley group of beverage explorers! La garagista vineyard. 

The producer markets were fabulous. Whetstone Ciderworks shared this beautiful display.

Lots of interaction with producers. 

Shelburne Vineyards

Lincoln Peak Winery

Eden Ciders & Windfall Orchards (Saturday producer market)

Agriculture everywhere. Just like home!

BBQ dinner at The Prohibition Pig. Cheeses, bread, olives, pulled pork and potato salad. 

Wise words, and portents of things to come the next day. ;)

This is the view from the edge of one of the fields at Ploughgate Creamery. Magnificent!

Setting up for the BYO dinner. No explanation needed. The cooler on the trip out was 

unkind to cheap the Ancient Fire labels, but they were consumed nonetheless. 

The location for the dinner on the final night was excellent, but so was the food, which over the weekend was prepared by Fresh Tracks Farm, Cabot, Vermont Smoke & Cure, Thistle Hill Farm Cheese, Prohibition Pig, Costello's Market, Ploughgate Creamery, Jasper Hill Farm, Fat Toad Caramels, The Mad Taco Company and The Hen of the Wood. The company was also unmatched and the socialization generated many laughs and smiles. Everyone in the group has their unique take on the food and beverage world, and getting the chance to interact with everyone I did was both enjoyable and inspiring. 

Telling the Ancient Fire story, including where I am going next is always a pleasure, and I am always grateful for the kind feedback I get. I look forward to sharing more of that story soon.

I'd like to share special thanks to Lenn Thompson, Todd Trzaskos, Remy Charest, all the producers, and everyone else who helped put on this event. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to a few new stops on my upcoming trips to the state. Much love Vermont!

Cheers!

Jason

News of Ancient Fire

Honey bees around the mash tun on a recent brewday. Very Ancient Fire!

For my some of my long time blog readers the name Ancient Fire is known as my "brand" of homemade fermentations. Using that name I've written lots of blog posts and traveled myriad roads learning about food, beverage and culture. Along the way I've always met a lot of great people, many I still know, and some I hope to reconnect with real soon. Good times!

Ancient Fire (story about the name) is stronger today than ever before, but just not nearly as public. 

That's going to change.

Not long before I stopped my blog writing (in 2013) I reflected on the goals I had for myself early on.

I had been searching for the thing that made sense for me. Luckily, I had found it. Sensory training and competition judging. After a couple years of volunteering at local competitions I decided to really dig in and make something of that instead of writing. That was a solid choice. 

WineMaker Magazine Competition, 2016

In the time away I've gotten BJCP Certified as both a Beer and Mead judge. I've logged many hours of competition judging, judge coordination, judge training, individual and panel sensory training, hosting workshops, attending faults training sessions, reading (lots!) and many, many, many hours fermenting beers, meads, wines and ciders from a ridiculous list of ingredients that hasn't stopped growing steadily since 2005! 

I continue to make a lot of different beverages, as well as participate in industry-wide activities promoting beverage production by both amateurs/enthusiasts and professionals. I judge in a lot of competitions, and I am learning, developing my palate; and getting better at it every time I get the chance. It is amazingly rewarding as a brewer and judge to help others get recognized for the great stuff they make, as well as help them learn to judge to grow the community supporting the local homebrew scene. 

I've also won a few awards for my creations going back over a decade now. I recently won medals numbered #98 and #99, both for Cysers (apple mead). I won the first at a brew club internal competition for a Mesquite Cyser. The most recent was a Second Place for a Buckwheat Cyser at the International Mazer Cup, the most difficult mead-only competition in the world. I still compete here and there, but I tend to not judge in competitions in which I enter anymore. I stress out too much. 

One other recognition from a couple years back is that I have always been more comfortable "doing" in settings of my own choosing, so the events I've decided to get involved in did, and continue to give me the paths and connections I want to follow and make good from. That's just how I am. I channel my time into activities selected in that comfort zone, and really, through them I better understand the "localness"of different endeavors we might choose to take on. The real lesson is that most of what we find great, be it in wine, food or anything else is all about the relationships of the people who do it. I feel that in search of greatness we have to find people and places that resonate with us to help create passion. The company I keep is definitely not settled based on all the crazy ideas I've been kicking around, and that really will be a big part of the next adventure. 

Let's get to business. Here is what I expect I'll be sharing here:

• Educational development for process and sensory training
• Hosted training events
• Helping new producers and products get launched 
• Collaborations with commercial producers
• Trip reports
• Presentations and resources
• Personal training goals and milestones
• "How To" content and discussions (active in FB groups for this)
• Production plans and updates (as our own shop takes shape, more later)

Yes, you did just read that I firmly said I am going to open some type of beverage business. There isn't more to say now, but I will when there is. There is plenty to do. You won't miss me talking about. ;)

I'm signing off as I always did,

Cheers!

Jason

A Loss of Words

( A salsa judge at the World Championship

Chili Cook-off in 2010. )

There are fewer words here than there used to be. I'd bet on that continuing. And this is not a surprise to me.

In April of 2010 when I gave my 18 month old winemaker's journal (blog) a shot in the arm I was full of ideas and energy. It was a birthday present to myself. "Go do something", was the idea. And I did. Over three plus years I have achieved some of what I initially set out to do. I tasted, sampled, wrote, took photos, networked, laughed, sighed, sponged up information, provided education to others and did a fair bit of traveling. I changed courses many times and for many different reasons. I still do most of these things and with gusto! The early goals I didn't achieve have been superseded by so many others, some I have nailed, some I haven't; and some just not yet. Some weeks I wrote a lot and some weeks I wrote less. I wrote, shared, read, shared, commented, debated (argued), shared and along the way I have learned so much!

I continue to enjoy all of the experiences this journey affords me, and most of all I genuinely appreciate the many people I continue to "meet" along the way. I have never met some of these people in person (yet), but there are things we have in common so we get each other enough that we have a great dynamic in a networking context. I continue to carry on relationships with some of the people I've met while others are more often a friendly face in the more business-y realm of food & beverage events. All of them are part of the "family" however weird that ends up being in one city or another. I still look forward to these days.

But I just don't write about this stuff anymore and I don't spend much time on social media plugging my work and keeping tabs on the beverage media. Why? Well, it's complicated I guess.

Late last year (2012) I felt my drive to write about and share my experiences waning. I reformulated my approach, a natural and not unexpected reaction given the 2+ prior years, and kept plugging away. But I wasn't digging it. The idea of throwing a bunch of words together, using a euphemism here, and sharing them as a way of expressing my experiences secondhand just wasn't resonating anymore. Things change and I know myself well enough to know that when I lose interest in something there is nothing good in trying to keep it going. So I won't.

From some reflection I came to realize that my goal of "go do something" was never intended solely to mean blog about my life nor that it should necessarily create something new and permanent. So setting aside some of the activities I picked up while out "doing something" when they no longer interest me is not a crime. It isn't even failure. It is quite the opposite actually. Here is what I am keeping:

• I have more time for dates with friends (yes this is you Margot) where we get to sit around the table eating, drinking and socializing. We all want to do this and we all love it.
• I still make a shit-ton (I saw a joke this week that in the UK that is shite-tonne, he he!) of beer, mead, cider and wine and I share it with friends, all the time!
• When I travel I can strike a better balance of food/beverage visits with other things of interest. Some of it is just baked in. Portland, Oregon and the Oregon Brewer's Festival anyone? Week after next.
• With other aspects of my life (work, family, community) being as dynamic as they are for anyone else my life isn't as harried. I know I can't do everything and I can balance all of what I am doing better now.
• I am less structured and more open to just exploring things. That is what I get out of bed for.
• When I see you I'll have stories. They weren't on the blog so we'll have something to talk about for sure!

It is OK to miss the words. I'll miss my words too, but not because I regret changing my priorities but because when blogging was my priority I really had fun sharing my days with all of you. It is good to have memories that make you smile. I have fun doing lots of different things and following my interests is keeping things plenty exciting so I am sure to keep racking up good memories. See you on the trail!

Cheers!

Jason

Now Hear This – Sony Walkman W & The Grateful Dead

When I share product reviews they are exclusively food & beverage related. This week I will depart from that truth to tell you about the experience I've had with the Sony Walkman W Meb Keflezighi Edition.

I received my Sony Walkman W as a perk from Klout.com. I’m not a runner, one of the intended audiences, but I do walk a lot, hike and work out in the yard & gardens quite a bit. And working out in the yard is where I found the Walkman W to be a fantastic product.

I've been on a binge with the yard-work in the last couple of weeks. Between getting the existing gardens prepped & planted, clearing for new gardens, new landscaping in the front yard and some spot seeding I’ve probably spent almost an entire work week out there since Memorial Day weekend. Margot has helped with the work quite a bit, but during the times where we have worked in separate parts of the yard or when she was working elsewhere I've enjoyed taking my music with me as a work.

The Sony Walkman W is a about the side of a normal pair of headsets, with small modules at each ear for the electronics and a rubber coated cable connected the two. It has a USB plug for charging and to transfer music. It is designed to be water resistant, not swimming waterproof though, but more so sweat and rain-proof. I've tested both of those scenarios successfully.

The sound quality of the unit is exceptional. My music of choice the last couple of weeks has been live recordings of The Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band. Some of the audience recordings have good sound quality on their own and others have a bit more of the ambient noise. Even at the max volume the Sony Walkman W does a great job of making the music sound great. I don’t know exactly what the battery life is in practice (the web site says 8 hours), but I haven’t run out in between chargings which have been sporadic since I have been using it.

( A glimpse of what some of all the hard work has been about. )

I'll take a quick detour to share an observation specifically about my choice of music. The pairing of audience recordings of the Grateful Dead and yard work turned out to be superb, bordering on ethereal. The Dead never played the same show twice so the improvisational and organic quality to any collection of live recordings is part of the allure. Working in the garden is connective exercise, human with earth, and that activity and the music seemed linked in a spiritual way.  I prefer to listen to live music outdoors, it just feels better, and I think the experiences I have had in the yard these last few weeks are an extension of those feelings. With the added rush of the physical labor I was genuinely happy even after long, hard days of labor.  

I would highly recommend the Sony Walkman W to anyone who I active and would like to take their music on the go. It is light, comfortable, powerful and has enough storage (2GB) to listen to unique tracks for at least a few hours. The product retails for $69 at Sony's web site. Don’t worry about it getting sweaty or wet, it will keep on truckin'!

Cheers!

Jason

Keeping a Garden

I've helped with or have kept my own gardens since early childhood. Something about working with the soil, the living plants and then eating like a king has always resonated with me because of those experiences. A big thank you goes out to my mom & dad for exposing me to the activity. Those were good times!

Last year (2012) was the first good year using our original gardening plan when we moved in 11 years prior. Why didn't it work early on? We had too many trees. We got dozens of them cut down in 2011 & 2012, resulting in lots of sun. The tree removals, roof replacement and re-siding projects in those same years also collectively exposed and/or destroyed lawn, gardens and spaces with plenty of biomass and mess to deal with. Yay! 

Clearing and re-purposing those areas has allowed us to expand our gardens, both for eating and sensory enjoyment. We picked a few more areas to clean up recently and as of the time of this writing we weren't yet done with this years' enhancements. Margot was epic in loading and moving the topsoil, but don't expect her to be announcing a change in career to landscaping any time soon! Between the two of us we have spent about a work week out in the yard so far this year, but based on the way it looks it has definitely been worth it.

( This is the herb garden cleaned up, soil spread and ready to plant. May 26, 2013 )

Salad vegetables and herbs are the most important food plants for me to grow on my own property. I love fresh, raw tomatoes; they just scream summer to me! The kitchen herbs basil, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme are so easy to grow, smell fantastic and liven up all our summer meals. Estate grown hot peppers go into lots of summer dishes and in back to back years I expect a large harvest as well the creation of a new special fermented beverage to honor the crop. The sweet and spicy mead last year was really out of sight! This year we also decided to try potatoes, garlic, onions and leeks. Margot calls it our "hash brown" garden. Makes sense, so just go with it!

We kept the number of herb plants constant (I lied, we added orange mint but planted it elsewhere), but a couple perennials that didn't come back gave us better space to work with. We'll be eating basil already for dinner tonight. The sage wintered like a champ and we've already steeped some in lemonade for the house cooler for the summer season. Eating from the garden right out back is a true joy!

( Ready to plant vegetables. May 26, 2013 )

I also planted hops and strawberries from a friend in 2012. They did very well during the first season and this year are really off to a great start. I hope to get a small crop of each when their seasons come. 

( Hallertauer hops, year two. May 28, 2013)

We also decided to pluck out some small ornamental trees and replace the area with a rose garden. That is one of the plans that hasn't been completed yet, so I don't have photos to share!

And with that let's get to the rest of the photos. The captions will guide you along this year's projects.

( Getting the herbs planted is always fun! May 30, 2013 )

( The "infamous" hash brown garden. From the left, front to back. 

Potatoes, onions, garlic, leeks.  The hops are on the far right. May 31, 2013 )

( The tomatoes and peppers are really happy a few days after planting. June 5, 2013 )

( There is activity in the potato bed as of today. June 5, 2013 )

( The strawberries are going to be made into a drink. 

Cute idea to have a "cocktail garden". June 5, 2013 )

( After a few days of sun and water, the herbs are really happy! June 5, 2013 )

This year we also cleaned up the area where we removed our front hedges. Some fill and crushed stone made for a nice clean look. Margot found rustic planters to put annuals in along the front. Looks smashing!

( Front of the house. The grass seed is already down by now. May 30, 2013 )

( The back of our house is finally worth looking at! May 30, 2013 ) 

So that's where I have been lately, and with a few more projects and hours to go, it's where I will be for a few for weekends. 

Cheers!

Jason

WineMaker Magazine International Amateur Wine Competition 2013 Results

So the first order of business was to update the awards page. I posted the link on FB with the following:

Shameless, yes. Boastful and proud, yes. The guy I am, yes. But make no mistake, this is serious business.

80 total awards. 28 for mead of which 26 have come in only the last 12 months!!! More career stats: 40% win rate. And that is with an average of 8 entries per contest. I've missed placing in a contest 1 time in 7 years. I work like crazy to keep my unruly mad science in check, but I also seem to get results. I am happy to be here learning these crafts as well as having the opportunity to share it all with you. Thank you for propelling me day after day!

Ancient Fire Awards Page

The 2013 WineMaker Magazine Competition boasted 4,564 entries, the most ever. Entries came from 50 US states, 8 Canadian provinces and 9 countries.

The full PDF results are available at WineMaker Magazine International Amateur Wine Competition 2013 Results

For anyone who might have missed our weekend Twitter & FB updates, we took home 7 medals (out of 12 entries) including 3 - Gold, 3 - Silver and a Bronze. 6 were for mead.

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - May 14th, 2013

This is actually last week's HFG, but shit happens. I also had a bottle of wine on deck to include this installment, but with allergy season in full swing my nose just wasn't gonna do it. And now I'm on to the next thing, so here it is!

Ommegang Three Philosophers

Three Philosophers is a Belgian Quad, a high ABV Belgian beer for which there is also a growing number of domestic examples worth drinking. The most recent release of Gravitation from Smuttynose caught my attention earlier this year and I've wondered how it compared to the offering from Ommegang.

Ommegang is known for their true-to-style Belgian beers as well as paving some new ground, and I can't say I have ever been disappointed with one of their beers. This Quad was not what I expected however, but in fairness there isn't anything wrong or off about it. It is just much drier than I expected. All of the aromatic and flavor notes are representative, dried fruits, dark sweet fruits, a breadiness and some spices. The alcohol is moderate at 9.7%, and is not a detractor. In the mouth it's all there, but it is very subtle because of the low residual sugar.

Having had a few homebrewed versions that are sweet and viscous I checked the BJCP Style Guide to see what the ranges in the different attribute categories might be. Category 18E, Belgian Dark Strong Ale is where a Quad could be classified. The alcohol is expected to be between 8 and 11% and the bitterness low. As for the sweetness, there are two sub-styles, Trappist & Abbey, that differ greatly in this aspect, while retaining considerable similarities otherwise. OK, glad I checked. The BJCP style guide is one of the ways I have been learning about beer styles and the two different versions (based on dryness) of Belgian Dark Strong Ales was something new to me!

At the end of the day this is a sweet style of beer for me, which is a good thing to know. I haven't ventured to make a Quad yet, but I do like Belgian beer so after trying a few more who knows!

Cheers!

Jason 

Now Hear This – Kid Rock Helped Me Make Better Beer

( Us from the night in question. )

Where: Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean onboard the Carnival Destiny cruise ship

When: April 2012,  late at night

What: Me joking that I could create a lime-infused ale that is better than Bud Light Lime, not that that is really that hard…

I’ll be honest, I struggled to find what I personally consider worthy beer options at the bars while on the Kid Rock Cruise. If you are a Chillin’ The Most cruiser and are reading this, take no offense. I make my own beer and over the years I have lost my taste for the big three brands (Bud, Miller, Coors), but I believe people should drink what they like. Drink freely my friends.

During one of the evenings on the cruise Margot and I sat outside enjoying both the warm night air and the people watching. The people watching on the cruise was epic by the way. I hit the bar and decided on a couple of Bud Light Limes. As I was drinking my beer I remarked “hey this isn’t so bad” and began talking about how I might craft something similar at home. Margot was goading me on, asking me to express how I really felt about Budweiser and got it all on video, but the video isn’t SFTB (safe for the blog) so you’ll just have to imagine it.

As I thought about it over the remainder of the weekend I figured a basic American ale containing both wheat and corn would be a solid blank slate to layer on some lime. Having worked with citrus flavors in my home fermentations before I knew that a multi-phased approach would work best. I added dried lime peel to the hot wort just before I chilled and strained it, and then fresh lime zest after I transferred the beer to the secondary fermentation container. Finally, lime juice was added at bottling to help bring it all together and lock a solid zip of lime into each bottle.

My plan worked. The beer was brewed on July 4^th, 2012 and we set about enjoying it about a month later. We actually used the same beer base to make a lemon shandy, a beer that went on to take a first place in a brewing competition later in the year. But I digress.

Everyone who tried the lime ale had positive words for it, and some people drank every bit of it in sight each time I chilled some down. It is a light-bodied beer and early on the effect of the corn was not very apparent. We just drank the last of the batch this past weekend and just like when I’ve brewed with corn in the past a rounded, sweetness developed with age. In the first few months after the beer was brewed the lime complex in the beer was potent, adding considerable tartness and crispness to each sip. Nearly a year later the lime was much mellowed, but still present.

Skip to the current day. I brewed a fresh batch of lime ale on my birthday last month, nearly one year to the day I hatched the plan in the first place. The recipe for the beer (provided below) has been slightly modified, but the first dose of lime (dried peel) was added at the same time and the fresh lime zest will be as well. At bottling however I will be using more lime juice, and all of it freshly squeezed rather than bottled. 

Getting an earlier start on the second batch means it will be conditioned and ready to go for the summer drinking season, where I expect it will be consumed even more quickly, meaning I won’t be able to say I finished the last of it ten months later.

As for Kid Rock, he needs to get his ass to my house to try the creation he inspired. If you are reading this Bob (I’m dreaming, but one has to do that now and again) the invitation is open and we can retreat to the basement with openers and straws and see what comes of it!

And with that I’ll leave you with a video from the sail away show from the Kid Rock Chillin’ The Most Cruise #3. I can still hear my favorite Kid Rock songs reverberating across the sand and sea while I stood in the sun enjoying the simple things in life, like when and where.

 ( This video is not my own, but it kicks ass so I shared it! )

Cheers!

Jason

Ancient Fire Lime Ale 2013

SRM: 4.6

OG: 1.050

IBU: 14.5

Mash time: 30 min

Boil time: 45min

4lb Pilsner Dry Malt Extract

1lb CaraPils

1lb Flaked Wheat

1lb Flaked Corn

1oz Hallertauer hops (45 min)

0.5oz Cascade hops (5 min)

0.0oz Cascade hops (post boil, 5 min)

1oz dried lime peel (post boil, 15 min)

Zest of 6 limes (secondary, until bottling)

Lime juice (amount TBD, at bottling)

Maurivin brewing yeast, 1 liter starter

My Half Full Glass - May 2nd, 2013

Finger Lakes Reds with Grilled Steak Tips

The producers of the Finger Lakes are sharing their wines through a series of virtual tastings again this year including several in the month of May which is Finger Lakes Wine Month. If you are curious about the wines from the region these tastings go a long way to help you understand what is possible.

In the past I have participated in the Riesling and White Wine tastings so for this most recent series I selected reds. The sample kit included the following wines:

• Fox RunVineyards 2010 Lemberger
• Goose Watch Winery 2011 Lemberger
• Rooster Hill Vineyards Cab Franc/Lemberger blend
• Wagner Vineyards 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir
• Heron Hill Winery Ingle Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009
• McGregor Vineyard 2008 Black Russian Red

Prior to the 8PM virtual tasting I opened each of the bottles and gave them a taste. As I considered the sensory feedback I fired up the grill and got the steak tips going. A summary of our initial impressions goes a little something like this:

• The first taste of the Fox Run 2010 Lemberger set high expectations for the flight. Earthy & spicy in the nose with tart currants, dark berries and a healthy dose of black pepper.  Upon returning to this wine for a second taste both my wife and I found the nose to be a bit funky and there was also a prickle on the tongue that was not there previously. Neither was profound enough for us to think the wine was flawed, just noticeable different between tastes. I came back to this wine today and the nose was the same but the prickle on the tongue was gone. I'm not going to knock this wine for a subtle funkiness that doesn't detract from the rest of its attributes.
• The Goose Watch 2010 Lemberger is a different style from the Fox Run, softer and more fruit forward. It is medium to full in body and smells like a dark berry jam with a restrained spicy component. Very quaffable.
• The Rooster Hill Cab 2011 Franc/Lemberger blend is a bit floral in the nose with a healthy dose spiciness. In the mouth it is very peppery and the combination of spice, acidity and presence of fine tannins creates quite an experience.  On its own this wine was my favorite of the six.
• The Wagner 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir leads off with crushed red fruits both in the nose and mouth. It has enough tartness to keep everything lively and has a subtle tannic profile. This is a very straightforward, smooth and eminently drinkable Pinot.
• The Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard 2009 Pinot Noir was off to us. Some volatile elements in the nose came off as a chemical in nature. The flavors were unblemished and the balance of acidity/tannins was good.  I also returned to this wine today and found the odd elements in the nose to be subdued, but the wine was very acidic and tart compared to the tasting the night before.
• The McGregor 2008 Black Russian Red was a new-to-us wine and producer from the region. The grapes are also nearly new to us as well. It pours very purple and has a nose that blends dark fruits, dried flowers (even sweet tobacco), spices and wet earth.  The wine is tart and dry with dark berry flavors, balanced acidity and fine tannins. I look forward to finishing this bottle!

Once dinner was ready we got down to round two. In addition to grilled steak tips we also had a pine nut couscous and Brussels sprouts on our plates.

We brought wines in to try two at a time. The two that paired best were the Rooster Hill and McGregor Vineyard wines.  The Fox Run Lemberger paired nicely as well, but we were giving it some air (see the notes above) and thought it might do even better overall on day two. The Goose Watch wine was too fruity for the pairing. Yes, the Pinots were overrun by the beef and marinade, but I didn't have any salmon on hand! The spice notes and acidity of both of these wines were the assets that made them work with the steak. The marinade on the steak was both sweet and spicy so a wine with some body and spice character of its own would be destined to work best.

After dinner I headed to the computer to watch the live stream from the tasting event, listen to Q&A from participants and interact with folks in Twitter who were tasting and sharing notes on the same wines. The most important message I heard producers relating to those participating is that their region is distinct from others and they need to continue to work to figure out which grapes work best and on which sites in order to continue to improve the wines. The specific questions about how Lemberger does in the region affirm this notion. Peter Bell from Fox Run indicated that while Pinot Noir is hard to grow anywhere in the world, including the Finger Lakes, Lemberger is proving to less fussy and produces quality wines when sited in a number of places around the region. Eschewing comparisons to other wine-making regions all of the winemakers assembled kept the focus on what their regional experiences are telling them and what work they are doing to continue to grow given the conditions they find in their vineyards.

This event was, as they always has been, a great way to learn more about what the producers are doing in the Finger Lakes region. Thank you to all the producers who participated and the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance for organizing the tasting series again in 2013. Being able to celebrate Spring and Finger Lakes Wine Month with delicious wines and seasonal grilling definitely made me smile!

Cheers!

Jason

I'm Ten Years Cancer Free!!!

( Me and my team in 2011 kicking some cancer ass! )

In the last week or so plenty of people have asked me what it felt like to turn 40. Well, it really didn't matter to me in the stereotypical way people think of it. Let me illustrate.

Then: I was diagnosed/treated for cancer and turned 30 in the midst of it. Yuck!

Now: I turned 40 on Monday and was given the good word just today that I am free of cancer for 10 years running. Hot damn!

Which one would you choose? See why turning 40 is so awesome for me? I'm better now than when I was 30 and so happy to be here to say that!

This is cause for celebration, and trust me I'll be doing plenty of that; so should you if only because celebrating a great story even when it isn't your own makes us human. But there is more to this than hoots, hollers and cheering.

The war on cancer has not been won. We've barely advanced our pieces on the board. My cause for celebration is a reminder of the battle we wage and why all of us need to get involved. It's a fight for life, and none of us are safe.

Fight back for Hannah, Bill, Pete, Rhonda and Noah who carry on their own personal battles. Celebrate all the survivors who remind us that hope is not lost. Fight back for your children, spouse, mother, father, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, co-workers and yourself. Remember those we've lost and whose presence at our side as we fight propels us forward to victory. Get involved for any reason you want, but get involved.

Click below to make a donation to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY13NE?px=1344507&pg=personal&fr_id=52043

Thank you!

Jason

Now Hear This - Music with Soul

This is the inaugural column of Now Hear This, a weekly music-themed article that will showcase the strange interplay between music and beverages which may only exist in my own mind. Maybe it will make sense, maybe it won't. Maybe you will be inspired to check out new-to-you music and beverages as a result of reading it, or maybe you will dismiss me as crazy. Fine by me! Either way each week I get to share something of the inspiration that propels me onwards with only the hope that I might entertain you.

This week's topic is music that have soul. What does this mean exactly? When I was mulling this new column over I remembered a piece by Steve Heimoff in 2012 that touched on the topic of soul in wine and used a music analogy, hearing Marvin Gaye’s "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" as a kid, to set the tone. Heimoff was riffing on the thoughts of another writer (Lisa Airy for the Baltimore Sun) after having read their treatment of the question "What does it take to be great?" in the context of wine. There are two points from the original author that Heimoff specifically crafted his piece around that to me answer the question I asked above. They are “A …wine [that] is a very real combination of scent, flavor and texture that is seamless, multi-faceted, and unending from first sip to swallow, from first sip to last sip.” and “The experience [of a soulful wine] should be such a sensorial onslaught as to capture your complete and undivided attention.” Whether it is wine or music those two statements sum up the concept of soul I am hinting at, multi-faceted, intensely textured, sensorially captivating; demanding complete and undivided attention.

I'm late jumping on the Ben Harper train. He's already been underground and indie, has already gone big and  won awards, been the "it" musician and best I can tell has now settled into his unique stride entertaining loyal fans with performances worldwide, producing for others and giving time & resources to the many global causes he is outspoken about and supports. Ben Harper's music has a vibrant soul, and based on what I've read about him personally, so does he.

I recently caught "I'm In I'm Out And I'm Gone: The Making of Get Up!"on Palladia. The show is part making of and part studio performance for the new Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite collaboration, "Get Up!" At the time I first watched it I knew next to nothing about Harper and absolutely nothing about Musselwhite, and technically I still don't. But the music commanded my attention. Harper on slide guitar (his signature style which of course I would learn more about after downloading more of his music) and Musselwhite on harmonica is a real sensorial onslaught. "I Don't Believe a Word You Say" is my favorite track from the "Get Up!" disc.

The video above is a the performance of "I Don't Believe a Word You Say"  from the Get Up! special. Turn it up loud and listen to the different layers from the musicians. It may be stripped down musically, but is isn't simple and has plenty of soul.

During the special on the making of Get Up! Both Musselwhite and Harper talked about how they met (at a session with John Lee Hooker no less) and that they were “following a feeling” and “letting the music lead them” which brought them to where they were right then. Talk about tuned in, switched on and paying attention!

After the special was over I headed to the cloud. I have been 13 year member of Emusic.com and once I found the Ben Harper page I bounced around the artist bio and album pages to get a feel for what was available and downloaded a cross section of studio and live tunes that I could chew on. Amongst the songs I downloaded there is one I keep coming back to, "The Will To Live". I specifically like the live version of it from the "The Will To Live: Live EP" originally recorded during the 1997 world tour. With lyrics like those below I don't think it is very hard to expect the song to have a bit of soul.

"I met a girl whose heart was on the right hand side

And upon the left an angel did reside

They told her mother that she never would survive

But she kept the rhythm and is still alive, she's still alive

And we must all have the will to live

Oh, you got to have the will to live

Oh, the will, oh, the will

The will to live

..."

I couldn't find that particular version online but this one is similar and should provide context. After listening to the song I immediately stopped to think about what it really means to have the will to live and why don't more people live life to the fullest without having to have experienced calamity for perspective? I've been lucky enough to gain perspective after personal health problems, but I don't think that is required to be able to grasp the soul of this song.

The slide guitar on this track (the live one I specifically like) initially comes across as just behind the bass in the texture stack, then it jumps forward and for the rest of the track they trade places with the guitar also bouncing from right to left and back. It takes focus to absorb it all. Another stylistic facet for Harper is a soulful whisper in his vocals, which is clearly evident on this track. At about four and half minutes (or so depending on version) into the track a group of vocalists, Harper included, create a lullaby type medley that Harper stretches out to nearly the close of the track. There is something so human and soulful there. I'm profoundly touched by it. Examples of this soul exist throughout Ben Harper's collection. If you aren't familiar with Harper and dig an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, rock and plenty of energetic guitar playing find this music and stick it in your brain!

So what about the beverages? I am going to go with a pairing rather than deconstruct the soul of a particular drink this week. The music on the Get Up! record offers a lot to take in with its mix of both mellow and up-tempo blues. It immediately made me think of Bourbon, a great example of the harmony of mellow and lively elements in a glass. I watched the special a second time with a glass of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon in hand and it was a fine pairing indeed. The Bourbon is complex in its own right, with a nice balance of sweet and smoky elements which played off the music very well. It occurred to me that a cigar might have been a nice addition, but I’ll save that for another day.

Sane or crazy, you decide. Hopefully it was entertaining!

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - April 25th, 2013

White Birch Ol' Catty Flemish Sour

Hanging out at the Cask & Vine bar can be dangerous. Four beer flights help you experience what's been newly tapped and then a full glass of something that catches your fancy can make for a dangerous night!

Last weekend the Ol' Catty Sour from White Birch (a soured version of their Ol' Cattywhompus Barleywine) was on tap. I will say that I am developing a taste for sour beers and with the experience I do have I know what I like and don't in this style. Beers that are sour for sour's sake and don't have a lot of character in their own right just don't do it for me.

The White Birch Ol' Catty Sour is NOT one of those beers. It's actually sweet, and sour! Brown in color with a wonderfully rich & malty full body and earthy hops you'd be good enough there. The sour, but not too sour, tangent adds depth to this drink. Because it is also sweet the sour profile doesn't taste forced or out of balance. My Facebook message on this beer finished with "damn, I love this beer!" I guess I was having a good time.

Meinklang Burgenland White 2012

Last night (April 24, 2013) the topics of bio-dynamics and Austrian wine were showcased on #winechat. I received the sample kit and popped the bottles open earlier in the day to do my tasting and note taking. The first wine I tasted was the Meinklang Burgenland White 2012 a blend of Welschriesling, Gruener Veltliner and Muskat Ottonel. I'm a sucker for fresh & fruity white blends and this one definitely drew me in. Bottled with some of its own carbonation the wine is a bit prickly which adds a surprising but very workable dimension all of its own. This wine makes a perfect summer sipper. It does need to be chilled to be best.

Aromas of white flowers, crushed herbs and tart, white fleshed fruits (tart apples, pears) blend together nicely in the nose and mouth. The finish is crisp and prickly but does have just a little sweetness left before it exits. There was plenty of conversation about this wine during #winechat and having enjoyed it on the first really warm Spring day we've had in New Hampshire made it easy to consider how this wine might pair well with the inevitable backyard parties of Summer.

Thank you to Austrian Wine USA for hosting #winechat and for the producers who participated. Not having a lot of Gruner experience I was taking in a lot of the feedback from others to help put these wines in context. I purposely decided to make an Asian-inspired salad for dinner tonight so that I can return to the Sepp Moser and Nikolaihof Gruners to experience more of what they offer!

Cheers!

Jason