Sea Hag Hopped Up Pickles (Spicy IPA Pickles)

Sea Hag Hopped Up Pickles

(Spicy IPA Pickles)

2 Pounds Small Cucumbers

1 1/2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Can Sea Hag IPA (or any good IPA)

2 Tablespoons Pickling Salt OR

3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

8 Garlic Cloves, Peeled

4 Teaspoons Dill Seed

2 Teaspoons Black Peppercorns

1 Teaspoon Red Chili Flakes

Cut off the ends of cucumbers.  This is important because there are enzymes in the ends that will soften the pickles . . . i.e. less crispy. 

Cut the cucumbers into quarters, make sure they’re short enough to fit in quart mason jars without sticking up too high.  Pack the cucumbers into the jars

Split the rest of the ingredients between the two jars.

Combine the vinegar, beer, and salt together in a saucepan, heat until just boiled.  Be careful because it will boil over.

Using a ladle, pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers leaving about a 1/4 inch of headspace.

Screw the lid tops on and allow the jars to cool on the countertop.

Shake the jars gently to mix the spices around.  Put them in the fridge and allow the pickles to absorb all the wonderful spices.

After about a week open the jar, take a bite and be completely impressed with your awesome pickling skills!

PS . . . I use New England Brewery Sea Hag cuz it's a rockin' good beer that make seriously rockin' good pickles!

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Final Friday at New England Brewing Company

Hubby and I recently attended Final Friday at New England Brewing.  Final Friday is their monthly open house where you get to sample their beer, mingle with other beer lovers and enjoy a live band  . . . all of this at the brewery with the beer making staff.  Basically, a beer drinkin' rockin' good time!


$5 at the door gets you three tickets good for three 10 ounce beer samples.


We arrived just at the start of the soiree . . . 6 PM . . . and the there were already quite a few people there.  Comfortably crowded I would say; room to mingle, check things out and get a beer.

Hubby and I took our cups, dropped a ticket in the bowl and got our beer samples.  Being the IPA lover that I am, I started out with the Sea Hag IPA.  We made our way over to the stacks of pallets loaded with empty cans and sampled our . . . well . . . sample.  


Yummy!  Sea Hag . . . my first time drinking this beer.  It is an American style India Pale Ale.  I liked it . . . I liked it a lot.  It's hoppy and bitter without being overpoweringly so.  The hops are citrusy with plenty of the lemon and grapefruit that I love.  The malt gives the beer a caramel flavor that lends a slight sweetness that blends quite nicely with the bitter hops.  Over all . . . a very good IPA . . . I loved it.  (6.2% ABV)



As we were finishing our first beer we noticed the crowd was noticeably thicker and the temperature was rising in the relatively small space.  And . . . a line was begining to form to get the beer.  So, we hopped in line for our second sample.  Just as we were getting our cups filled the band started and the place was a'rockin'.



My second choice was an Elm City Lager.  This is a German style pilsner.  Again . . . I really liked this beer.  Light, tasty and exceedingly drinkable. This is what a lager should taste like . . . mildly sweet, slightly bitter, clean and smooth.  A sesionable beer to be sure at 5% ABV.  Really quite nice.  An all around good beer!


While sipping my beer I skulked around a bit checking out the equipment . . . tanks, canner, etc.  I happened to look up and spied a red monster dude hanging out on a beam and Elvis perched on top of tank.  


There were kegs and KEGS waiting to be filled.  


But, the pallets of cans and the tanks themselves filled most of the space . . . which was surprisingly small.

By the time we finished our second beer the place was packed . . . and we were sweating like crazy.  A very hot, humid day and a room filled with beer swizzling people makes a very sultry environment.  And the line to get beer . . . looooooooong.  


We eased our way into the line to get our final sample.  I decided to go with the Sea Hag . . . as it was that or the Elm City.  We squeezed our way over to the open overhead door to get some fresh air . . . it was brutally hot.


Mmm . . . out of beer?  Sometimes life is crap.  :)


As we finished up we were ready to get gone.  As crowded and hot as it was we still left happy . . . sweaty but happy.  I'm looking forward to heading back to New England Brewery for another Final Friday.



For more information check out NEBC's website or visit their Facebook page.

New Brew Thursday - IPA Double Tap . . . Goose Island IPA and Ghandi Bot

The first IPA is Goose Island IPA . . . It's served on tap at our Wednesday wings-n-beer hangout and it's a good honkin' beer.  

This is my second Goose Island review (see other review).  Goose Island was once a little upstart company but is now Anheuser-Busch.  A downside in my book but I still like the brews.



Goose Island’s IPA is an English-style IPA. Although this is an English IPA it is brewed with Centennial and Cascade hops along with a pair of English style hops, four varieties total. It's the Centennial and Cascade hops that give Goose Island IPA a distinctly American flavor.  

The beer is a rich golden color with a white head that hugs the side of the glass leaving very nice lacing behind.   This is an earthy tasting beer with piney, floral, almost grassy flavor with a kind of citrussy pineapple finish.  


It's a pleasant beer to drink, it's perfectly carbonated, medium bodied and refreshing.  Goose Island has very good IPA taste with out being overpowering; not bitter and nicely balance.  


Overall, a good IPA and fits the bill when I'm looking for a little extra flavor.  5.9% ABV






Visit the Goose Island website for more information on this or their other offerings.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page, as well.

The second IPA is Gandhi-Bot which is brewed by New England Brewing Company (see my other NEBC review).


Gandhi-Bot is a heavy hitter as far as IPA's go . . . it's an Imperial style double IPA.  It packs quite a wallup in both flavor and alcohol content (8.8% ABV)

Gandhi-bot pours an amber color.  The full, long-lasting head grabs the glass.  Layer after layer of lacing appears sip after sip.  It looked like a strip mine excavation in my beer glass.


The aroma is OMG hoppy with the flavor to back it up.  My first reaction to the first taste of this beer was "WOW!"  and then "wow!".  Then I settled back and very much enjoyed this brew.

The very piney, very grapefruity, slightly sweet flavor was incredibly well balanced and smooth.  The intense of flavors . . . not for the light weight IPA drinker . . . finish with a lingering hoppy bitterness that begs for another sip.  And then another.

A seriously good IPA.  NEBC has out-done themselves with this one and I'll be keeping a few on hand for an IPA emergency.

I really, really like this one!  Grab yourself a pack and prepare to be wowed!

For more information check out NEBC's website or visit them on Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Imperial Stout Trooper

I admit it . . . I am a fan of the Star Wars movies.  So, too, must be the maker of Imperial Stout Trooper.


I've been drinking New England Brewing Company's owner/brewmaster Rob Leonards's beer for many years . . . way before he acquired NEB in 2001;  I first sampled his brews in the 1990's when he was making beer for John Harvards Brew House in Westport, Connecticut and the Brewhouse Restaurant in Norwalk, Connecticut.

I love and support local breweries and this one is no exception.   The New England Brewing Company  is located Woodbridge Connecticut . . . just a hop, skip and a jump from where I live.  

When Imperial Stout Trooper was first released in limited quantities in 2010 I quickly snatched up a few bottles . . . they were hard to come by and I paid a hefty $14.99 per bottle.   The label portrayed an image very similar to a Star Wars Imperial Storm Trooper.  George Lucas was none too flattered . . . he issued a cease and desist order to get his Star Wars imagery removed from the the Stout Trooper label.

Those first year bottles have become something of a collectors item.  My husband saw a bottle listed on Ebay that was going for over $100.


The following year Imperial Stout Trooper was once again issued in limited edition . . . this time with an amusing new label . . . Groucho Marx glasses and 'stache to disguise the trooper beneath.  


A few weeks ago I picked up a few bottles of the 2012 edition.  So limited is the distribution of this beer, my local booze store would only let me buy two.  Of course, I went back and got more . . . two is certainly not enough.

This a truly amazing hand crafted brew.  It pours dark as  night with a light tannish head that quickly dissipates but clings to the sides of the glass.  It has a caramelly, smoky, coffee aroma and the flavors to back up the nose tease.  

The taste is everything I've come to expect from an imperial stout . . . a complex combination of very slightly sweet dark chocolate, caramel and molasses perfectly balanced with coffee, smoke, licorice and malt.
  
Stout Trooper is not a heavy beer nor as heavy as is to be expected from a Russian imperial stout BUT very enjoyable.  It is medium bodied and medium carbonated which equates to a pleasant mouth feel. 

As good as this beer tastes, you kind of have to put the brakes on due to its high 8.5% ABV.   Share a bottle or two with friends . . . sip, relax, enjoy. And then wait another year to grab a couple bottles of this limited edition brew.

Drink it, it's good . . . indeed.

For more information check out NEB's website or visit them on Facebook.