cocktails, anyone?depoetry.com/publications/cheers/cheers-20150814.pdf2015/08/14 · pair with each...

Cape Gazette FRIDAY, AUGUST 14 - MONDAY AUGUST 17, 2015 101

A SPECIAL PUBLICATION BY THE CAPE GAZETTE

Discover independently produced wine, beer and spirits in the Cape Region

BEER • WINE • SPIRITS

DENY HOWETH PHOTO

MICHY'S RELAXED DINING near Rehoboth Beach offers an eclectic assortment of cocktails, including the Violet Margarita, made with violet liqueur and a sweet, surprising curry rim. Happy hour is 4 to 6 p.m. dai-ly at Michy’s, located off Route 1 at 19287 Miller Road.

Cocktails, anyone?Fresh, fruity ways to impress

From pool parties to baseball games to backyard barbecues, this time of year provides a number of occasions to enjoy time with family and friends. Take your gatherings to the

next level with a fun and festive drink menu that reflects the fresh flavors of the season.

Today Americans are turning to wine more often than ever be-fore, and the summer months are no exception. Try these refresh-ing cocktails - using wine as a key ingredient - to spritz up your next party.

Perfectly Pink Punch1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawedJuice from 1/2 lemon1 ounce simple syrup1 (750 milliliter) bottle white zinfandelClub soda (optional)

Place mandarin oranges and syrup into pitcher. Add raspberries, juice from lemon and simple syrup. Top with pink spritzer. Serve over ice. Top with club soda if preferred.

Melon Mint-jito6-7 whole mint sprigs (save 1 for garnish)Juice from 1/2 lime4 (1-inch) chunks honeydew melon2 (1-inch) slices Bosc pear (cut lengthwise)1 ounce simple syrup4 ounces crisp white wine1 1/2-2 ounces club soda

Place mint sprigs, lime juice, honeydew melon, pear and simple syrup in cocktail shaker. Muddle lightly. Add white wine and ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into tall glass over fresh ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with additional mint sprig.

Summer Lovin'1 cup fresh seedless watermelon6-8 large fresh strawberries, hulled1 ounce simple syrup4 ounces white zinfandelWatermelon wedge for garnish

Place watermelon, strawberries and simple syrup in blender (no ice). Blend until smooth. Pour into tall glass over ice. Top with pink spritzer. Add watermelon wedge as garnish, if desired.

CHEERS!

102 FRIDAY, AUGUST 14 - MONDAY AUGUST 17, 2015 Cape Gazette

Dogfish Head has full slate on deck for fallPunkin, Kvasir and release of Choc LobsterBy Nick [email protected]

As fall approaches, Dogfish Head in Milton has a number of beers ready to be released to craft beer

lovers across the country. Just released is a draft-only brew called Choc Lobster. Previously an exclusive at Dogfish's Rehoboth Beach brewpub, the dry porter will be available for the masses in states where Dogfish is sold. The small batch is on tap at Dogfish's Milton brewery and Rehoboth brewpub as well as nation-wide at World of Beer locations. Choc Lobster is brewed with basil, dark cocoa and lobsters from Ebenecook Oyster Farm on the Sheepscot River in Maine. Grab a glass while you can because once it's gone, it might be a while before it comes back around.

Fresh off the bottling line is 120 Minute IPA. The early August release is just one of two batches Dogfish will be releasing this year.

If not there already, the “Holy Grail for Hopheads” should be hitting shelves soon.

Dogfish is also bringing back Kva-sir this fall. With a local release date of Tuesday, Aug. 18, Delaware beach residents and visitors can get the first

taste of this Nordic ancient ale, which is brewed with cranberries and lingonber-ries. The brew should be hitting taps outside Delaware within two weeks of its local release.

It wouldn't be fall without one of Dogfish's most popular seasonal brews – Punkin Ale. Set for a Sept. 1 release, Dogfish's Off-Centered Storyteller Justin Williams said that Dogfish encourages distributors and retailers to hold off sell-ing the popular brew before the release date. Punkin will hit shelves and taps locally and nationwide the same day.

Farther down the road, Dogfish is cook-ing up some specialty brews. Among them is the release of Fort for the first time in four years and Dogfish's 20th anniversary brew Higher Math. Fort is listed on Dogfish's website as an Occasional Rarity.

The brew is a Belgian-style beer with a fermenta-tion process similar to 120 Minute IPA, clocking in at 12 to 15 percent ABV.

If you think Fort is hefty,

Higher Math puts it to shame, with a robust 20 percent ABV.

This brew is a golden ale, fermented with cherries on cocoa nibs. It is expect-ed to be released later this year.

Fans should also expect to see the col-laboration with Woolrich called Penn-sylvania Tuxedo in bottle form for the first time in the coming months. THE 2015

EDITION of Punkin Ale has a new label design.

CHEERS!

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THE SIGN IS UP! The Crooked Hammock Brewery, which will be located at 16989 Kings Highway near Lewes, is shooting for a September opening. The restaurant and backyard beer garden is owned by La Vida Hospitality Group, which also owns Nage locations in Rehoboth Beach and Washington, D.C. and The Nage Pantry of Rehoboth Beach. Go to crookedhammock.com for more information.

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Crooked Hammock opening this fall

CHEERS!

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Summer cocktails...the perfect indulgenceBy Denise ClemonsCape Flavors columnist

One of the guilty pleasures of summer vacation is a lunchtime cocktail. With nothing taxing on

the afternoon agenda, why not toast the sunshine with a colorful rum punch or an icy cold margarita.

The backbone of a Bahama Mama (the pretty pink cocktail in the photograph) is formed around two types of rum - a flavorful dark rum and a coconut-infused variety. Rum has long been associated with sugar cane cultivation in the Carib-bean during the 17th century, but Marco Polo also found fermented sugarcane juice on his travels to China three-hun-dred years earlier.

Tequila is the main ingredient in a margarita and instead of the simple process of fermenting molasses to cre-ate rum, this spirit takes quite a jour-ney from the agave plant to the bottle. Growers tending the agave fields watch closely to harvest the bud of the flower stalk just as it emerges from the base.

Leaves are removed from around the bud to expose the center mass that resembles an artichoke heart. These are first roasted in stone or brick ovens, then allowed to ferment for several days. Next, the mixture is boiled to distill the flavorful, alcoholic liquid. There are end-less varieties of tequila, just as there are of rum, ranging from the pedestrian to the sublime.

While most of us are familiar with

pairing our food with different wines, similar considerations can be made when pairing food with a cocktail, For example, the sweetish Bahama Mama cocktail would work well with that bucket of peel-and-eat Old Bay-seasoned boiled shrimp.

And, the margarita doesn’t only pair with Mexican food. Try one with spicy short-rib sliders or a lemon-infused filet of tilefish. In the first pairing, the subtle citrus of the drink is a welcome contrast; in the second pairing the lime and lemon will echo each other in flavor profiles.

The lime hints in the margarita would also be a nice partner with briny raw oysters.

Simple guidelines for mixing food and cocktails include choosing to either com-plement or contrast the predominant flavors. Another element is the signature flavor of the mixer, since the taste of the alcoholic ingredient is often masked by fruit juice or crushed berry pulp.

Always consider the texture of your cocktail. For example, you wouldn’t want to serve a thick, frozen drink with red meat or a rich sauce. A better choice

would be to choose a drink with some carbonation to balance with the qualities of a full-bodied dish.

Just as you might incorporate a specif-ic wine when you cook a dish and serve the same wine with the finished product, you can also cook with the spirits you’re drinking. I’ve included recipes for the two drinks in the photo and a dish to pair with each - enjoy!Shrimp Ceviche1 lb medium shrimp1 small red onion

JACK CLEMONS PHOTOS

THE CITRUSY MARGARITA, left, joins fruity and delicous Bahama Ma-mas as all-time great summer cocktails. Fresh ingredients make the

difference in both. For the best flavor, don’t skimp on the ingredients. Cheers to summertime!

Continued on page 105

CHEERS!

Cape Gazette FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 - MONDAY JANUARY 19, 2015 105

3 or 4 limes1/3 C white tequila1/2 C chopped cilantro1/2 C diced cucumber1/2 t salt1/4 t cayenne2 t sugar

Peel, devein, and blanch the shrimp for 2 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Remove immediately to a bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water. Drain and chop the shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces and place in a glass bowl.

Peel the onion, cut in half horizontally and slice thinly; add to shrimp. Juice the limes and add 1/2 C juice to the bowl; discard rinds.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well, tossing gently with a spatula. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours. To serve, divide mixture evenly into 4 martini glasses, garnish with tortilla chips.Margarita1 lime wedgecoarse salt2 oz Tequilla1 oz Cointreau1 oz lime juice1 C ice cubes

Rub the rim of a martini glass with the lime wedge. Pour salt onto a shallow plate and dip the rim of the glass in the salt; set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Pour liquid into the prepared glass, along with a few ice cubes. Garnish with the lime wedge.

Yield: 1 serving.Spiced Rum Chicken4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts1 T brown sugar3 T lime juice1/3 C spiced rum1 T soy sauce1 t Worcestershire sauce1/2 t toasted sesame oil1 T olive oil1/4 t pepper1 T minced parsley1 quartered lime

Combine all ingredients (except quartered lime) in a large zip-top bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal the bag. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Remove chicken to a plate and discard marinade. Coat the inside of a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium. Arrange chicken in a single layer and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center, at least 6 minutes on each side.

Squeeze lime juice over chicken, cover and allow to rest 5 minutes before serv-ing.Bahama Mama1/2 oz dark rum1/2 oz coconut rum1/2 oz grenadine1 oz orange juice1 oz pineapple juice1 C crushed icestar fruit slice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until slushy. Pour into a glass and garnish with a slice of star fruit. Yield: 1 serving.

See Denise Clemons’ Cape Flavors column every Friday in the Cape Gazette.

CocktailsContinued from page 104

CHEERS!


Wine by the numbers

$34.6 BILLIONWine sales in the United States increased 2 percent in 2012 from the previous year to a record 360.1 million 9-liter cases — an estimated retail value of $34.6 billion.

207.7 MILLION CASESOf those 360.1 million cases, 207.7 million were sold in California – 58 percent of U.S. wine sales.

19 YEARSThese numbers are not surprising. The United States is the largest wine market in the world, with 19 consecu-tive years of volume growth, according to the Wine In-stitute.

50 PERCENT GROWTHWine shipments to the United States market have climbed by nearly 50 percent since 2001. The Wine Insti-tute expects consumption to continue to expand over the next decade.

21 PERCENT SHAREIn 2012, Chardonnay remained the most popular varietal, with a 21 percent share of volume, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon at 12 percent.

175,000 OUTLETSWine-selling locations expanded by more than 50,000 in the past five years, according to Nielsen. There are now 175,000 retail outlets across the nation.

Why vintage matters

W ine aficionados will tell you that while the type of wine matters a great deal,

the wine’s vintage can be just as important.

But why does vintage matter? Is it just a matter of wine snobbery? If grapes are produced on the exact same land and fermented in the ex-act same way, why would the exact year make a difference?

Annual variationsThe obvious answer is that weath-

er conditions can vary dramatically from year to year, and this in turn will make a dramatic difference in how the wine tastes in your glass.

The best winemakers are very skilled at keeping their wine’s flavor consistent from each harvest, but there’s only so much they can do to offset the whims of Mother Nature. Temperatures, rainfall amounts and frost dates can all play havoc with grapes, causing them to grow bigger or smaller, drier or juicier, and forc-ing them to be harvested earlier or later.

All these variations mean wine from the exact same winery, pro-duced by the exact same winemaker, will be better in some years than others.

Know the differenceVintage is one of many factors

that makes buying a wine such an adventure.

If you know which years produced the best wine in a particular region, you can seek out that one special vintage.

Unfortunately, you usually won’t be the only person who wants it. Depending on the exact wine, one particular vintage can sometimes be in high demand, which drives up the price when the supply is scarce.

VINTAGE CAN BE a personal choice. If there’s a wine you love, make sure to note the year on the label.

CHEERS!


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Beer, wine share spotlight with fine-dining entréesBy Bob YesbekBusiness of Eating columnist

As the Cape Region’s reputation as a gastronomic destination continues to grow, local chefs

have added to their collective trick bags by pairing their creations with wines and beers. Qualities such as acidity, alcohol level and sweetness can spark their tal-ents for creating just the right match.

I’ve had the honor of being invited to many of these events, and some have certainly stood out. Several years ago, Touch of Italy and The Buttery in Lewes paid tribute to Italian cuisine and Italian wines. I’ll never forget how Chef Aaron Berg’s stracciatella (a Roman-style egg-drop soup with spinach and Italian seasonings) stood perfectly nose-to-nose against Banfi’s Fontana Candida Frascati Superiore. Even a small side of baked cherrystone clams oreganata was kicked up to new heights by the apple/pineap-ple-tinged Principessa di Gavi.

Another memorable wine pairing at Fish On in Lewes spotlighted the delectably consistent wines from Bogle. Chef Maurice Catlett kicked off the festivities with a cup of creamy corn chowder laced with chunks of crabmeat and a hint of vanilla, which became the perfect companion for Bogle’s not overly oaked Chardonnay. A summer-themed garden salad was next, with red pep-pers, sugar snap peas, cucumbers and a few plump kernels of corn, all drizzled with a whole-grain mustard & sherry vinaigrette. The selected vintage was the Sauvignon Blanc, which Bogle repre-sentative Robbie LaBlanc described as “California meets New Zealand.”

Last May, Bogle made another tri-umphant appearance at the Back Porch Café. Executive Chef Tim McNitt out-did himself with veal and tuna sausage and a crunchy zucchini Caesar. Bogle aficionados knew that the only wine LeBlanc and Vintage Imports’ Paul Karp would pour would be the Sauvignon Blanc. As the evening of music, wine and food drew to a close, Back Porch Café servers poured Bogle’s signature Essential Red in anticipation of McNitt’s scarlet beet rhubarb with pomegranate gorgonzola. I’d be remiss if I didn’t pay proper tribute to Bogle’s rich Port that paved the way for McNitt’s chocolate cabernet tort drizzled with a silky crème Anglaise.

Several years ago at Nage, Ted Deptu-la (now at Lewes Yacht Club) created an herb-stuffed quail with wild mushrooms

in answer to the Flowers Sea View Ridge Pinot Noir ’09. The wine presented with hints of lilac and rose petals, finally relaxing into a finish of scrumptious pomegranate and cranberry. It stood po-litely aside to let the roasted quail do the heavy lifting in the savory department.

Wines from Napa’s Cakebread Cel-lars hold a special meaning for me, so I smiled for all sorts of reasons when Cakebread’s 2010 Chardonnay was served alongside a lobster tail poached in a reduction of vanilla beans and cham-pagne vinegar. Bits of celery root mixed with grapefruit were punctuated by the crunch of grapefruit-infused pine nuts.

But let’s not forget the beers! Shortly after 16 Mile opened their Taphouse in Newark, then-Taphouse Chef Brian Mackey’s first course of shrimp, poached with tomato vinaigrette and basil, was accompanied by a glass of Tiller Brown, redolent of sun-dried tomato, basil and horseradish! Yes, it sounds a little scary, but it was delicious, as the softly aro-matic basil tempering the snap of the horseradish. At Matt’s Fish Camp, SoDel Concepts’ relationship with Tröegs Brewery was celebrated with black forest donuts in a cherry dipping sauce. They evoked the chocolate, caramel and cherry overtones of Tröegs Mad Elf. Beware the Elf, by the way: He’s a potent little scamp and should be consumed in small quantities!

Last fall’s collaboration among Ver-mont’s Eden Ice Cider Company, Teller Wines in Lewes and Chef Richard Davis at Michy’s Relaxed Dining in Rehoboth produced a flight of delicious seasonal ciders; each expertly paired with one course of a four-course feast. The match-es were quintessential Davis: Orleans Bitter Apertif and blood orange-laced soda with Italian arancini di riso topped with sautéed mushrooms. A seared sea

scallop and a Blue Point oyster arm-in-arm with Eden’s Sparkling Dry Cider. A seasonal roasted butternut squash and lobster bisque playing a pleasantly acidic counterpoint to Eden’s Orleans Herbal Cider. It was like Thanksgiving in a cup and a glass.

I’m about a quarter of the way through my tasting dinner notes, and my allot-ted bottle of ink is just about empty! But you get the point: Beer and wine pairing

dinners let you experience new brews and vintages you might not otherwise encounter. And better yet, they encour-age your favorite chef to spread his or her creative wings in a (usually success-ful) marriage of potables and comes-tibles into one enchanting rollercoaster ride of taste.

Read Bob Yesbek’s column, The Business of Eating, every Friday in the Cape Gazette.

BOB YESBEK PHOTOS

EVEN BOURBON FROM WIGLE DISTILLERY gets into the act as barkeep Rob Bagley cools a Manhattan with an icy sphere of Campari.

The chefs at Bluecoast in Bethany Beach celebrate Valentine’s Day by pairing champagnes with beautiful and romantic dishes.

Matt’s Fish Camp paid homage to Tröegs Brewery with delightful small bites that matched Tröegs entire lineup of brews.

CHEERS!


Session ales see surge in popularity By Taylor GoebelSpecial to the Cape Gazette

Every American craft brewery soaks, boils, and ferments its own giant. These mammoths are the

brewery’s signature, from off-centered ales (ahem, Dogfish Head) to bold ses-sion ales (cough cough, 16 Mile). They are the wacky ingredients – lobster, grapefruit, even cheese. They quench hopheads and flavor adventurers alike. These giants are what gives each of America’s 3000 craft breweries its unique liquid flair, but they also separate the world of craft beer from the watered-down mainstream.

Soggy beer and low alcohol content may sound like best friends, but that hand-in-hand assumption is being eaten away by the yeast that is craft innova-tion. Microbreweries are bringing back the trend that made beer popular, allow-ing you to hit the bottle without really hitting the bottle, all while keeping a strong-flavored brew. Craft is welcom-ing back the session beer.

According to the Brewers Association, Dogfish Head brewmaster Tim Hawn and 16 Mile co-founder Chad Campbell, the only requirement to be a session beer is to have a low alcohol content, though the actual quantifiability of that

lowness remains debated. For the Brew-ers Association and Dogfish Head, the absolute limit is 5 percent alcohol by vol-ume (ABV), but 16 Mile stretches it to 6. Percentage points aside, alcohol content is, quite frankly, all there is to the session beer: It is any conceivable style, from an India Pale Ale to a stout, made lower in booze strength than its classic cousin.

Session beers are sessionable because they can be drunk over a long period of time (several sessions, that is) without worry of drunkenness. They are crisp, with a clean finish, ready to take on a long-term relationship with the drinker.

“When I think of a session beer,” Campbell said, “it’s something I can have two or three pints of and walk out of the room.”

Situated just miles from Dogfish Head’s 100,000 square foot hophead’s dream, 16 Mile began in the summer of 2009 as a session ale house with six beers. The Georgetown-based company markets itself as a brewery specializing in bold session ales, but they’ve been batching out higher alcohol beers. Take Baby’s Lunch Double IPA, a tropical hop-filled oasis ringing in at 10.7 percent ABV. Highly enjoyable, definitely not sessionable.

Continued on page 110TAYLOR GOEBEL PHOTOS

THE MAN HIMSELF: Dogfish Head brewmaster Tim Hawn

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Make happy hour...happier

As health becomes a bigger concern for many people, more Americans are looking to have

a great night out after work or on the weekends, and have an even healthier tomorrow - in other words, no hangover.

Premade drink mixes contain ex-cess sugar, which can cause calories to add up quickly. With fruity drinks like strawberry margaritas and pina coladas containing over a thousand calories per glass, getting tipsy can help tip scales in the wrong direction.

But don't give up on your happy hour yet. A healthy diet contains enough room for the right cocktails.

In a study reported by Reuters, U.S. and Thai researchers found that etha-nol, the type of alcohol found in spirits, boosts disease-fighting properties in fresh fruits and vegetables; maybe an appletini a day can keep the doctor away.

Bargoers should stay away from drinks like Long Island Iced Tea, which contains five different alcohols, sugary sweet-and-sour mix and high-calorie cola.

Some producers are helping people make wiser drinking choices. The an-swer comes from a secret Asian blend, TY KU, that combines some of the ancient drinking traditions spanning

across Asia. The ingredients read like an exotic

health nut's shopping list. The liqueur includes antioxidant-rich yuzu (an Asian citrus fruit), mangosteen, green tea, yerba-maté, ginseng, honeydew and Tibetian Goji berries. Green tea, Goji berries and honeydew are commonly listed as power foods - foods that boost health, immunity and energy.

DENY HOWETH PHOTO

PUT THIS DRINK on your must-have list: The Fire & Rain Margarita at Michy’s Relaxed Din-ing near Rehoboth Beach, which combines the cool sweetness of watermelon and the heat of jalapeño.

A HEALTHY DIET CONTAINS ENOUGH ROOM FOR THE RIGHT COCKTAILS.

CHEERS!

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As we sat at one of the brewery’s white-and-black checkered tables, Campbell explained the 80/20 ratio: most Americans are mainstream beer drinkers (the other 20 percent subscribe to craft), sticking with Heineken and Pabst Blue Ribbon. 16 Mile targets that 80 percent with its session ales, but “we [also] introduce bold flavors with ingre-dients that they’re not used to,” Camp-bell said. The bland, watered-down beer drinker must warm to the idea of a strong brew, so the craft’s initial offering should be extremely flavorful but not too wonky, and at a low ABV. Hence, the session beer.

“It’s such a point of education to drive home with [the 80 percent,]” Campbell said, “and people appreciate that.” This majority of American beer drinkers may actually be contributing to the rise in session beers produced by craft brewer-ies as they leave their mainstream drink of choice in search of something more flavorful and off the beaten path.

But are session beers really on the rise? Or could it just be that there are more and more craft breweries?

"There are breweries coming in with the extreme stuff," Campbell said, "but within their beer portfolios they’re going to have batches that are more session-able." The rise in breweries gives rise to the creator's balance between far-out and session.

Apart from drawing in the majority of Americans to craft breweries, the

session beer also serves a purpose in tourist-packed summer destinations like Rehoboth Beach. Craft drinkers flock to a humble brewpub a few hops down the avenue, a well-loved and well-worn res-taurant permanently smelling of wood-grilled pizza, supposedly haunted, and the original home base of Dogfish Head.

One could say Dogfish Head is not known for session beers, and one would be right.

“Sam [Calagione, founder] will reply that we do have session beers,” Tim Hawn, the company’s brewmaster said, “but we don’t have that big marketing

focus.”Take Namaste, a belgian-style white

beer with dried orange slices, lemon-grass, and a hint of coriander, or, cur-rently, Festina Peche, a seasonal sour sweetened by the title’s fruit. Neither of these would be described as session beers for market appeal; they just hap-pen to fall into the low alcohol category. What matters is beers that are lively, aromatic and smooth, coloring palates with a vivid wallop.

“It’s about flavorful beers that are well-balanced,” Hawn said. “Somebody will come into the bar and ask, ‘What do you have that’s close to Coors Light?’ Usually the standard is nothing.”

In the summer of 2014 (and many more times since then, I imagine), a man wandered into the brewpub and asked

if he could have a Miller Lite – he must have been quite lost at this point – so the oddity of someone trying to find a Dogfish equivalent to Coors is genuinely believable. Being a craft brewery has its quirks (and quirky customers.)

Dogfish Head isn’t after the Miller Lite population, the 80 percent. “We’re after those who are looking for big flavor, for different things,” Hawn said. “We’re not chasing high-volume growth.”

Campbell remarked to me, speaking for all craft drinkers, “I’ll take a sip of a mass-produced beer and immediately know why I don’t drink it.”

The only time these two worlds meet is when their beers happen to have the same ABV, particularly when they are both considered session beers. Beyond that, it is so easy to tell the difference that a bottle of Dogfish Head Namaste or 16 Mile Blues’ Golden Ale could be doused with a gallon of water and still be more sessionable than what just about any non-craft brewery in America produces.

Although session beers could current-ly be one of the hottest trends in craft, Dogfish Head isn’t a trend follower. And although most 16 Mile beers are consid-ered sessionable, the brewery isn’t into labels.

“I get into what people are going to enjoy,” Campbell said.

“The trend,” Hawn said, “is that craft breweries are creating flavorful, lower-alcohol beers. It’s craft folks demanding great flavors – they’re not demanding high ABV. It’s having three different beers you can try versus this ten percent and that ten percent and now I need a cab.”

In other words, American craft brew-eries are bringing back fanny packs and Paula Abdul for a day on the beach and a night of bar-hopping that doesn’t result in a blackout and continuously hopped mistakes. The craft beer drinker wants a flavorful ale that they can (somewhat) soberly enjoy over a long period of time, what is considered a session beer or, as Hawn calls it, an “all-day IPA."

Whether on purpose or just to keep their sun-drenched drinkers relatively sober on a sweaty day, many of Ameri-ca’s 3000 craft breweries are revamping the trend that helped make beer popular. But now they are brewing it with far-out ingredients – scrapple, anyone? – and the promise of unique flavors.

The craft industry is constantly experimenting with new ingredients and processes while at the same time maintaining precision and consistency, making a beer that is as palatable as it is daring and distinct. And if it happens to be a session beer, so be it.

Session alesContinued from page 108

The man himself: Chad Campbell, co-founder of 16 Mile.

“IT’S ABOUT FLAVORFUL BEERS THAT ARE WELL-BALANCED.”

- TIM HAWN, DOGFISH BREWMASTER

CHEERS!

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Growth explosion: Craft beer’s next decadeAs popular as craft beer has seem-

ingly become over the past 10 years or so, research predicts

even more growth in the industry. Mintel’s latest research on the U.S. craft beer market shows that sales more than doubled between 2007 and 2012 – in-creasing from $5.7 billion to $12 billion in that five-year span.

The group, a 40-year-old global sup-plier of consumer, product and media intelligence, forecasts that the industry

will enjoy ro-bust growth through 2017. The report estimates $18 billion in sales that year, which would show triple growth for the craft beer industry in a 10-year period. Min-tel notes that

while the craft beer category remains a small segment of the $78 billion U.S. beer industry, the sector has actually helped stabilize the overall beer economy. The industry has experienced volume de-clines in the domestic and imported beer categories since 2008. Mintel’s research also uncovered some staggering num-bers that can help brewers adjust their

marketing strategies for optimal revenue growth. Among the statistics:

• Twenty-four percent of consumers who drink beer indicated that in 2012 they drank more craft beer sold at stores compared to 2011.

• About 22 percent reported consum-ing more craft beer in bars or restau-rants.

THE TOP 15The Brewers Association’s list of the top breweries in the US included operations from coast to coast. Within the top 15, California and New York are represented by three breweries. The list is based on 2013 sales figures and is tabulated by the Brewers Association.

• Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA• Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA• New Belgium Brewing Co., CO• Gambrinus, San Antonio, TX• Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, CA• Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR• Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI• Duvel Moortgat USA, Kansas City, MO, and Cooperstown, NY• Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY• Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA• Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY• Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA• Dogfish Head, Milton, DE • Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, ME• Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, LA

THE REPORT ESTIMATES $18 BILLION IN SALES THAT YEAR, WHICH WOULD SHOW TRIPLE GROWTH FOR THE CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY IN A 10-YEAR PERIOD.

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Delaware’s first meadery to open near Cool Spring By Molly MacMillanSpecial to the Cape Gazette

As local distilleries, wineries and breweries appear statewide and alcohol tourism gains steam,

mead, the ancient fermented honey wine from old texts, has been largely over-looked.

Until now, that is.After discovering a shared interest in

nordic mythology years ago when they went to work at a local craft brewery, mead maker Jon Talkington and busi-ness partner J.R. Walker began talks of opening a meadery.

Less than two years later, they pre-sented their ideas to Sussex County Council and received an enthusiastic approval.

Now, the team has set to task to get this business up-and-running by early spring.

Ancient Ancestor"Mead is a very ancient beverage,"

Talkington said. "At about 9,000 years old, it's the oldest alcoholic beverage."

Whereas the alcohol in beer is fer-mented from barley and wine is made from fermented grapes, the sugar in mead is fermented honey, and the alco-hol by volume ranges anywhere from 7.5 percent to 15 percent.

Mead appears in early sources as widespread throughout Europe, Asia and Africa and may be regarded as the ances-

tor of all fermented drinks, pre-dating even widespread agricultural cultivation.

The oldest description of mead occurs in the Rigveda, a collection of ancient Indian Sanskrit hymns, dated 1,700 to 1,100, B.C. During the golden age of ancient Greece, mead was said to be the preferred drink.

For the owners of Brimming Horn, mead is all that and more.

They said it represents the history and Nordic culture that brought the brewers together as friends, not to mention mead now makes up the fastest-growing seg-ment of the U.S. alcohol industry.

"It is finally starting to get big in the U.S.," Walker said. "In 2013, there was a 130 percent increase and a huge jump in production."

Most meaderies are doubling and tripling in size within their first year, and currently, the closest is near Baltimore, he said.

The Mead MasterTalkington has been home brewing

mead for nearly 15 years after he dis-covered a book with some recipes and decided to try his hand at it.

He has won more than 15 awards in-cluding several years where he took first place for the 'best in show' mead at the Mazer cup, which Talkington said is the premier award in the industry.

Mead has a three basic styles and can take on many of the same characteristics of a wine or a beer, being fruity, dry,

high or low alcohol.The co-owners plan to have lower

alcohol session meads on tap when they open the meadery and offer four flavors in the tasting room.

When the Brimming Horn first opens, Talkington said he will be the primary mead maker and with all the experience he already has under his belt, the mead maker says he's not scared.

Working at a local craft beer brewery more than 10 years, Talkington thinks he can handle the volume, no matter how much the business takes off.

"I'm used to doing huge volumes," Talkington said. "I think the first year, we will do about 2,000 gallons - that's nothing."

Mead runneth overSince the business partners came

together over their shared interest in Nordic mythology, they said the look of their upcoming Brimming Horn mead-ery will likely reflect those tastes.

The meadery will likely be fashioned into a semblance of a modern-day Viking mead hall, where drinking horns are akin to ceremonial vessels to be shared as the velvety drink inspires the poets’ muse.

Much like the meaderies of old, the Brimming Horn co-owners want to inspire a community feel in their mead hall in their new venue, which will be opening on the eastbound side of Route 9 at Cool Spring.

"We are definitely hoping to contact

and source local honey, fruits and other ingredients," Walker said. "We want the meadery to be someplace the local people will come."

For more information about the Brim-ming Horn Meadery, go to brimming-hornmeadery.com or search Brimming Horn Meadery on Facebook.

MOLLY MACMILLAN PHOTO

BRIMMING HORN CO-OWNERS Jon Talking-ton, left, and J.R. Walker perfect their recipes in advance of opening the first meadery in Sus-sex County.

cocktails, anyone?depoetry.com/publications/cheers/cheers-20150814.pdf2015/08/14 · pair with each...

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