Hey y’all!
Go check out the “Final” page on the menu. I visited some old friends at Donner-Peltier Distillers and made up a whole profile on them! And don’t worry, “Final” doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop! Just some internal housekeeping stuff.
Cheers!
-MC
So I love beer. However, I don’t know a whole lot about beer, especially when it comes to how it’s made. While I am a fan and admirer, I am not, by any means, an expert on beers or brewing. I say all of this to make sure you understand that what I’m about to say is just as I understand it. There are probably many people who are far more qualified people to talk about this.
Cool? Cool.
Ales vs. Lagers: The Dumb Guy Version
So there are two main differences between ales and lagers: the yeast and the “cooking technique”. The first is the type of yeast used in the brewing. Ales traditionally use “top-fermenting” yeast, meaning the yeast ferments at the top of the fermentation tank. Lagers, on the other hand, use “bottom-fermenting” yeast, which ferments at the bottom of the fermenting tank. The second is the actual brewing process, specifically temperature and time for brewing. Lagers require a lower temperature for brewing than ales. Ales tend to brew at what most of use consider “room temperature” (about 75°F), whereas lagers brew somewhere between 46-59°F. Lagers were originally brewed in many Central European countries, like Germany, where it’s a lot colder. (Technically, “room temperature” is a pretty relative term, isn’t it?) Lagers also tend to brew for much longer than ales. For the record, these are only general rules. People mess with this stuff all the time, which is kinda half the fun really.
“So Matt, What does all this mean in terms of actual drinking?” I hear you asking. Well, in my experience, lagers tend to be fresh, clean, and crisp in flavor. They tend to feature a single flavor prominently, generally either hops or malt, depending on the style, though some feature fruity or floral flavors as their headliner. Ales tend to have a more compounded, complex flavor. You’ll get a mix of malt, hops, coffee, chocolate, caramel, fruit, or whatever else the brewer has decided to throw in there, with the flavors vying for position as you drink it.
Two little notes after all that:
First: Please don’t think that words like “simple” and “complex” mean one style is necessarily better than the other, which actually leads me into my second point. If you really want to figure out what kind of beer you like, try a bunch of different styles, which are kind of like subsets. The style will tell you a lot more about the flavor of a beer and whether you will like it or not.
Take all of this with a grain of salt. I only kinda know what I’m talking about.
Cheers lovelies!
-MC
They say variety is the spice of life, and I, for one, like my life spicy. As mentioned in a previous article, I use an app called Untappd to track my different beer samplings and share them with my friends (link here). It’s good fun and the badge system appeals to the gamer in me. That’s not why we’re here though. We’re here about variety! Recently, a new drinkery has opened in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, called World of Beer. And good lord, it is quite the world… Of beer… (For any of our readers who may have a heart condition or are prone to fainting spells, you may want to sit down and/or brace yourself for this next bit)
World of Beer has over 50 different beers on tap. I’ll let that sink in for a second. 50. That’s pretty choice.
They also have over 500 other beers in bottles and cans. 500. Yeah…
(Y’all good? Everyone okay? Good. Just making sure.)
This place is rad. I’m not usually a huge fan of chain restaurants, but I’m making an exception for this place. They fully encourage the whole microbrewery scene wholeheartedly. On the few occasions I’ve frequented their establishment, they’ve had at least half a dozen different local brews on tap, with quite a few more in the coolers. They’ve even had a few different Mudbug brews on tap, which I only mention because Mudbug is such a new brand. (And also, as y’all know, I’m a fan) The people working there were awesome and friendly. They let me try a few different beers and take my time before actually making a purchase. I never felt rushed and had some genuinely enjoyable conversation. The food was tasty too, with each item on the menu having a recommended beer pairing. (I recommend the Golden Ale Shrimp. The Sriracha lime aioli is the bomb!) I didn’t delve into their beer-centric cocktail menu, but it looks fun.
World of Beer’s website can be found here. They have a menu online (beer or food). Another location is opening in the Warehouse District on NOLA very soon.
(P.S. I am in no way receiving compensation from World of Beer or anyone else for this post. I’m totally open to that though.)
Alright lovelies! Drink responsibly!
Cheers!
-MC
Hey there lovelies! Go check out my new “Graphic” tab up top. It’s got some cool stuff!
It’s a little later in the week than I planned on posting here friends, but as I’m sure you well know, Tuesday (the 17th) was St. Patrick’s Day, and frankly, I’ve been trying to recover and to figure out how to properly and respectfully acknowledge this grand holiday here on Sip and Quip. I haven’t really gotten any closer, but I figure I’ll just post and see what happens!
So as I’m sure most of you know, St. Patrick’s Day is the feast of St. Patrick, who, legend says, drove the snakes out of Ireland and converted thousands of native Irish pagans to Christianity. While I have nothing against this in concept, the Church really did a number on the Irish, especially in the 20th century. (I’m looking at you Archbishop McQuaid…) (I recommend The Feckin’ Book of Everything Irish by Murphy and O’Dea if you’d like to know more. it’s a surprisingly fun read.) But religiosity aside, it’s a wonderful day of celebration of the Irish culture all over the world. My grandmother came to Louisiana from Ireland when she was seventeen, so it also holds special significance to me and my family.
New Orleans has a massive population of people of Irish heritage and was one of the major ports for Irish immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. New Orleans also has the 5th longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade in the U.S., which I thought was interesting.
But I know why you’re here. “But Matt, did you consume any locally sourced alcoholic beverages? Possibly in large quantities, as is tradition for someone your age?” I must admit to you, Surprisingly Erudite Reader, that I didn’t drink anything local on St. Patrick’s Day. (I know! Shame on me!) In the spirit of the holiday, it was mostly Guinness. (Which is tasty. No one’s gonna deny that.) I didn’t get quite as langered (to borrow and Irish term) as I thought I would, but it was still a night of deadly craic. (Another bit of Irish slang. Google it.)
Alright friends! Stick with us for more fun! I’ll leave you all with an old Irish proverb: “As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction”
Sláinte!
-MC
So I recently posted about the distilleries in Louisiana, and there are quite a few. It would see that some folks over at Atelier Vie caught wind of the post and decided to drop us here at Sip and Quip a line. (And by us, I mean me. Just me. Forever alone…) They’ve ever so generously extended an invitation for a visit to tour their facilities, which is incredibly amazing! I wasn’t able to go this weekend due to some other conflicts, but hopefully sometime within the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to check it out and relay all of the exciting sights, sounds and tastes to all of you lovelies!
Also, it was brought to my attention that there was a bit of information that was incorrect in the last post. (Hence the title.) It would seem there are a few distilleries that I missed, so I will be looking into that and will have a revised list for you in the near future. Bittermens, which produces only bitters, (not a true liquor, but an alcoholic flavoring for cocktails, for our less cocktail savvy readers) would not technically be considered a distillery. Finally, while I’m going to continue to include Cajun Spirits and Soc Au Lait on the list, neither seem to have any kind of product available on the market as of yet. I’ll keep y’all updated on any developments on these fronts.
Thanks to our new friends at Atelier Vie for the heads-up on this stuff. And seriously friends, I am definitely, fantastically fallible, so please send me any and all corrections you may notice on here. Frankly, I just like hearing from y’all. It gets lonely around here…
Cheers!
-MC
So I’ve been talking a lot about beer on this blog lately, mostly because I love beer, but I also love spirits. (Like whiskey and such. Not ghosts. Actually… ghosts are cool too. I’m getting distracted…) One of the reasons I’ve been focusing on beer is because craft beer is generally much more popular than craft spirits right now. Another reason is because there are about twice as many craft breweries in Louisiana than there are microdistilleries. There are, according to my cursory research, a little over half a dozen distilleries in Louisiana. They are as follows:
Atelier Vie – New Orleans, LA
Bittermens Bitters – New Orleans, LA
Cajun Spirits Distillery – New Orleans, LA
Celebration Distillation – New Orleans, LA
Donner-Peltier Distillers – Thibodaux, LA
Louisiana Spirits LLC – Lacassine, LA
Rank Wildcat – Lafayette, LA
Soc Au Lait Distillerie – New Orleans, LA
Looks like I’m gonna have my work cut out for me if I want to check all these out! I do think it’s interesting that the vast majority of these distilleries are in New Orleans. I wonder if there’s a reason for that… More soon y’all!
(Also, big thanks to Country Roads Magazine for collecting a lot of this info. Credit where credit is due and all that.)
Cheers!
-MC
So I spend a lot of my time derping around on the internet, (as people my age are wont to do) and I’ve discovered two more breweries opening in Louisiana!
Second Line Brewing (website here) has just started construction in New Orleans in Mid-City and hopefully will be up and running by the end of the year. Just by looking at their website and Facebook page, you can tell that Karen, Mark, Donnavan, and Suzanne are really passionate about good quality beer (and bicycles, it would seem), which, for me at least, is the whole reason I started this blog: people doing what they’re passionate about. Also, be sure to check out their “How To Celebrate Your Beer” page on their website. It’s a very cool guide on how to get the most enjoyment out of your beer.
The other is Brieux Carré Brewing Company,
a fledgling little brewery that will also be based out of New Orleans. There isn’t too much info about these guys just yet, but it looks promising. Turns out Robert, the guy in charge, went to Bayou Beer Fest this past year just like I did. You can actually see my head in the right-hand side of the picture he posted, which I got a real kick out of! You can find their Facebook page here.
That’s pretty exciting news right? I’m stoked to learn more about these guys and eventually try some of their products!
Salud!
-MC
Hey there sippers and quippers!
Go check out the new page “Profile: Leith Adams” in the menu! I did a short profile on the co-owner and brewmaster at the new Mudbug Brewery in Thibodaux, who also happens to be a super awesome dude!
Cheers!
-MC
Hey everybody! Sorry about the lack of presence lately! It’s been Mardi Gras here in South Louisiana, and my birthday on Lundi Gras (the day before Mardi Gras), so I’ve been absolutely swamped! Won’t happen again, I swear!
So one of the things I really love about drinking is the social aspect. Interacting with friends and strangers is always a good time. But Social Media can also be a part of your drinking experience as well! There are quite a few apps out there that can help you connect with your drinking buddies even when they’re not there with you! My personal favorite is called Untappd. It’s available from the iTunes App Store here, Google Play here, or Windows Phone Store here. The app behaves a lot like Foursquare (and the location check-in mechanic is actually powered by Foursquare), but instead of focusing on location check-ins, you check in whatever beer you’re drinking. Friends can “toast” your check-ins and comment. It’s a surprisingly fun little app.
One of my best friends recently had to move back to Paris (poor baby…), and while we still stay connected with Facebook and such, Untappd has really been the most frequent method of communication between the two of us. We bonded over our love of craft beers and this app has helped us keep that alive despite being an ocean away from each other.
I do feel like I should mention that I am in no way being compensated for this little recommendation by Untappd or anyone else for that matter. However, I am totally open to that.
If anyone already has Untappd or decides to download it, my handle is TheMattCallahan. Here‘s a link to my profile.
Cheers!
-MC
Sip and Quip 