Best (and worst) beers you’ve ever had - redux

[Tiger Refuge 6,660]

56 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Love the glass!

This place has a nice selection!  Whoever owns this cabin has Johnny Walker coasters and a Woodford Reserve barrel display. 

My kind of peeps.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Tiger Refuge

[Tiger Refuge 6,660]

This is the guts of Bryson City Outdoors craft beer store. I’m in heaven.

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, Tiger Refuge said:

This is the guts of Bryson City Outdoors craft beer store. I’m in heaven.

Duuuuude

[Tiger Refuge 6,660]

7 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Duuuuude

It’s a smaller selection than maybe a big ole beer store...but dayum!

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

11 hours ago, Tiger Refuge said:

This is the guts of Bryson City Outdoors craft beer store. I’m in heaven.

Cool! They didn't have that store back when, but Bryson City was our home for many an NOC trip.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I trust @AUDub is already well aware.

 

[AUDub 11,131]

Don't think I'll see it in the 'ham though. I'm generally lucky to find the standard stovepipes. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, AUDub said:

Don't think I'll see it in the 'ham though. I'm generally lucky to find the standard stovepipes. 

If Ale is having to send his minions to brewery locations, then yeah, guessing it won't be seen many places, at least not this release. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

I’m Nola for the night. Got here an hour ago. Hostel had 

and 

Tasty!

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

But we are staying 3/10 of a mile from Avenue Pub and we stumbled upon a GITM night. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

Annnnd, no pic, but my buddy ordered a $40 shot of Whistle Pig Bosshog($600 bottle). And it’s freaking phenomenal. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

But we are staying 3/10 of a mile from Avenue Pub and we stumbled upon a GITM night. 

Cool area. Awesome bar even if you're not into beer or whiskey. Expensive bar when you're into both, lol.

You down there for a show? Jealous. Especially now that I live in a similar climate and going to NOLA in the summer would just be stepping from one sauna into another. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Cool area. Awesome bar even if you're not into beer or whiskey. Expensive bar when you're into both, lol.

You down there for a show? Jealous. Especially now that I live in a similar climate and going to NOLA in the summer would just be stepping from one sauna into another. 

Got a deep sea charter in Biloxi tomorrow with 5 other dudes. Half the crew went to Nola early. We dipped out of work around 3 and headed down. 

One of the best bloodys I’ve had at the hostel bar.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Got a deep sea charter in Biloxi tomorrow with 5 other dudes. Half the crew went to Nola early. We dipped out of work around 3 and headed down. 

One of the best bloodys I’ve had at the hostel bar.

Pretty sure that 8 of the 10 best bloodies I've had have been in NOLA.

Redfish? Have had a few friends go bonkers on them down there recently. Hope they left some for you. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

38 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Got a deep sea charter in Biloxi tomorrow with 5 other dudes. Half the crew went to Nola early. We dipped out of work around 3 and headed down. 

One of the best bloodys I’ve had at the hostel bar.

Curiosity - 

Gathered (from another thread) that you're a catch-and-release guy?

 

Pretty Mary. I can eat those things for breakfast.

Edited June 14, 2018 by AUld fAUx@
spelling

[McLoofus 35,182]

26 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Pretty Mary. I can eat those things for breakfast.

Wait... are there other things you can do with them??? 

Btw, a recipe that I would have you all try:

-Fill a 16 oz shaker or Solo cup 3/4 full with ice
-A couple dashes of sea salt and a couple twists of fresh cracked pepper, a fat pinch/4 shakes of dill, 6-7 shakes of Old Bay, 4 drops of Louisiana style hot sauce
-2 oz vodka and the juice of half a lemon
-Fill the rest of the way with Clamato 
-4-5 healthy dashes of Worchestershire
-Stir gently and add 1 more dash of dill
-Garnish with a pickled okra, green bean or asparagus and a lemon twist from the half a lemon you juiced

The only ingredient I've ever successfully substituted is Shapley's seasoning out of Jackson, MS instead of the salt and pepper. The fresh lemon juice, Clamato, dill, Old Bay and Worchestershire are all critical to success. I love bloodies and I've had a lot of good ones but this one is by far my favorite. 
 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

2 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Wait... are there other things you can do with them??? 

Btw, a recipe that I would have you all try:

-Fill a 16 oz shaker or Solo cup 3/4 full with ice
-A couple dashes of sea salt and a couple twists of fresh cracked pepper, a fat pinch/4 shakes of dill, 6-7 shakes of Old Bay, 4 drops of Louisiana style hot sauce
-2 oz vodka and the juice of half a lemon
-Fill the rest of the way with Clamato 
-4-5 healthy dashes of Worchestershire
-Stir gently and add 1 more dash of dill
-Garnish with a pickled okra, green bean or asparagus and a lemon twist from the half a lemon you juiced

The only ingredient I've ever successfully substituted is Shapley's seasoning out of Jackson, MS instead of the salt and pepper. The fresh lemon juice, Clamato, dill, Old Bay and Worchestershire are all critical to success. I love bloodies and I've had a lot of good ones but this one is by far my favorite. 
 

I've also consumed them as snacks, appetizers, and dinner salads.

Many thanks, but I've made a living (and collected a following) off my own (somewhat simpler) "recipe."

[McLoofus 35,182]

Just now, AUld fAUx@ said:

I've also consumed them as snacks, appetizers, and dinner salads.

Many thanks, but I've made a living (and collected a following) off my own (somewhat simpler) "recipe."

You gonna make us beg? I'd prefer not to, but I'll do what I have to. 

 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

10 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

You gonna make us beg? I'd prefer not to, but I'll do what I have to. 

 

Sorry - No intent to tease (though I was tempted to go with the old "If I told you...") but (as mentioned in the BBQ thread), "recipes" are more philosophies than rigid instructions to me. Give me a bit?

[McLoofus 35,182]

13 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Sorry - No intent to tease (though I was tempted to go with the old "If I told you...") but (as mentioned in the BBQ thread), "recipes" are more philosophies than rigid instructions to me. Give me a bit?

No rush, and I did not mean to ask for the secret to anything you're making a living off of!

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Pretty sure that 8 of the 10 best bloodies I've had have been in NOLA.

Redfish? Have had a few friends go bonkers on them down there recently. Hope they left some for you. 

Snapper. We’re expecting to limit out quickly. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

3 hours ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Curiosity - 

Gathered (from another thread) that you're a catch-and-release guy?

 

Pretty Mary. I can eat those things for breakfast.

Catch and release bass. 

[Tiger Refuge 6,660]

Now that’s a good beer! I love almost everything Founders that’s BBA.

Edited June 15, 2018 by Tiger Refuge

[McLoofus 35,182]

11 hours ago, Tiger Refuge said:

Now that’s a good beer! I love almost everything Founders that’s BBA.

A lot going on on that label. Seems like it might be a good candidate for a vertical in a few years. I'm going to look for it. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

21 hours ago, McLoofus said:

No rush, and I did not mean to ask for the secret to anything you're making a living off of!

Actually haven’t made a living at’em in some time (sorry if unclear). Still build them for personal consumption and, often, to some guest-crowd acclaim. Also, woke up this a.m. realizing I needed to remove any unintentionally implied criticisms of your recipe, or any dismissal of your sharing of it; neither was my intent. I’ve just become kind’a set in my ways concerning Bloody Maries, ways that have evolved some time ago. Please forgive the lengthy dissertation, and note that my history with the drink has, almost certainly, been influenced by a cigarette-sodden palate.

I am not old enough to know the origins of the Bloody Mary, but I can only assume that it arose in a hungover soul needing a vitamin recharge and some hair of the dog, as an eye-opener in order to find and operate the damn’ coffee pot. The essential problem with a mixture of vodka and tomato juice is that such a mixture (w./ enough hair to do any good) is inherently bitter. A secondary difficulty here is the thickness of the tomato juice and its tendency to sort of clot/coagulate once opened, especially if stored in a can or if already mixed with the vodka and allowed to sit.

The fix for the (unwanted here) bitterness (alkaline/base) is addition of acids (to neutralize) and buffers (mostly salts, but water-soluble proteins and light oils don’t hurt), the latter to manage any miss of the exact titration point of the base/acid. By the time I started mixing, the traditional (essentially Old Mr. Boston) approach was lime, celery salt (which can add a bitterness of its own), Worcestireshire Sauce, Tabasco, and black pepper.

My first tweak of the old standard was a replacement of straight tomato juice with V-8 ™. This replacement was only because it was what I had at the time, but I noticed that the overall result was not diminished (was even enhanced a bit) in flavor/savor; moreover, the blending of the V-8 provided a somewhat thinner/smoother (more easily sucked through a straw, if that be one’s bent) without diminution of the vitamin recharge. I adopted this thereafter.

By the time I started working as a bartender, I noted that many bars used lemon/lime/or a combination for the citrus component. My mentor (forget his name, but looked amazingly like an old Hank Aaron) told me of old bartender lore to the effect that lemon quenches thirst, and lime whets it (if you want to sell drinks,…). Experimenting on my own, I found a rather distinct difference between the fruits’ effects on back of the tongue; lemon adds a sort’a cloudiness there while lime seems almost to clean it. To this day, when ordering out, I say “lime is good, lemon is bad” and, at home, I’ve long held to the old standard.

While I never incorporated my 3^rd tweak into my professional career, it came about during home experimentation during that time. Still hanging with my (old, old copy of) Old Mr. Boston, one variation, the Bloody Bull (characterized by a rather large infusion of beef broth to the mix), showed considerable promise. I found that such an addition (even at much lower levels than the Guide called for) allowed for a rather massively larger vodka content without causing bitterness.

My long-established “recipe” (note the multiplicity of “to taste” quantities):

- 1 x 2-qt (standard, off-the-shelf jug) of V-8 (original or hot-and-spicy, depending on what we’ve got),

- 1 x can Beef Broth (store brand, no need for condensed, ~14 oz),

- Juice of 1 lime (well squeezed); Continue to squeeze/flex the rind (the oils in the peel are good here) and throw them in too,

Worcestershire Sauce to taste (if the bottle still has the little plastic dribble-top thingy, I usually go for ~ 4-5 good dashes, I think it may be in the range of a tbsp or so),

Celery salt to taste (salt will not be diluted all that much by later addition of vodka/ice),

Fresh ground black pepper to taste, and

Tabasco to taste (amount of these last two obviously depend rather strongly on choice of V-8).

 

This mix allows for great flexibility on the amount of vodka addition, depending on situation (especially w./ garnish varity) and drinkers’ tastes. It can help you find the coffee pot. It plays awfully well with breakfast eggs (whether sunny side up w./ bacon on the side, or a crab omelet). It can be rather massively goosed w./booze (I’ve gone up to near 50/50 vodka/mix) to account for ice-melt dilution while sipping in a sun-baked inner-tube. It plays well with any savory salad (not so well with fruit, but if the salad has onions in it, I don’t worry), either lunch or dinner (though for the latter, I usually switch drinks before the entrée; have been happy, however, with how it pairs w./ a well seared and vegetated burger).