Well, I’m a little out of my element here. We of the WC tasting crew braved the second annual Winter KraftBrew Beer Fest in San Jose this past weekend. Though we pride ourselves on being locavores, beer as they say, “is a whole different animal.” Frankly, I felt out of my depth.

welcome to the Winter KraftBrew Beer Fest 2012

Held at the San Jose Women’s Club, the location couldn’t have been more perfect. It’s on the same street with what looked like at least a dozen fraternities connected to San Jose State U. I was having flashbacks to my college days. As you can probably imagine, this “free” event was mobbed. We stood in line for admission for more than half an hour, followed by lines to buy tickets which you exchange for beer samples, lines for beer and lines for the limited food selection. I like people watching, so this didn’t really bother me all that much. Plus, a couple weeks ago I decided to grow a beard, so there was huge opportunity to look at various facial hair styles while waiting. Beer drinkers do seem to like whiskers.

We were part of a group of around six or eight—the numbers kept changing as people came and left. So between us we probably tried at least three dozen ales, porters and stouts. I didn’t keep close track of the tastes or the names. My first, was it the Brasserie de Saint-Sylvestre Gavrouche Biere de Garde, or did Hegui try that one? Whichever it was had the nickname “Terrible” which sounded right to me. At any rate, the young guy pouring, who happened to be sporting a crazy long blond Three Musketeers-style mustache, said it was sort of like a beer version of pinot noir. That sounded promising. And it was good: kind of grapey.

After a while they started to blend together: that’s really bitter, very chocolaty, smells like stale coffee, has no taste at all, sort of fizzy like fermented tomatoes, etc. You get the idea. I’m just not a beer person. I did like this Santa Cruz IPA though I didn’t write down the name, so will probably have trouble finding it again.

It was a gorgeous night with clear skies. The moon was this huge crescent shape and Venus was very bright. People were really schmoozing and flirting with one another. This was a kid-friendly event, which is sort of weird when you think about it, but we saw several. I was aghast to observe a very pregnant woman with one of the children. I think that she must have been the designated driver for the flushed bearded guy that was hanging around them, glass in hand. Just a guess.

They ran out of French fries, if you can believe it. Who goes to a beer fest without French fries? We ended up having pizza afterward, but with a local zinfandel instead of more of the brewed stuff. I know: I’m incorrigible.

Our Friends Wit and Amie sent us this link with pics from the site Metroactive. We show up in the in their page

apricot liquor

This is the second recipe that I’ve ever tried from the great magazine, La Cucina Italiana. It came in the August 2011 edition as part of a round-up of apricot recipes. I love fruit-infused after-dinner liquors but have never tried to make my own. This one, at least, was really pretty straightforward. Unlike their limoncello recipe in an earlier section of the same volume, where you have to carefully remove the lemon rind while leaving as much of the pith behind (difficult!) as possible, here all that’s required is that you rinse and pit the fruit.

I doubled the recipe and have been giving small jars of this luscious drink to friends at work. The vanilla bean gives the apricots a powerfully rich flavor. I’m almost fooled into thinking that the drink was aged in new French oak barrels, like wine. This is strong, probably about 40 proof, so a little goes a long way.

apricot liquor

4½ cups 80-proof vodka
2 lbs fresh ripe apricots, pits removed and roughly chopped
1 vanilla bean
2 cups sugar
1 cups water

Pour vodka into a large bowl. Add vanilla bean and apricots. Cover and let sit at room temperature for up to three days. Strain through cheesecloth. Rinse vanilla bean and let dry, for reuse.

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar and water together until completely dissolved into a simple syrup. Remove from heat and let cool. Once at room temperature, mix with infused vodka. Pour liquor into glass jars or bottles. I used the original vodka bottle and for the extra, some small jars for canning. Let rest in the refrigerator for about two weeks. Serve chilled. Enjoy!

Killepitsch

Killepitsch is a fairly obscure liquor made of ninety-plus herbs, fruits and nuts. We have not seen this drink for ages and ages, that is until last week. I took a suggestion from a student in my class and went to Cask, a small boutique wine and liquor shop in the South of Market neighborhood. While perusing the numerous varieties of bourbon, whiskey, scotch and tequila, I chanced on the last bottle of this drink of the gods. Wow.

Hegui and I became acquainted with this Düsseldorf speciality years ago in New York. At the time, we had a wonderful friend, Tina, who called that German city home. She was studying at a culinary school in the Big Apple when we met. As she traveled frequently back and forth, she would bring us tiny bottles of Killepitsch as treats. Sadly, we’ve lost touch over all these years. I wonder what she’s been up to lately?

After dinner drinks, or digestifs, particularly some of the brownish looking ones, aren’t always popular with dinner guests, as everyone always assumes that they’ll be quite bitter (think Cynar or Campari). Killepitsch is a pleasant surprise as it is not especially bitter but has loads of wonderful flavors! We sat sipping some the other night and came up with dozens of tastes. On the nose we noted dandelion, camphor, Angostura bitters and some intense alcohol. The top three flavors were clove, cinnamon and artichoke. But we also detected a lot of citrus like: orange peel and pith, Satsuma, blood orange and Grand Marnier. There was sage, nutmeg, thyme, molasses, wasabe, rosemary, garigue, coffee, fig, the skin of walnut and more. Really this tastes like a delightful garden poured into a glass.

Killepitsch is so aromatic and interesting that you’ll be transfixed as you ponder all of its subtle charms.

fresh passion fruit margarita with Patrón silver

The inspiration for this tropical cocktail comes from my friend and passion fruit source, Sandy. Get well and come back to work soon! This recipe is similar to the delicious tequila Meyer lemonade we made back in July. Here the fresh passion fruit (maracujá in Portuguese) adds a sweet, fruity and earthy flavor to the drink whereas the lemonade has more of a citrusy zing. It would be great to serve both kinds together in large pitchers at a Thanksgiving party! The yummy flavors would help all of your guests feel warm and summery as they sit down to the traditional autumn feast. Looking for other exciting cocktail ideas, visit Domestic Daddy for some great ideas.

I used Patrón silver as I’ve been told by Prof. T that it is the best of the tequilas. I must agree, as generally I’m not much of a fan for that type of spirit, yet Patrón always seems just right. The recipe is for an individual drink. Simply multiply everything to make more.

fresh passion fruit margarita with Patrón silver

1 pint sized highball glass or similar
Ice
3 fresh passion fruit (or more)
2 tsp sugar (or more)
1½ shots (or more if you’re really frisky) good silver tequila, like Patrón

muddling passion fruit seeds and pulp with sugar

Cut passion fruit in halves. Using a teaspoon, scoop pulp and seeds out of shells and into the glass. Add sugar. Using a pestle, muddle passion fruit and sugar together. Don’t over do it. A little mixing is really all that you need. Fill the cup with ice. Add tequila and give it another stir. Decorate with a slice of passion fruit shell and serve with a straw so that you can slurp up the seeds and everything while drinking the cocktail.

In Brazil there is a natural extract made from the seeds of the passion fruit (maracujina) that is supposed to have mild calming properties. Parents serve non-alcoholic maracujá drinks to hyperactive kids as a kind of folk remedy. So this drink, that contains both maracujina and tequila, should leave you very peaceful and mellow. Thinking about peace, you should sit back with a tall glass of fresh passion fruit margarita with Patrón silver and enjoy this relaxing video of the Hollies performing The Air that I Breathe:

We’ve a lot of Meyer lemons right now after a visit to our friend, Kristen’s home in the East Bay to celebrate the Kev-star’s birthday last week. She has two dwarf trees in her backyard that are full of these delightful fruit.

tequila Meyer lemonade

Meyer lemons have terrific flavor. Milder than regular lemons; the acidity level is very low and the fruit exudes smells redolent of clementines, tangerines, oranges and sweet limes. They’re very aromatic. To me the whole lemon tastes good. I can eat the pulp, skin and pith. The pith only tastes slightly bitter. The skin is thin, smooth and shiny. Meyer lemons are very versatile. I love to use them instead of or combined with vinegar in salad dressings, or just eat them like you would an orange or grapefruit.

The other day I came home from a not so fabulous day at work ready for a drink. Strangely, we didn’t have wine handy that I actually like: too much cheap red Bordeaux and one-note summer whites. I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to go to the storage unit to fetch some better stuff. So many stairs! Then I realized we did have a bottle of Patrón silver from a party a few weeks ago. Perfect! I was one step away from enjoying a cocktail!

Here’s my solution for turning a sour day into a sweet one:

tequila Meyer lemonade

1 pint size glass cup
Ice
2 large Meyer lemons (or more)
2 tsp sugar
1½ shots (or more if you’re really frisky) good silver tequila, like Patrón

Fill the cup with ice. Squeeze the juice of the lemons into glass. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add tequila and give it another stir. Decorate with a Meyer lemon slice. And there you have a delicious cocktail to sip and relax!

I never really liked canned or bottled juices. They always seem to taste a bit too sweet for me. Orange juice is especially tricky: often it comes with additional, unwanted pith and peel flavors, which makes it bitter; and it either tastes like plastic or metal from the container. Not good.

freshly squeezed Texas and blood orange juice

So over the weekends I try to prepare fresh juice for our breakfasts. It’s a really nice treat. One of the many benefits of living in beautiful California is that fresh, flavorful and economical citrus is available most of the year. This time of the year is really exciting, as all of the fruits come to market. I’ve seen lots of different types of lemons, grapefruit, tangerines, oranges and so on. Sometimes we even have friendly neighbors delivering citrus to our door from their gardens or country homes.

Last Saturday I squeezed fifteen oranges to make this “true blood:” seven sweet Texas and eight Moro blood oranges. Moro oranges are the darkest of the blood oranges around here. Neither orange is very juicy, that’s why I used so many. I like them though because they’re the sweetest.

blood and Texas oranges on the half shell

Just like on that HBO program, this juice is loaded with life sustaining goodness: lots of anthocyanins and other antioxidants.

It’s a breeze to make though you may need to put some muscle into it. Simply squeeze the oranges and serve in tall glasses. Add ice if you like it cold.

I don’t remember if the Texas oranges come from Texas. Maybe they’re from here, or perhaps Louisiana?

Is there anything better than a smiling face and a bottle of cachaça?

Cachaça is best known in the U.S. as the fairly obscure Brazilian liquor that is mixed into caipirinhas, a cocktail that enjoyed a lot of success in New York about ten years ago (it came into fashion after the mojito). In Brazil, it´s quite another story.

Cachaça is the second most popular alcoholic beverage there after beer: and not just in mixed drinks either. Like whisky, scotch and even wine, it pays to sip this lucious drink on it’s own. There are literally thousands and thousands of cachaça micro-breweries that we never hear about in America. At home I usually only see the mass produced Pitú, Prassununga 51 and Ypióca. These pedestrian beverages are best served mixed with other things, as in caipirinhas or even with cola, like rum in a Cuba Libre. Pitú even produces a canned drink that is that exact thing, though it’s only available on native soil as far as I know. (It doesn’t taste that great so don’t waste your time.)

On our recent trip to Brazil, I made a point of sampling cachaça wherever I could. Ten years ago that wasn´t that hard. It was served everywhere and retail outlets carried numerous varieties. This time around, wine seems to have made a big splash on the Brazilian palate and, as a result, cachaça´s tough to find, at least on restaurant menus. I did have a fine glass of it straight at Perequim in Ubatuba, where the menu seemed to imply that the drink was imported (It was from Minas Gerais, the ajacent state and the biggest producer, rather than São Paulo state, where we were dining at the time). Unfortunately we could never figure out where the cachaça was actually produced. Neither the waiter nor the menu could say. Too bad, as it was marvelous!

doesn't this look good?

Hegui just finished a short book on cachaça, Cachaça: o mais Brasileiro dos Prazeres, written by a Brazilian oficianado and apologist, Sr. Dr. Jairo Martins da Silva. Da Silva says that the drink was banned for many years by the Portuguese when they dominated Brazil to help the markets for wine and port, all from the motherland. As a result, hundreds of nicknames for the stuff sprouted up all over the place as a way to stay under the radar of the authorities: aguaradente, pinga, virgem, quebra-munheca and obesessão are just a few.

the cachaça distillery at Reserva do Gerente

a sugarcane field for cachaça production at Reserva do Gerente

As I’ve already mentioned, cachaça comes in numerous varieties with variable prices and generally limited availability. Often perfectly delicious aguardentes can be found for about $5 a bottle in Brazil. In Olegário Maciel, MG, a miniscule town that happens to be Hegui’s birthplace, we had this incredible version, Amelia, by the glass at the bar for that price per bottle. I got one to take home as it was so good. On the other hand, some very fancy ones can go for hundreds of dollars a bottle. (We didn’t try any of these this time).

Amelia cachaça

Luis knows my fascination with this national drink, so while we visited him and Sávio in Vitória, he took us to a cachaçeria in the coastal city just to the south, Guarapari, ES. Reserva do Gerente has won awards for their pinga.

so much cachaça, so little time

The stuff all comes from sugarcane that’s fermented then distilled. I’m not completely clear on what causes the alcohol level to be less than 100% as I’d guess somehow that the sugar in sugarcane would all be converted to alcohol, but then I haven’t read the good Doctor’s book either.

Cachaça can be clear, which is called silver, or prata in Portuguese, similar to tequila nomenclature. Many of them are aged in wooden barrels for various periods of time. The award winning one at Reserva do Gerente spent five years in oak. Our cachaça author par excellence, Martins da Silva, pooh-poohs that French practice, recommending instead that the drink should be aged in Brazilian wood only, to give it that specific local character and make it a true expression of national pride. I have to agree with him as I most enjoyed the Cachaça Reserva do Gerente Depositada em tonéis de Castanha do Brasil, or the cachaça aged in barrels of Brazil nut wood. It was smoothest.

I’d never been to a cachaçaria before. It was similar to wine tasting. I don’t really understand the drink well enough to offer an opinion as to taste beyond what I like. All of these drinks smell like alcohol. Though they can also have wonderful spice, herbal and flower aromas. They’re strong too. The Reserva do Gerente aged in Brazil nut wood comes in at 42% alcohol. Wow! The aged ones all have a golden color (they´re called ouro or gold) and often do taste of oak, though again, there’s a lot of other exciting flavors going on in the glass. The best thing to do is to try these drinks on your own. Really, a trip to Brazil is the way to go if you can swing it.

Reserva do Gerente cachaça

Reserva do Gerente itself was commercial but not pushy. They let us wander around on our own, including in their cave of barrels of the precious liquid. Tasting was free and the bottle of pinga that I got to take back to São José dos Campos for Hegui’s brother-in-law, Carlos, was only about $7. (And don’t think that I’m being cheap here. This quebra-munheca was particularly wonderful.) As an added bonus, there were many tropical fruit trees bearing starfruit, guava, jack fruit and mango, from which we ate freely, all at no cost. That just doesn’t happen in Napa.

are these barrels French or Brazilian wood? I can't tell

cachaça comes in such amazing packaging, too

be careful with cachaça or this might be where you sit, too

Pitú and cola, not a winning combo

dreaming sweet Amelia dreams

We´d been traveling in Brazil for a week or so when I was confronted with one of the food-related things about the country that most alarms me: sweet avocado juice. I´m not completely naive and do realize that this is not that uncommon, at least in other places far from where I live. In fact, a work colleague, H, tells me that something similar is fairly popular in the Phillipines. Be that as it may, this drink, on first hearing about it, made me anxious.

suco de abacate

To me, avocado is a fruit used primarily in Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, which are invariably savory and never sweet. I´ve travelled to Brazil several times before and generally avoided this drink. This time however, there was no getting around it: Hegui´s sister, Tinha, with whom we were staying at the time, made it for me specifically, apparently on request (though I cannot recall making such a request at any time. Hmm.)

Tinha used an avocado that seemed tremendously large to me–perhaps the size of an American football. I´ve seen similar ones here in the Bay Area though with more diminutive statures. The recipe is really easy: just mix the avocado with milk and sugar to taste, then blend it.

Tinha served this in tall glasses. She had refrigerated the avocado and milk so it was cool and quite refreshing. The milkshake looks whitish with a slightly greenish tint. It tasted grassy and mild. Really muito gostoso. Who knew?

this is a giant sized avocado though it's hard to tell with this pic

Suco de Abacate

avocado
milk
sugar

Blend everything together and adjust various constituent ingredients to make it the thickness and level of sweetness that you like. Drink on a hot day. Yum!

roadside avocado tree bearing fruit in downtown Ubatuba, SP, Brazil

mmm, Brahma chopp!

Brazilians like beer. It´s the most popular alcoholic drink in that country and it may even be the most popular drink, period. Who knows?

Bohemia and friends are always a party

Unfortuantely, I don´t like beer all that much. It´s a character flaw, I realize, but what can I do? We all have our opinions about things. Actually, Hegui´s sister, Tinha, agrees with me. She says that Brazilian beer is agua choca or stagnant water. She suggested agua suja or dirty water as an alternative. Few Brazilians would agree with that opinion though.

Skol may be at the top of the heap but it's not for me

While travelling in Brazil, it is a necessity to drink Brazilian beer, whether you like it or not. There aren´t a lot of imported beers there though I did have Heineken once. Most cervejas are made in the country itself. They have their own names, flavors, partisans and detractors. After futebol AKA soccer to Americans, I think that the average Brazilian is most engaged in disputes over beer. That´s probably an exaggeration. Just like us at home, mostly Brazilians drink the stuff and talk about other things.

Brazil is happy to host visitors, like this Heineken here

Generally, these beers are pilsner style drinks that are fairly low in alcohol. The few that we really looked at had about 5% EtOH. There seem to be zillions of varieties. I’ll name a few of them that we tried or saw: Skol, Bohemia, Brahma, Antartica, Baden Baden and Nova Schin. Hegui’s sister, Ana, loves Skol and finds Bohemia too amarga or bitter. I think the opposite. To me Skol is more bitter but overall has no flavor or body. I think that it’s sort of like colored water. Bohemia has a bit more structure and taste. Plus I’m turned on by it’s sense of history. Bohemia claims to be the first beer ever produced in Brazil. Neat. Brahma really appeals a lot to me, too.

Like in the U.S., beer is available everywhere in cans, bottles or on tap. If served on tap, it’s called chopp. When it comes in large bottles, it’s usually in a form-fitting thermos-like container to help keep it cold. Brazil is hot after all. We drank a lot of this stuff over our three week stay: at restaurants, at home, on the beach, in the airport, on planes, at parties and so on. You get the idea. Beer is popular here. Saúde!

this Brazilian Therezopolis was excellent though not widely known

where could this Brahma truck be heading?

these great little coolers keep your beer just right in the intense heat

lots and lots of beer choices at the supermarket

Baden Baden is excellent and a bit higher in alcohol than other Brazilian beers

don't let anyone fool you, chopp is the undisputed king of Brazilian beers

Thirsty yet?

beautuful carambola doce freshly picked

While visiting Vitória north of Rio de Janeiro, the thing that I look forward to the most (after the company, of course) is suco de carambola or starfruit juice. Starfruit were simply not that common during my childhood in Northern Virginia. Sure they were around occasionally, but were really expensive, often a few dollars each. I remembed being fascinated by the cut slices. They look like stars, as everyone knows. Somehow that suggested a divine plan to the Universe to my naive mind. It would take a higher power of some kind to invent a fruit that reveals stars to the initiated. Wow.

To make them into juice never seemed like a possibility until my first visit to Luis and Sávio´s home. Ten years ago, Luis presented a pitcher of starfruit juice as if it were nothing at all. It seems that they have relatives with carambola trees and they can´t get rid of the fruit fast enough. Can you imagine!?! I was completly bowled over by it.

Superficially the juice looks like orange juice. But it doesn´t have any tart citrusy flavors at all. Instead it is mildly sweet with a creamy texture and a hard-to-identfy flavor perhaps most akin to pears? Though it´s much better than that! The fruit itself sends of this exotic aroma that is truly heavenly.

This visit, Luis had about a hundred of the fruit waiting for my arrival! What a thoughtful friend and host. I had four glasses over breakfast that first morning.

slice the fruit and pop into a blender

Suco de Carambola

1 to 2 dozen starfruit, rinsed
some water to adjust thickness of juice
ice

Slice fruit.  Blend the starfruit with a bit of water to get the thickness that you like. Serve in a pitcher with ice.

I´ve also had this with a bit of vodka added, which makes a wonderful cocktail. Until I grow my own carambola tree, I´ll likely not make this one at home. A pitcher of the stuff could easily set me back $75 or more. I´d rather come to Brazil and spend the money at home on French wine

fresh carambola juice for Brazilian breakie

carambola on the tree