Filipinos keep breakfasts pretty simple, yet this meal is hardly typical as dishes retain the influence from American, Spanish, Chinese, and other cultures. Making the dishes from scratch with quality ingredients is also a key part of a Filipino breakfast, so hearing about Zen Baking Company cooking refreshing Filipino breakfasts was a major highlight for me this morning. The bakery in Deep Ellum is also known for their signature cake balls and Filipino-influenced “tapas” dishes.

The sticky, gooey champorado has such a rustic charm; like it were a chocolate oatmeal porridge. One of my favorite dishes as a child, it’s made using sticky rice, evaporated or sweet condensed milk, and chocolate tablea, which are cacao nibs that have been roasted, ground, and mixed with some sugar. The actual Filipino product is typically difficult to find, so Mexican chocolate is an acceptable substitute considering the roots of the dish can be traced back to Mexico. All of this sounds like a strange combination, and some may pair the sweetness with something savory like salted fish, or in this case, spam. I should add that my pairing of choice is bacon; that’s right, bacon and chocolate rice for breakfast!

They also have your typical “-silog” platters with sinagag (garlic fried rice), a fried egg cooked to your preference, and a protein, which is what determines the prefix of “-silog”. For now, they are doing tocilog (tocino) and longsilog (longanisa). Pictured above is a combination of both meats; tocino is basically bacon, longanisa is sausage, and both are given a Filipino twist. One of the owners, Czarina, sat down with me as I was happily munching away and she was particularly happy about their house-cured tocino. She strives to keep as much yellow five off the menu wherever she can. The packaged stuff is easily distingushed due to it’s bright red glow, while a house-made tocino looks more similar to high quality bacon. Really enjoyed Zen’s tocino as theirs had nicely rendered fat and lovely balance of savory and candy-sweet, without being cloying. Eventually they also plan to make their own longanisa, so someone better go get Daniel Vaughn’s attention. If you’re ever pondering about a hangover cure, why not skip your typical greasy spoon brunch joint and try these out? This is what I call breakfast.

The Berliner Weisse is typically a bottle conditioned wheat beer made with lactobacillus in addition to standard beer yeast. This combination results in a low alcoholic beer with wheat character as well as a prominent tart flavor from the souring bacteria. The effervescent and refreshing nature of this beer style is so appropriate for the extreme Texas heat. Apart from it’s unique flavor, the Berliner Weisse is also interesting in that it is a fairly obscure and unusual style of beer and a limited number of breweries produce them regularly. Outside of brewpubs like Freetail and NXNW, the only widely available Berliner Weisse in Texas (that I am aware of) is Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche, which is billed as a “neo” Berliner Weisse as it’s brewing process does not use any bacteria, and instead, relies on peach to give it flavor. My personal favorite is the crisp, bubbly and lightly acidic Hottenroth, from The Bruery in Southern California.

The Jester King brewery during the Drink’in The Sunbelt release party

All that said, it should be no surprise that beer purists in Texas have long pleaded with craft brewers to produce this style of beer, and the Austin-based Jester King Craft Brewery blogged that they have answered the call. They also announced the bottling of Drink’in The Sunbelt, a beer brewed in collaboration with gypsy brewer Mikkeller. I enjoy it as it’s citrus beer suited for a hop-lover, and the recipe’s recently been enhanced to smooth out some of the bitterness. I’ve been extremely pleased with Jester King’s lineup as a whole, so I’ve kept a watchful eye over their developments to see what they’ll be doing next as their plans to grow into a “true farmhouse style” brewery come into fruition. Those guys have plenty of ambition and brew marvelous beer down there. Keep up the great work, craft beer lovers will continue to support you and it’s wonderful knowing that craft brewers truly care about what their consumers want!

On Tuesday night, the Moth hosted fifteen guests in their Mansfield room to have dinner with Bill Graham, a co-founder and the Head of Brewing Operations for Ska Brewing Company. Bill Graham and Dave Thibodeau were the original partners that formed Ska Brewing by combining their passions: beer and ska music. Mike Vincent offerred to have their beer as a guest tap at his brewpub, and he later purchased a share of ownership. Ska’s beer is distributed to nine states and two countries outside of the U.S.. Similar to many other craft brewers across the nation, Ska started out as homebrewers, and the brewery is now experiencing explosive growth and increased demand for product.

Many exciting features have been installed in their $4.2 million headquarters in Durango, CO, where Bill said, “everything is new, or at least new to us.” Their latest equipment includes an automated canning line purchased from Oskar Blues, an award-winning brewery from Longmont, CO regarded as the pioneer of canned craft beer. Four beers out of Ska’s lineup are canned: ESB Special Ale, True Blonde, Modus Hoperandi IPA, and a winter seasonal, Euphoria Pale Ale.

I think a “beer amuse bouche” should be apropos for beer pairing dinners, and we started off with a particularly noteworthy one: Ska Toasters 30th Shebeen Black IPA. The beer was brewed in celebration of The Toasters’ 30th anniversary, a legendary ska band whose music is used as the background music on the Ska Brewing Company website. The small number of reviews on BeerAdvocate and RateBeer imply that this one-off was brewed in extremely limited quantities. The look is deceiving since after pouring, the beer has the appearance similar to a stout. The flavor is very hop forward with a slight burnt toast, roasted bitterness and a chewy malt backbone.

First course: True Blonde, paired with Alaskan halibut cheeks with leek tartare

The halibut had a gorgeous brown sear on the outside, while flaky, yet firm on the inside with a moderate level of seasoning. I thought the leek tartare was like a creamy salad and could have been a course on it’s own. Both balanced nicely against the True Blonde’s citrus and sweet grainy malt flavors; just imagine a similar flavor profile to Real Ale’s Fireman’s #4.

Second course: Pinstripe Red, paired with Smashed Beet Salad with Purple Haze and maple dressing.

I have a love/hate relationship with beets. Jay (aka @GunsandTacos) and I shared the same sentiments as we both hated them as children, but we felt enlightened when we did encounter an execution that showcases the beets’ sweet characteristics. This was exactly the case for the second course, and the sweetness of the beets were a lovely match with the creaminess of the cheese on top. The Purple Haze is a goat’s milk cheese from Cypress Grove, but the biggest highlight is the fennel and lavender pollen that gives the cheese an addictive flavor. Every part of this course felt comfortable and refreshing.  The salad as a whole was a stellar pairing with the bready nature of the Pinstripe Red’s malty, but balanced, flavor and smooth mouthfeel. Based on the other diner’s reactions, looks like Chef Kelley knocked this one out of the park.

Third course: Modus Hoperandi IPA, paired with Tikka Masala, roasted chicken, and rice
Yes, you read that correctly: Indian food at the Meddlesome Moth, but I’m also not going to sugarcoat my initial feeling of apprehension. I admit I have a tendency to gravitate toward more aggressively spiced and complex Indian cuisine. However, not everyone is a spice-head and wrecking everyone’s palate in a meal like this wouldn’t be the best idea. The chicken was moist and tame, but apparent, level of heat. Overall, I felt the execution did hit the mark as the point of the course was to highlight how the bitter hops in an IPA cut down the heat of spicy foods.

Fourth course: Decadent Imperial IPA, paired with Pork Tenderloin ‘Schnitzel’ with jalapeno corn bread crust and spiced apple butter.
The crust on this schnitzel was a notch spicier, but not quite the level of heat I’d prefer. A heavy pork dish does work particularly well in this pairing, as the Decadent IPA has an caramel malty sweet slap to the face with a distinct lingering bitter finish. On the note of weight, I did notice that the fourth course here drew similarity to what I had during the Sierra Nevada dinner. Both courses centered around a particularly heavy application of pork. Although I don’t recall seeing anyone finish their schnitzel, I noticed that all servings of the moderately sweet and spiced apple butter were wiped clean, with diners grinning ear to ear. Cicerone Matt Quenette joked, “what if we started just serving apple butter and bacon jam?” Not gonna lie, I’d be happy.

Fifth course: Cask-conditioned Nefarious Ten Pin Porter with a sundae with salted caramel, banana, and spanish peanuts

Excellent showcase of salty and sweet. The bananas had a distinct crispy exterior while firmness was retained in the center, which worked nicely with Nefarious Ten Pin’s sweet caramel, roasted, and nutty flavors. The creamy body and elimination of carbonation due to the cask conditioning really improved the beer. This final course was my second favorite dish and I know I had a tough time fighting the urge to directly apply the beer to the dessert as opposed to sipping after each bite. 

Bill shared many stories about the growth of the brewery and enthusiastically answered questions from participants during the meal. I asked a question about collaborating with other breweries, as I’m aware Ska brews limited batch beers that don’t get very far outside Colorado (such as casked Nefarious Ten Pin Porter made with Peeps). Bill described Ska’s traditional collaboration with Avery. The two breweries team up and brew a beer for the Tour of Colorado, a fundraising event and bike tour from Boulder to Durango benefitting bike advocacy groups. He also has immense respect for the close-knit community built by craft brewers and shared a particularly interesting story back when the brewery was shopping for used equipment. The process involved dealing with various representatives from other other craft breweries, whose staff were more than happy to help out, provide advice and answer questions.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hear majority of his other anecdotes because the acoustics in the room weren’t the best, and this was my only real complaint about the whole meal. I know that I heard Bill say the word “Randall” at one point, and I was real curious to hear about how he applied the device to his beer. Overall, I felt the pairings were thoughtful and particularly bold, especially having two IPA’s back to back without wrecking the diner’s palate. I’ll be back at the Moth on Saturday for the 2 PM tasting session, so if you’ll be there, come say hi and have a beer!

Saint Arnold’s top selling beer, Fancy Lawnmower, is normally brewed with a Kolsch yeast. The Movable Yeast series kicked off with last summer’s release of the Weedwacker, which was brewed using the same ingredients, except for a Bavarian hefeweizen yeast. Beernews.org broke the story with a picture of the Weedwacker’s bottle label, announcing that the beer is coming to 12 oz bottles. I could see this as a go-to beer during the hot summer months since it has all the refreshing “freshly cut grass” characteristics of the Lawnmower. However, the difference in the yeast is apparent as it created a distingushing flavor with notes of banana and clove. The following picture shows the a side by side comparison  between Weedwacker and it’s hazier body (left) against Lawnmower (right). 

Besides the Weedwacker, Saint Arnold released Altared Amber (Amber Ale pitched with Trappist yeast) late last fall, as well as Farmer’s Brown (Brown Ale with Saison yeast) last month. The next release is expected to be Bitter Belgian, which is Elissa IPA with Belgian Trappist yeast.

Monks typically fast and refrain from solid foods during lent. An observant monk named Salavator figured that since drinking was not verboten, he thought he could sustain himself by brewing up some strong beer as “liquid food”. The moniker starkbier literally translates to “strong beer”, describing the intensity and thickness of the beer’s “wort”, which is liquid containing the sugars and starches to be fermented. Although “starkbier” does not refer to alcohol content, these beers will usually have higher alcohol content. The Common Table provided guests with ceramic steins of Paulaner Salvator, a 7.5% ABV doppelbock (“double bock”) that is one of the most famous starkbiers in the world. This particular beer style is also noted for beer names typically ending with the  “-ator” appendix (e.g. Optimator, Celebrator, Maximator, and many more).

Chef Smith’s experience includes training under careful watch of German cooks, and be sure to watch CraveDFW for his interview with Steve Doyle later today. Since I’m not a monk, I sampled a couple dishes from The Common Table’s special Starkbierfest German menu, featuring four dishes: a jumbo pretzel, Pork schnitzel with kraut and German potato salad, a Reuben sandwich, and for dessert, an apple strudel drizzled with a Salvator-based syrup.

The beer paired perfectly with the massive pretzel, which had a remarkable dark golden- brown crispy outer crust and crumbs that were soft and chewy. A fondue made with Salvator accompanied the pretzel as a dipping sauce. Though the schnitzel looked tempting, I knew that ordering that would mean I’d waste the rest of the day in a food coma, so I went with the reuben.

The toasted rye bread was filled with melted Swiss cheese, tangy mustard, as well as corned beef and sauerkraut which were both made in house. I really enjoyed the effervescent, vivacious kraut as I prefer mine to not be aggressively briny or vinegary. And I do admit that I was quite jealous of the more attentive patrons who opted to substitute the side of fries for house-made German potato salad.

The event had quite an impressive turnout and a festive atmosphere. Their patio was bustling with activity, with happy patrons quaffing beer and dancing to the German tunes played live by the AlpenMusikanten band.

Sierra Nevada celebrated their 30th Anniversary last year and in commemoration of the event, Mr. Grossman brewed special beers in collaboration with other “founding fathers” of modern craft beer. The Moth tapped kegs of all four 30th Anniversary beers, plus Life and Limb (a collaboration with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head), and these were all paired in a five course dinner. Perusing the sold-out crowd of 130, I spotted food writers, fellow beer enthusiasts, and various beer/industry professionals ranging from distributor representatives as well as beer store/bar owners.

Captain Keith Schlabs gave a brief introduction, recollecting the day he graduated college. That was also the day he tried Sierra Nevada Pale Ale; the beer which “changed everything” for him. The microphone was turned over to Ken, who would be our host for the night. Ken captivated the attendees as he shared stories throughout each course, such as his transition from a homebrewer to a commercial setup, and the challenges in starting a brewery in the 1970′s.

First course:
Charlie, Fred, and Ken’s Bock
Paired with Arugula salad with mango, crispy shallots, and a red chile vinaigarette

Brewed in partnership with Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewer’s Association, and homebrew guru and author Fred Eckhart, this Imperial Helles Bock was the second beer released in the 30th Anniverseary series. The trio agreed to brew this beer as a tribute to Fred’s pioneering book on lagers, A Treatise on Lager Beer, that was published in the 70′s. This unique lager does not exactly fit a particular style, as it balanced alcohol, upfront sweet malt character, a hoppy finish, all while retaining smoothness and high drinkability.

A variety of tastes and textures were easily distinguished in the salad, ranging from sweet, slightly spicy, savory, and bitter. This pairing was a miss however, as my companions generally agreed that this beer’s sweetness was too assertive and dominated the flavors of the salad.

Second course:
Grand Cru
Alaskan Black Cod, brown-butter cauliflower with basil, almond, and orange

The Grand Cru was the fourth and final installment of the 30th Anniversary series, and celebrated Sierra Nevada’s ales by blending Oak-Aged Bigfoot (their barleywine), Celebration Ale (the winter seasonal IPA), and their flagship Pale Ale. This fascinating beer is aimed for the hopheads with a strong resinous mouth-coating piny/citrusy wet hop bitterness that lingered, while retaining a solid chewy toasted backbone.  Last night was the first opportunity for me to try the beer on draft, and I found it difficult to resist asking for more pours of my personal favorite out of the 30th Anniversary line. Bold, balanced, complex, intense, and borderline perfect.

The flaky cod melted in the mouth, and was not aggressively seasoned to showcase the delicate fish. The real star of this course were the almonds; their nuttiness paired ingeniously well with the Grand Cru’s hoppy assault.

Third course:
Fritz & Ken’s Ale
Broken Arrow Ranch Antelope, Brazos Valley Pecan cheddar mac ‘n cheese.

The 30th Anniversary series kicked off with this imperial stout. Grossman collaborated with Fritz Maytag, the former owner of San Francisco-based Anchor Brewing company and widely considered as a founding father of the craft beer movement. The imperial stout hit the nose with strong earthy malt aromas, with flavors of coffee and sweetness that matched the aroma, and felt viscious and syrupy in the mouth with a lingering sweetness.

Cooked rare, the antelope was juicy, lean, but not chewy or gamey. To me, this course was about contrast: simplicity of the meat countered the complex caramely beer. I also enjoyed the crunchy, nutty pecans topped over the macaroni and cheese.

Fourth course:
Jack & Ken’s Ale
Bacon & Eggs with maple glazed Neuske’s slab bacon, sunny-side up egg and silver dollar pancakes

The third isntallment in the 30th Anniversary series was brewed in honor of Jack McAuliffe and his contributions to craft beer. He opened New Albion brewing in 1976 and despite the failure of the brewery, McAuliffe’s ambition influenced many others to follow his lead.

Ken tracked down Jack last year and in their discussion on what to brew for the 30th Anniversary series, Jack brought up the idea of reviving the “Old Toe Sucker.” Back in the 70′s, New Albion and Anchor would host a festival celebrating the summer solstice. The Old Toe Sucker was a barleywine, a beer style noted for high alcohol content. Combining that with the California summer was a recipe for strange things, as an employee who enjoyed too much of the barleywine, crawled alongside a row of women wearing open-toed shoes, sucking on their digits. Hence the name “Old Toe Sucker.”

A boozy aroma was up front, followed by a massive full frontal hop attack on the palate, which was countered by a presence of roasted chocolate malt. The bitterness leaves a lasting impression. Most younger barleywines are too “warm”, but the was not the case with the Jack & Ken’s, which hid the alcohol content very well.

This was a particularly heavy course because of the “slab” of bacon, and the beer paired remarkably well with the protein’s maple glazing. Believe it or not, I didn’t finish the bacon. I also would have preferred the pancakes to be served warm; they also tasted wonderful with the maple glaze, though I can’t fault the kitchen staff given the magnitude of the dinner.

Fifth course:
Life & Limb
Petit Basque, almond, dried fruit

Both Ken Grossman and Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, started as humble homebrewers with a radical desire to push innovative limits and promote the philosophy of craft beer. The two share ideals and passions, and their mutual respect and admiration for each other led to the creation of this deeply meaningful beer.

Ken highlighted trends in craft beer such as sours, high alcohol, and collaborations, noting that Sam has brewed many collaboration beers with many breweries throughout the years. Sierra Nevada specifically chose to partner with Dogfish Head for Life & Limb, their first collaboration beer released in 2009. Every detail that went into this beer was closely scrutinized; even the label’s artwork was designed by a children’s book illustrator:

Life & Limb used hops and barley grown on Sierra Nevada’s estate farm in Chico, while Dogfish Head provided maple and birch syrups and sugar. The breweries blended their house yeast strains, then the beer was bottle conditioned and carbonated with birch syrup from Alaska. Ken said that he was not aware of any other beer to use birch syrup in the recipe.

BA considers Life & Limb an American Strong Ale, but to me, it defies all style characteristics due to the palate of maple and birch syrup; sugary flavors which are not normally associated with beer. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and viscuous, yet this 10.2 percent giant is dangerously drinkable.

The Petit Basque almost looked buttery in color and had a slightly oily texture; it’s subtleties were a wonderful counterpoint to the massive flavor profile in the Life & Limb.

Unsurprisingly, The Moth had one final surprise after dinner: the first ever Sierra Nevada firkin tapped in Texas, 2010 Celebration Ale. The beer poured on cask was far smoother and gentler compared to it’s tap or bottle version. The pine, citrus, and malt flavors were more balanced and the medium-bodied beer felt wonderful in the mouth.

Guests brought home souvenir Sierra Nevada bottle openers, glassware, and information detailing the Moth’s upcoming Ale Festivus. After some talking with other guests, there’s good interest in having an unofficial bottle share after the tasting events on that saturday – so stay tuned!

Mi Tierra was one of the few Puerto Rican restaurants in the metroplex, and this restaurant recently closed. The loss of Potager would deliver a major blow to the dining community in the Arlington. I’m personally a big fan of Potager and have had many outstanding meals there. The response to the restaurant’s Facebook page earlier today reminded me of the intense discussion on their Chowhound thread. It’s nice to know that there are many supporters for Cynthia’s ambitious restaurant!

All eyes have been on Jay Jerrier ever since his mobile pizza oven started making regular appearances at Times Ten Cellars or Chocolate Angel Too, resulting in a fanatic following for artisan neapolitan pizza in Dallas. Jay hosted a friends and family dinner this past saturday night to prepare for the Deep Ellum space’s opening (TODAY!), where we were invited to taste an assortment of dishes from the menu.

All tables were given salad, desserts, and their choice of pizzas. To start, our salads were the mista (field greens, grape tomatoes, sea salt, parmigiano, and balsamic vinegar) and the caesar (romaine lettuce, parmigiano, crostini, Caesar dressing, and white anchovies).

Our larger group of eight were told to select three pizzas. The margherita (san marzano, basil, mozzarella) was a must-order as I have friends who were trying Il Cane Rosso Pizza for the first time. There was also no resisting my favorite pizza, the Paulie Gee (san marzanos, basil, mozarella, caramelized onions, soppresata picante, chiles). For the third, we picked Che Cazzo – where you leave your toppings in the hands of the pizzaiolo. This topping selection was renamed from Super Mario, but be warned; it still packs some solid heat. According to Jay, the Che Cazzos vary depending on whomever makes it, but on that night, they generally included Jimmy’s sausage, hot soppressata, mushrooms, Calabrian chiles, sambal, and whatever else the pizzaiolo desires.

For dessert, we were treated to Jay’s take on a s’more, which uses his dough to encase a gooey, thick mass of chocolate chips and marshmallows. Was saturday night really just a practice run? Because Jay, his staff, and his kick-ass oven seemed well-capable and ready for the massive crowds that will inevitably converge on the space.

Media outlets in other major cities such as Houston, Austin, and San Antonio have already covered this issue. I’m appalled that no one in Dallas has given these bills the attention they deserve as supporting them could mean major changes in Texas’ inefficient and nonsensical beer laws. Their passage could prove crucial in providing national prominence for craft beers brewed in Texas.

Texas wineries are allowed to sell their product directly to consumers on-premise, while a brewery may not sell a single drop of beer at the brewery. They may only sell the beer to wholesalers for off-premise consumption, or give beer away to drink during tours.

House Bill 602 was presented by State Representative Jessica Farrar (D-Houston). Although this bill still denies the brewery the right to sell directly to consumers, if this bill passes, breweries may charge admission for tours as well as give up to 48 12-ounce beers for guests to take home after the tour.

Brewpubs in Texas have the opposite problem as they are interested in the ability to sell their product for off-premise consumption. To illustrate of the counter-intuitive nature of the current system: brewpubs such as Freetail and NXNW can only sell their product on their premises. Meanwhile, out of state brewpubs such as Dogfish Head, Rogue, and Lagunitas can put their beer on store shelves, while a Texas brewpub cannot. So theoretically, a Texas brewpub could increase availability of their beer throughout the state, by leaving Texas.

Scott Metzger, head brewer and owner of San Antonio based Freetail Brewing Company, manned the helm of the charge. He collaborated with State Representative Mike Villareal (D-San Antonio) to develop House Bill 660.

HB 660 would allow brewpubs to:

• Sell to distributors and wholesalers
• Sell up to 5,000 barrels of beer at the pub, directly to consumers.
• Self distribute product to retailers as long as their annual production remains under 10,000 barrels.
• Have total production of up to 75,000 barrels annually.

And one additional feature: Allow Texan microbreweries to change their license to a brewpub so long as they meet the above qualifications.

I agree with Scott’s perspective that HB660 is a more comprehensive piece of legislation with a greater reach. HB660 benefits small businesses, the distributors, as well as the state in general by generating additional tax revenue and jobs. Almost everyone has something to gain, but there is one key point to remember: this bill does not dismantle the three tier system. Passage of similar laws in other states have proven results, with successful examples like Rogue in Oregon and Dogfish Head in Delaware.

Those states also have booming craft beer industries, while Texas is dismal in comparison. Yes, Texas is still a big beer state which consumes 20 million barrels of beer per year. This is second only to California at 24 million barrels. But diving further into the numbers shows that one million of those barrels consumed were craft beer, and beer produced by members of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild made up less than one percent of the total volume of beer consumed by Texans in 2009. (source: scan data shared by Scott Metzger).

Now let’s evaluate how changing the laws have impacted the Texas wine industry. Texas wineries have been allowed to sell both to distributors and directly to consumers. From 2001 to 2009, jobs in the wine industry have grown from 1,000 to over 9,000, while the annual economic impact increased from $132 million to $1.2 billion (source: http://www.gotexanwine.org/winefacts). Does that sound like loosening the laws did more harm than good?

Please contact your local representative and show your support for these bills. Here are links to the full text of HB 602 and HB 660. Scott’s blog, Brewed and Never Battered is tracking progress of the bill throughout the legislative session. His blog has a wonderful draft letter to send to your local representative to bring awareness of these issues.