1 ½ oz. (6ct) Light Rum

Take three lime wedges and place them with one and a half teaspoons of brown sugar (once you’ve tried this, you can adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you like your drinks). This kind of sugar can be found in the market in different varieties, but the best result will be from brown sugar crystal. Add the rosemary and muddle to bring the entire aroma out of your spices. You should now have a juice with a greenish color in your glass, take a nice smell! We’re half way there! Continue by adding the ounce and a half of light rum, and finish by adding a half ounce of the #1 Italian liquor, Amaretto Disaronno. Shake it hard with ice to release even more flavor, and serve it in a long drink glass filled with crushed ice.

The color is a sexy light green with dark green veins; the perfume is strongly dominated by the rosemary. The drink is pretty thick, almost oily, but very tasty and well-balanced.

Listen to Zane and Jacopo discuss this drink on Episode 5 of the Drinking Made Easy Podcast.

A Drink by…

@JacopoFalleni     Facebook

Photographs by Antonio Busiello

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

• Steve Negotiates his Hangover Show
• Steve’s 6 Pack Challenge: Moonshine
• Booze in the News: Daniel Radcliff admits to drinking on harry potter, beer and water diet, Kremlin vodka, clean bear glass awareness, and craft breweries embracing the can.
• I Brews Easy: Barrel Aged Beer
• The Foremost Whiskey Enthusiast: Ben McCallister
• Jacopo’s Drink of the Week: Mojitalian (Check out Jacopo’s Cafe Firenze Cookbook!)

Subscribe on iTunes or grab the RSS for a new podcast every week!

Got news, topics you would like us to discuss, or questions for Zane? Email him at zanelamprey@gmail.com

A clean beer glass will leave streaks of suds along the side of the glass when the beer is finished. A beer glass with leftover soap or solution will coat the sides keeping the suds from sticking.

This useful tidbit of knowledge has been spreading since last year with the help of  beer salesman, Joe Falkowski, who started to tweet pictures of properly clean glasses he found around town.  The clean glass movement began to pick up speed with beer enthusiast in Minnesota and has recently been revamped for the month of February. The movement marked on Twitter as #MNcleanpint is focused on rewarding good bars instead of defaming the bad ones. The bar with the most twitter pics at the end of the month will be awarded the title of “Cleanest Pint Glasses”.

“It’s more about celebrating the bars that are doing a good job,” Falkowski said. “The line between beer geek and beer snob is very thin. You don’t want to come off being a jerk.”

This movement proves that beer drinkers are beginning to take their beer seriously and encourages bars to respect the beer they serve.

Follow Joe on Twitter @Joelikeshockey and follow the clean glass movement at #MNcleanpint or start one in your city!

Read more here.

It is unknown if the Kremlin Award will be reserved for government use only, but at least one Russian online store has the bottle for sale at 793 rubles ($26) for a half-liter.

Even though Russia is often associated with loving Vodka, it was not the first spirit to be produced directly by the government. A line of Cognacs were previously released in Armenia and were also called Kremlin Award. The Russian heads of states have also admitted that they themselves care more for champagne at such prestigious events. Vladimir Putin has even been known to have beer at such events from time to time.

Read more here.

Paul Ferro, owner of Primo’s Craft Beer, gained inspiration for this beer diet from the practices of Bavarian Monks. During Lent, monks would often fast for 40 days, refusing to eat food. To help sustain themselves, the monks would brew very heavy stouts and double bocks full of calories and carbohydrates. For this reason the tradition of monk beer brewing began.

“I started to see it as a personal challenge and a personal journey when I can kind of cleanse my body, cleanse my mind and see how I would reexamine things,” said Ferro.

The diet consisted of drinking three very heavy dark beers a day, supplementing breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a heavy beer like a Rouge Double Chocolate Stout.  The two dieters said that hunger pains lasted for about 2 days but the mental craving for food lasted longer. After a few days, however, Ferro claimed to have more energy and an increased sense of smell.

Ferro lost a total of 9 pounds while his friend Albert Salinas lost 13. Salinas had to end the diet after 7 days due to a severe cold.

Ferro kept on his diet for two weeks. He ended it on Super Bowl Sunday with a big slice of pizza.

Warning: Doctors do not recommend this diet since beer provides no protein or fat. Essentially, this is a “Starvation” diet which can have unknown affects on your body. Ferro and Salinas had their blood pressure and heart rate checked by a nursing student everyday.

Read more here.

“We’ve had solid success with Milk Stout Nitro on draught, so we thought we would give our fans the option to take it home, too”, said Mark Sample, Left Hand Brewing Company’s Production Manager, and one of the brains behind the project.

“Customers have really taken to Milk Stout on nitro. They’ve supported us around the country in bars & restaurants – psyched to have a nitro stout that’s made right here in the US,” said Chris Lennert, VP of Operations for the brewery. “Now we’re happy to offer Milk Stout Nitro in 6pks for them to take home.”

Dark & delicious, this beer will change your perception about what a stout can be. Pouring hard out of the bottle, Milk Stout Nitro cascades beautifully, building a tight, thick head like hard whipped cream. The aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee. The pillowy head coats your upper lip and its creaminess entices your pallet. Initial roasty, mocha flavors rise up, with slight hop & roast bitterness in the finish. The rest is pure bliss of milk chocolate fullness.

Now that the folks at Left Hand have started rolling out the beer nationally, arriving soon in Boston, Arizona and who knows where next?  Certainly it will be coming to your town soon.

So far the beer has only been released in Colorado, Illinois and Texas but already the beer drinkers are lining up to sample and purchase this beer.  There is no reason not to expect other states to embrace this beer as quickly as the first three did.

We had the opportunity to get several questions answered from the folks at Left Hand including the proper method of pouring this beer to ensure that we get exactly the creamy goodness we want.  Here is some information from our Q & A session.

Q: Where do you get your nitrogen?
A: We use only local, organic nitrogen that has not been fed any GMOs.

Q: Do you use a special bottle?
A: The bottle is specifically designed to release the beer as you empty it.

Q: What does the n2 do for you?
A: Nitrogen forms small densely packed bubbles which create a beautiful head on beer. Nitrogen bubbles are also less resistant to breakage in the atmosphere, because our atmosphere is mostly nitrogen. This lends itself to long lasting, visually stimulating head.

Q: Why does it cascade?
A: It is due to the friction on the side of the glass. The bubbles on the side of the glass have to fight with the friction of the glass surface. The bubbles in the center rush up the middle and then get pushed to the side by the bubbles behind them. This causes a downward flow on the sides of the glass as they cannot flow up they flow down into the center and out.

Q: What made you decide to do this?
A: Our Milk Stout Nitro bottle is designed to replicate our draught product that has been so successful. We love drinking our beer in our bars and restaurants, but wanted people to have that same experience at home.

Q: When do you add the nitrogen?
A: It starts in the brewhouse with designing the beer. We also take specific steps during fermentation, filtration and packaging to end up with the nitrogenated beer.

Q: How do you get the nitrogen into the beer?
A: Very carefully with tiny tweezers. (Editor’s Note – I think this is their way of saying that this is a proprietary method and it is none of our business, just be happy the nitrogen gets in there…but I may be reading too much into that.)

Q: Why don’t you use a widget?
A: We found that due to the unique physical properties of our Milk Stout, the development of a widget would be an unnecessary waste of millions of pounds, er… dollars.

Q: Why is it necessary to “pour hard?”
A: In order to force the nitrogen out of solution in the beer to create the desired head. This is similar to using a restrictor plate on a draft nitro faucet.

Q: Whose idea was this?
A: It was a total team effort. It didn’t take long for the whole company to buy in as we strived to become the first craft brewery to put nitro beer in a bottle.

Q: What about regular (CO2) Milk Stout 6pks?
A: We will continue to brew and package Milk Stout 6pks. We have found that some customers prefer Milk Stout carbonated with CO2, which is more effervescent, where others prefer Milk Stout Nitro for its silky smooth creaminess. Why deny our fans either one?

There you go, straight from the horse’s mouth.  If you still have more questions about this first ever step for American craft beer, including “How to Pour the Perfect Pint”, go to www.milkstoutnitro.com. Otherwise, get out there and try the beer when it comes to your town.

Chuck Noll
Chuck_noll@yahoo.com
Cave Creek AZ
@beerphoria

WHERE WE WENT

• Steam Plant Grill: The Steam Plant Grill was once a working a steam plant providing power to Spokane for nearly 70 years. After the plant was closed it sat idle for a decade until reopened as the Steam Plant Grill. Now the plant operates as a brewery, grill, and pub offering up fresh native brews and an award winning restaurant. 159 South Lincoln St # 1  Spokane, WA 99201 (509) 777-3900
• Dry Fly Distillery: On the waters of the Gallatin river during a fly fishing venture, the idea for Dry Fly was born. Dry Fly describes itself as true craft distilling. They create award winning gins, whiskeys, and vodkas all using local ingredients and German manufactured equipment.  1003 East Trent Avenue  Spokane, WA # 200 99202 (509) 489-2112
• Bon Bon: A quaint and friendly bar located next to the historic Garland Theater, the Bon Bon offers up craft cocktails, a wine list of affordable hidden gems and an awesome rotating selection of micros on tap. 924 W Garland, Spokane, WA 99205 (509) 847.1234
• Northern Lights Brewery: A true Spokane brewery created by a spokane native using local ingredients for their beers and for their restaurant. Northern Lights is known for their original flavored beers that embody the nature of Spokane.  1003 East Trent Ave  Spokane, WA 99202-2185 (509) 242-2739
• Stealhead Bar and Grill: Located in the heart of Spokane, Stealhead is your place for great drinks, good food, and a fun atmosphere. The design of the bar is interesting and inviting, not-to-mention its a perfect spot for the “tall pour shot”.  218 North Howard Street  Spokane, WA 99201 (509) 747-1303
• Baby Bar: Baby Bar got its name because it is baby sized and it more than likely was the cause of a few babies as it is located across from the Davenport Hotel. Good people, good times. 827 W. 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201 (509) 847.1234

WHAT WE DRANK 

 Huckleberry Martini Recipe

 Monkey Gland Recipe

 Citrus Breeze Recipe

What We Featured

• Steam Plant Vanilla Ribbon Stout
• Dry Fly Washington Wheat Whiskey
• Northern Lights Chocolate Dunkel
• Northern Lights Blueberry Cream
• Tieton Blind Cider (Goes great with Washington Wheat Whiskey)

The drink starts with a slice of orange, a slice of lemon, and two slices of lime. Muddle the slices in a pint glass. Next add an ounce and a half of vodka. Then add up some simple syrup, sour mix, and soda water. Ice it up and shake. Pour and top off with a spash of lemon juice.

Find this drink at Baby Bar in Spokane.

McKenna Meter-Drink Strength (2/5)

FEATURED IN DRINKING MADE EASY: SPOKANE-SEASON 2, EPISODE 21

Start by chilling some glasses with ice then pour in some Absinthe (about enough to cover the ice). Then in a separate glass pour an ounce and a half of freshly squeezed orange juice, an ounce and a half of gin, and some homemade grenadine. Remove the absinthe (due to absinthe’s intense taste, it is often used to coat glasses and ice). Shake, then double strain as you pour to remove excess ice. Garnish with a brandy soaked cherry.

Find this drink at Bon Bon in Spokane.

McKenna Meter-Drink Strength (3/5)

FEATURED IN DRINKING MADE EASY: SPOKANE-SEASON 2, EPISODE 21

First, ice up a pint glass and fill it to about 3/4 full with huckleberry ale. Then add 1.5 oz of huckleberry vodka and some huckleberry syrup and sweet and sour mix. Then shake, pour, and garnish with fresh huckleberries.

Find this drink at Steam Plant Grill in Spokane.

McKenna Meter-Drink Strength (4/5)

FEATURED IN DRINKING MADE EASY: SPOKANE-SEASON 2, EPISODE 21