Beer in Tampa Bay: Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Another Dogfish Head treat to share - this time around it's the World Wide Stout - a crazy dark 18%+ stout from one of the coolest breweries on the planet. I am so happy to be able to buy their beer down here in Florida. It poured nearly black to a medium head that dissipated quickly, but still held a nice laciness on top throughout the drinking. As expected with such a high alcohol stout, the initial taste is of the sweet sweet barley. The sweet gives way quickly though, to complex flavors of slight smoke, a little caramel, maybe even some molasses and what I think tastes like cherries in there too. The warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach betrayed the high alcohol content which was surprisingly absent from the taste. For a single twelve oz bottle I paid $9, but after trying it out, it won't be the last one that I drink. Cheers to Dogfish Head for giving us such interesting and yummy brews to keep us warm (even in steamy hot Floriday) and happy.

Beer in Tampa Bay: Humidor Series Ale from Cigar City

Living in the Tampa Bay area has recently gotten a whole lot better with the addition of Cigar City Brewing and their numerous unique ales. A bit hard to find, and only available in large bottles (and on tap at some area bars), Cigar City's brews have been well worth the search. While picking up some lunch at an Italian market in St Petersburg, I spotted a variety I have yet to see or try: the Humidor Series Ale. This is the first bottled edition of what is to be a rotating series of beer that will be aged in special (and rare) cedar-wood tanks. From Cigar City's website:

Cedar has a more subtle effect on beer than more traditional woods like oak. But, we think that once you taste it you'll agree that cedar deserves a place along side oak in the brewer's wood-aging toolbox. Humidor series beers will vary due to style, but are always a good option for pairing with a fine cigar.

This first edition to the series takes their Jai Alai India Pale Ale (7.5% ABV) and puts it in that special cedar tank. What can I say but yummmm!
The beer poured to a nice big head that was easily resurrected with a simple swirl of my glass once I began drinking. The Jai Alai is a hoppy IPA with notes of citrus that mixed and mingled surprisingly well with the hints of cedar culled from the tank. The floral aroma and initial mouth feel bring on the taste of an IPA, and then the cedar slides in and mellows it all out. This is a really nice beer made unique by the cedar casking - highly recommended!

Beer in Tampa Bay: Immort Ale by Dogfish Head

As may be noticed, posts on my unique kitchen creations have been lacking for a while now, and I must admit that I have struggled to put much effort into my meals these days. One thing I have continued though is drinking beer. And after all, I figure beer does resided in the kitchen! When I first moved to the Tampa Bay area 5 years ago, I was shocked at how poor the beer selection was here - especially coming from the beer mecca of Philadelphia. Lucky for me (and all the other beer fans in the area), things have picked up down here in America's wang. Along with the increased variety, I have even commenced my first attempt at brewing: a nut brown ale about which I will post soon. So, the point of this little diatribe? I've decided to share some of the beers that I've been able to enjoy down here, along with some of the places from whence they have come. In other words: a little Tampa Bay Beer Love...

And so... first to be shared?

Dogfish Head Immort Ale
What we have here is a twelve oz bottle of 11% abv (alcohol by volume) goodness.
I first drank this with a few friends, and most of them didn't really like it, and I have to admit it does have a 'unique' taste when it first enters your mouth. Still, there was something interesting there, so I had another, and that's when I realized how unique - ly good this beer really is. It pours to a nice creamy head that lingers throughout the drinking. The label tells of the maple, vanilla, and oak notes of the beer, and strangely, each of these tastes boldly linger until the nice smooth finish after you swallow. At first taste, I felt like I was drinking a sweeter beer - similar to a barley wine perhaps - but it finishes so smooth and almost light, it becomes a highly drinkable high-alcohol beer. In fact, I liked it so much I had to go out and buy myself another 4-pack. If you enjoy beers that are a bit unique, go get yourself one of these tasty brews from one of my favorite breweries in the country these days.

Peter Jennings on "How the Food Industry is Deceiving You"

This series of five 8(ish) minute videos is from 2007, but you may still find it very informative and certainly pretty interesting. Two years later, virtually nothing has changed...

Emerging Issues in the U.S. Organic Industry

Read this new report from the USDA which includes details on the new incentives for farmers to transition to organic practices.
The abstract:
Consumer demand for organic products has widened over the last decade. While new producers have emerged to help meet demand, market participants report that a supply squeeze is constraining growth for both individual firms and the organic sector overall. Partly in response to shortages in organic supply, Congress in 2008 included provisions in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (2008 Farm Act) that, for the first time, provide direct financial support to farmers to convert to organic production. This report examines recent economic research on the adoption of organic farming systems, organic production costs and returns, and market conditions to gain a better understanding of the organic supply squeeze and other emerging issues in this rapidly changing industry.

Click here for links to the entire report >>>

Find Your Farmer

An article in the NYTimes shares a new effort by a company from the western U.S. to help and encourage consumers to connect to the sources of their food.

The underlying idea, broadly called traceability, is in fashion in many food circles these days. Makers of bananas, chocolates and other foods are also using the Internet to create relationships between consumers and farmers, mimicking the once-close ties that were broken long ago by industrialized food manufacturing.

Visit the site @ findthefarmer.com>>>

Continue reading the NYTimes article>>>

No More High Fructose Corn Syrup!

A handful of popular beverages are reportedly removing HFCS from their products, including Snapple, Mountain Dew and Pepsi. Apparently the move stems from consumer preferences that appear to be wising up to the dangers of the federally subsidized product.

Read the rest of the article here>>>