Rogue Chocolate Stout

Rogue Ales Beer Dinner in TX Hill Country January 27, 2012 - Westin La Cantera

2012-01-14T16:10:00.000-05:00

Folks in the Hill Country of Texas should check Beer Dinner this out:

Don't be afraid to go a little rogue this 2012 year with your friends at The Westin La Cantera Hill Country Resort. On Friday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. in The La Cantera Grille, we are proud to host a beer dinner with Rogue Ales, an American craft brewery who prides itself in doing things differently.

Five revolutionary handcrafted beers that go against the grain will be paired with a spectacular dinner menu, created by Chef Isaac Cantu and Chef Henry Wesolowski. These chosen beers have earned the highest awards at events including 2011 World Beer Championships, 2011 Great American Beer Festival, 2011 US Beer Tasting Championships and 2011 Mondial De La Biere.

There are a limited number of tickets for this high-selling event, so please don't hesitate to make your reservation by calling us directly at 210-558-2305.

Tickets are priced at $55 per person (not including tax or gratuity).

Click here to download the menu and a list of the beers chosen for your consideration.

ROGUE BEER DINNER

January 27, 2012

CAP’N SIGS NORTHWESTERN ALE

DEADLIEST CATCH TARTARES AND CEVICHES

King crab and fresh vegetable

HAZELNUT BROWN NECTAR

DEEP FRIED “CHICORY”, PORK AND CHEESE

Iberico ham, St. Andre, hazelnut and egg yolk

DOUBLE DEAD GUY

DOUBLE STUFFED QUAIL

Duck, foie gras and “cherry”

XS IMPERIAL RED

INDIVIDUAL POT PIE

Lamb and winter vegetable

CHOCOLATE STOUT

SOFT CHOCOLATE

Espresso, meringue and oats

ob: I google'd "soft chocolate" I came up empty handed, however the menu pairings are creative--this dinner should be delicious--especially intrigued by the topping and combinations of flavors & textures of the dessert. I would live to see photos, so tweet me @chocolatestout and let me know how this dinner & pairings go, and what the Sam Hill Soft Chocolate is! If it were cheese, I'd select pairing Chocolate Stout with local farmstead Pure Luck Farm & Dairy's Hopelessly Blue, Del Cielo or Sainte Maure.

Cheers!

The world's best flavored stout - - complex, great mouthfeel, hint of bitterness

2012-01-10T17:57:00.000-05:00

I crack up when I read the beer reviews like the one below from the World Beer Awards, especially when parsed into sound bytes. I just wish I had the nerve to do stand-up comedy (how many times fans of this beer have told me "you were great last night"...), but I'd blush myself off the stage in a heart beat. Still, here is my list of fun(ny) soundbytes from the WBA review:

great mouthfeel
creamy
complex
hint of bitterness
great balance
fresh vanilla aroma
layered & inviting

Kudos to John "more hops" Maier and his crew at Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon for brewing this elixir (which I adorn the label of), and for the other beers from Rogue Ales that scored WBA awards! Yet another couple of awards in their caps. I'm thrilled Rogue Chocolate Stout beer was awarded World Best Flavored Stout & The Americas Best Flavored Stout, according to worldbeerawards.com

Thanks to the contributors on Beeradvocate, this beer has 1800+ reviews with a score of 94, (99 from The Bros!) and RateBeer which has 1877 ratings and a score of 99!

Rogue's 22oz (and 64, 101oz) bottle has food group symbols, as a suggestion for pairing this beer with food. The food symbols on Rogue Chocolate Stout are Beef and Dessert -- but I feel the strength of pairing this beer is with cheese! Here are some of my favorite cheese pairings:

blue cheese from producers like Rogue Creamery, Jasper Hill Farms or the classic stilton from Colsten Bassett (UK).
mature cheddars (with lots of crunch) like Upland's Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Fiscalini or Beechers 24 or 48 month old reserve.
new styles like Touvelle from Rogue Creamery (sort of jack meets cheddar...)
classic goat cheese like Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog, or MozzCo's Hoja Santa.
flavored cheese like Beehive's Barley Buzzed or Rogue Creamery's Chipotle Cheddar.
a soft / bloomy rind like Cherry Grove's Buttercup Brie, Kunik form Nettle Meadow farms, or Dinah from Kurtwood Farms.

I also love to blend this bee r (Hole Mole') and have also blogged some of my beer cocktail recipes in the past (Rogue Diplomat Gone Nuts) and will continue to blog new recipes here and on a new site, www.BeerMixology.com

tags: @chocolatestout @rogueales

Teal Dragoness, a cocktail for OCNA 2012 Turn Up the Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs

2012-01-10T16:29:00.001-05:00

According to wikipedia, the color Teal is not even 100 years old, but its a color we know in nature (common teal duck, etc.) and has a broad range of tones in the green/blue spectrum.

Teal is also the color associated with Ovarian Cancer causes (as pink is for breast cancer). For the 2nd year I created a signature cocktail for the annual Turn Up the Heat Gala in DC. This charity event showcases & celebrates the talent of dozens of women chefs and restaurateurs from the DC Metro Area and raises money for a good cause. Its a privilege and honor to be the only brewery & distiller invited to pour for past 5 years, and to have a signature cocktail for the second year. My 2011 Teal Tonic was Rum based, the 2012 cocktail base is Rogue Spirits' Sprue Gin distilled with 14 ingredients including traditional botanicals like juniper berries, along with Spruce and Cucumbers.

Teal Dragoness is the 2012 cocktail I created, inspired by OCNA, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Assoc and the Year of the Dragon.

In a cocktail or wine glass, pour over ice and stir:

1 part Rogue Spirits Spruce Gin
1/2 parts Bols Blue Curacao (just enough to create your shade of teal)
1 part Prosecco or equivalent sparking wine

Options:

Use Q-Ginger, tonic or club soda instead of Prosecco.
Add a splash of Midori if more green is needed for your Teal Dragoness.

Raise your glass ~ toast the women who are fighting and surviving Ovarian Cancer & wish them well, and toast those who are looking for and working on a cure. Prost & Enjoy!

A shout out to Karen Buhler - an amazing glass artist (and my sister-in-law) who also makes whimsical shot glasses (heat shots of people, buck shots of deer...), tumbers & cocktail glasses, in addition to her collectible glass art. My "Buckshot" shot glass is filled with the Teal Dragoness cocktail.

TURN UP THE HEAT -- Event Info:
“Turn up the Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs” Gala will take place at the DC Ritz Carlton at 1150 22nd Street NW on Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Proceeds of the event will support our efforts to raise awareness, educate women and health care providers, and advocate on behalf of women with ovarian cancer. Tickets start at $250 doe the 2012 Turn Up the Heat Gala. Your contribution is tax deductible above the $90 per-person cost of the dinner. We hope you will join us!

Here is a list of Chefs participating in 2012 Turn Up the Heat, February 7th at the Ritz Carlton, DC.

WASHINGTON, DC

Beverly Bates of Vidalia
Amy Brandwein of Casa Nonna
Robin Butler of Red Hook Lobster Pound DC
Janet Conley of Cowgirl Creamery
Violeta Edelman of Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato
Sara Fatell of Grassroots Gourmet
Ruth Gresser of Pizzeria Paradiso/Birreria Paradiso
Susan Holt of CulinAerie
Charleen Huebner of Chef of the Hill
Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne of Georgetown Cupcake
Ris Lacoste of ris
Jamie Leeds of Hank's Oyster Bar and Lounge
Jodi Lehr of Santa Lucia Estate Coffee
Ana MacDougal of Michel Richard Citronelle, Central Michel Richard and MICHEL
Janis McLean of 15 ria
Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora
Alison Reed of Ripple
Kavita Singh of New Heights Restaurant
Tamesha Warren of The Oval Room

MARYLAND

Francis Bakota of My Wish Dish
Barbara Black of Black Restaurant Group
Somchet Chumpapo and Patrice Dionot of L'Academie de Cuisine
Rita Garruba of 8407 Kitchen Bar
Susan Sorrenko of Moorenko's Ice Cream
Monica Thomas of Tailored Taste Personal Chef Service

VIRGINIA

Gladys Abi-Najm and Grace Abi-Najm Shea of Lebanese Taverna Restaurants
Laurie Bell of Great Falls Tea Garden
Charleen Huebner of Stratford University School of Culinary Arts
Kate Jansen and Tracy O'Grady of Willow Restaurant
Shannon Overmiller of The Majestic
Yasmine Sandhu of Sugar & Spice
Aimee Suyehiro of Argia's
Christine Wansleben of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs of Richmond
Laurie Weber of The Swiss Bakery

WEST VIRGINIA

Anne Hart of Provence Market Cafe

Beverages

Sebbie Buhler of Rogue Ales and Rogue Spirits
Five Rivers Winery

tags: @chocolatestout @rogueales @ocna #womenchefs

Celebrating November 3rd , International Stout Day

2011-11-03T00:36:00.002-04:00

Hip Hip Horray for Erin Peters who declared November 3rd as International Stout day! @Stoutday

Being that my image has been on the bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout for upwards of a dozen years, it behooves me to encourage others to imbibe in this elixir--drink on the dark side, go for your inner stout, especially on November 3rd!

Why settle for just drinking your stout when you can eat it too! Here are a few ways to celebrate ~ all are available online and made with a stout near and dear to my International Stout Day heart!

Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout Cheddar - The Lodge gift basket also includes Smokey Blue and other goodies selected by Rogue Creamery. The cheddar is also sold in 8oz blocks at select retailers and through online retailers.
TruffleTruffle's Beer Pretzel & Brittle collection.
Vosges Haut Chocolate's new Smoke + stout chocolate bar
Valerie Confections - gift box of whiskey and stout truffles
Capogiro makes a special batch of Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato each year for Philly Beer Week!

Why not brew it at home? This 5 gallon homebrew recipe for Roge Chocolate Stout is online. Better yet, you can celebrate twice this week since November 5th is Learn to Homebrew Day - an annual event sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association!

You can also bake your stout and eat it too! Check out this recipe that Chef Bruce Aidells wrote for Bon Appetite Magazine! Here is a fun blog post & brownie recipe (though I have not tried it myself). Who doesn't love a molten lava cake made with chocolate stout...

On a diet? You can also read all about it -- just remember good beer is real food! There are dozens of dozens of reviews by the consumers on Beer Advocate and RateBeer and a solid thumbs-up from the beer press in Seattle!

So join me in celebrating International Stout Day, hopefully with something very dark and highly roasted in your glass or a creation thereof on your plate. No matter whether it has notes of chocolate malt or real chocolate added, its all about the base -- Stout!!

Prost!

The Women of Beer Dinner Oct 25th in Phila supporting Susan G Komen for the cure

2011-10-06T23:33:00.009-04:00

I am so thrilled to be part of this charity dinner: The Women Of Beer, Tues Oct 25th at MidAtlantic Restaurant & Tap Room in Philadelphia.

Meet + greet + dine with 8 ladies in the brewing industry:
Carol & Jodi Stoudt from Stoudts in Adamstown, PA,
Suzanne Woods from Allagash in Portland, ME,
Wendy Domurat from Dogfish Head in Milton, DE
Whitney Thompson and Karen Noonan
from Victory in Downingtown, PA,
Megan Maguire from Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY and
Sebbie Buhler from Rogue Ales in Newport, OR.

Chef Daniel Stern has planned an 8 course dinner paired with 11 special beers. Cost is $150 pp all-inclusive, with $50 benefiting the Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

Quite an amazing menu and beer pairings, including a beer washed cheese from Birchrun Hills Farm --yet another reason to celebrate -- October is American Cheese Month! Have you talked to a cheesemonger today? Steve Jones of the Cheese Bar in Portland, Oregon took the 2011 Cheesemonger award!

women of beer dinner menu:

meet + mingle: small bites + snakes / victory brewing co / festbier

first: winter vegetable salad / brewery ommegang / aphrodite - brett beer with fruit

second: saffron-poached trout / brewery ommegang / hennepin - farmhouse saison

third: variations of squash / allagash brewing co / hugh malone - belgian-stye ipa

fourth: green-peppered-crusted monkfish / dogfish head / midas touch - ancient ale

fifth: dry-aged ribeye: two ways / dogfish / hellhound on my ale - double ipa

sixth: birchrun hills farm beer-washed cheese / victory brewing / otto - smoked belgian-style dubble

seventh: a taste of apple / stoudt's brewing / apple pie beer

eigth: chocolate + cramel / stoudt's brewing / london porter & rogue ales / chocolate stout

A big thanks to Evan Oxenfeldt and Chef Daniel Stern!

tags: @RogueAles @ChocolateStout @MidatlanticPHL

October is American Cheese Month

2011-09-29T23:17:00.009-04:00

October is American Cheese Month -- a celebration of North America’s delicious and diverse cheeses, and the farmers, cheesemakers, retailers, cheesemongers, and chefs who bring them to your table. Find out more about events and participants from this link...

I have a special interest in American Cheese Month since my friends at Rogue Creamery (Central Point, Oregon) infuse Rogue Chocolate Stout beer into a cheddar cheese.

This cheese has won a hat-trick of awards at the American Cheese Society competition (2nd place in 2007 & 2008, 3rd place in 2011). Its available at select retailers, Rogue Pubs and Rogue Creamery's retail store; or you can order it online -- The Lodge gift box comes with the award winning Chipotle Cheddar, Chocolate Stout Cheddar, the world’s first Smokey Blue® Cheese, Lillie Belle Caramel-Almond Organic Dark Chocolate and 34 Degrees crispbread crackers -- a great gift idea for your favorite rogue during American Cheese Month.

Heads up to folks in Portland, OR -- on October 8th you can meet Oregon's cheesemakers during The Wedge, an annual event sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Oregon, benefiting the Oregon Cheese Guild which will be hosted at Rogue's Green Dragon pub! Learn more about Pacific Northwest Cheeses ~ visit Tami Parr's blog and get a copy of her book.

tags: @RogueCreamery @ChocolateStout @RogueAles @CheeseSociety @34degrees @LillieBelleFarm @TheWedgePDX @greendragonPDX @pnwcheese

Craft Beer Rising to the ICC Occasion in NYC October 2-4

2011-09-11T20:27:00.015-04:00

6th Annual International Chefs Congress (ICC) will be held at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC on October 2-2, 2011

Starchefs.com ICC theme for 2011 is the sixth sense: intuition, emotion, and experimental evolution in dining.

I am excited that Craft Beer will be at the Bar@ICC this year! Any brewery interested in participating should contact Will Blunt at the ICC office in NYC 212-966-3775, and secure your spot! Here are some details from the 2010 ICC.

The three day 2011 International Chefs Congress includes a product fair (with culinary equipment & products and craft beer!), 80 demonstrations and panels by culinary trade, for the trade, the 2nd Annual Pastry Competition (with 20 international pastry chefs), 2nd Annual Somm Slam (12 competitors compete over 3 days), the VitaMix Challenge (6 finalists go blender to blender), showcased decor by the winners of Design Competition, receptions and afterparties, and the NYC Rising Stars Gala & Awards on Tuesday evening.

from Starchefs.com, The 2011 ICC lineup includes preeminent figures in the food and beverage industry including

Grant Achatz (Alinea),
Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz Restaurant),
Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana),
David Burke (David Burke Kitchen),
François Chartier, Sang-Hoon Degeimbre (L’Air du Temps),
Curtis Duffy (Avenues),
Pierre Hermé (Pierre Hermé Paris),
Bill Kim (Urbanbelly and Belly Shack),
Paul Liebrandt (Corton),
Tony Maws (Craigie On Main),
Ron Paprocki (Gordon Ramsay at The London),
Gilles Verot (Gilles Verot), and
Chris Young (Intellectual Ventures) - part of the team behind of the Modernist Cuisine!

One session on my mind is Burger Pairing Showdown: Beer vs. Wine

Fred Dexheimer of Juiceman Consulting - New York, NY
Adam Fleischman of Umami Burger - Los Angeles, CA
Michael McAvena of The Publican - Chicago, IL

I have high hopes for beer and that Michael will take down Fred, so this will be interesting.

Another session that piqued my intersest is on Tuesday afternoon -- Je Ne Sais Quoi: Feminine Finesse in Mixology

Christy Pope of Cuffs & Button s - Brooklyn, NY
Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club - New York, NY
Naomi Schimek of The Spare Room - Los Angeles, CA
Katie Stipe of Last Call Consulting - New York, NY

There are a few women on the ICC presenters rooster (including Chef Elizabeth Falkner, Chef Stephanie Izard, and many women in the wine and spirits industry). As a member of

Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Association,
American Cheese Society (women dominate artisan cheese!),
Pink Boots Society -- women in the brewing industry, and the
Brewers Association,

I take notice if women are speaking or on the rooster, and who is attending.

The Grand Finale of ICC is the Rising Stars, and it is nice to see several women chefs in the 2011 NYC lineup: Chef Hilliary Sterling of A Voce and Pastry Chef Jenny McCoy of Craft. The 2011 NYC Rising Chefs Gala and Awards Ceremony is Tuesday, October 4th.

ICC Passes are on sale now. Get your 3-day ticket (Oct 2-4) for the limited-time discount price of $450 for working restaurant pass and $795 for 3-day industry pass. October 4th -- NYC Rising Star Tickets: $150 per person; $200 VIP admission which includes private reception, tasting preview, Champagne and Petrossian caviar.

Some of my favorite companies are sponsors:

Nueske's Smoked Meats (got Applewood Smoked Bacon!),
Wisconsin Cheese, and
Emmi Roth Kase

Bonus -- they all have products with umami, which strikes a cord with beer! Here is a great article by Charlie Papazian about Beer and Umami flavors (umami is the 5th sense ~ perfect flavors and pairings to bring to ICC and the 6th sense theme!) I gave a beer & umami flavors presentation at the Great American Beer Festival in 2009, albeit it was called beer and comfort food (bacon, cheese and chocolate).

Friends in the brewing industry, here is your chance to bring your beer to the culinary plate, come meet and network with the movers and shakers in the restaurant industry -- sign up as a sponsor! Chefs, Mixologists & Sommeliers, get to know your favorite brewers and their beers, encourage them to participate in ICC, and please include beer on your wine & cocktail lists!

I'll see you in Gotham at ICC. Cheers!

tags: #craftbeer @star_chefs @chocolatestout @WisconsinCheese @Nueskes @pinkbootsbeer

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gone Underground

2011-09-03T09:37:00.010-04:00

Blog posts about beer & food can be entertaining. I feel like a fly on the wall looking at the photos and reading the menu and pairing notes, letting my mind deconstruct and capture the flavors without tasting in 3D.

Underground dining is something I have not (yet) experienced, but I enjoyed reading Darin Dines' January 15, 2011 blog post about Wolvesmouth in LA pairing an interesting selection of beer with a very eclectic menu created by Chef Craig Thornton (Wolvesmouth.com), whose online photos of other dinners he has prepared are mouthwatering!

"The affair is strictly BYOB (no corkage). Thinking that the alcohol would be wine heavy (it was heavily weighted toward reds), we opted to bring a selection of craft beers. Not knowing what the menu would be, I selected an array of beers: The Bruery Orchard White (Orange County), Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (San Diego), La Chouffe (Belgium), Stone Double Bastard Ale (San Diego), and Rogue Chocolate Stout (Oregon). " [snip -- many courses and beers later]

"This was pretty much as advertised. It was a french toast ice cream done very well. It was appropriately sweet with a hit of cinnamon spice; it totally tasted like french toast. Just as important was that it was served at an ideal temperature. It was a few degrees above frozen (almost slightly melted) so that the flavors were very apparent at that temperature. I really liked this one. We drank this with the Rogue Chocolate Stout…this would be perfect for a beer float."

Darin, I was wondering, hoping that you enjoyed Rogue Chocolate Stout with the final course:
chocolate panna cotta, chestnut purée, coffee shortbread, pear ice, coffee meringue, warm pear.

Also, thanks for bringing beer to the table! Great post, menu and musings!

tags: @darindines @wolvesmouth @chocolatestout @rogueales

CityMeals-on-Wheels Chefs' Tribute in NYC ~ June 2011

2011-08-07T22:06:00.013-04:00

One of my favorite fundraiser events is the City Meals-on-Wheels Chefs' Tribute. James Beard and Gael Greene founded this charity in 1981 to help feed the housebound elderly of NYC. According to t he website, "Citymeals funds 30 community-based agencies that bring weekend, holiday and emergency meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers who can no longer shop or cook for themselves. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, Citymeals-on-Wheels delivered 2 million meals to over 16,000 New Yorkers at times when they would otherwise have been alone & hungry."

The annual Chefs' Tribute Gala is held at Rockefeller Center in NYC in June and hosted by Patina Restaurant Group. The theme changes each year. 2011 was A Taste of Home --Star Chefs and Wineries Celebrate Family Feasts to Benefit CityMeals-on-Wheels. The menu is a who's who of restaurateurs and wineries (Forgione, Brennan, Ponzi, Stillman, and 2 dozen more!)

I served a selection of Rogue Ales (American Amber Ale, Chatoe OREgasmic, Imperial Youngers Special Bitter, Chocolate Stout) along with Smokey Blue Cheese and Chocolate Stout Cheddar from Rogue Creamery served on 34-Degree crackers. I also had a bottle of Rogue Spirits Dead Guy Whiskey available to taste. A shout-out and thanks to Candela Prol for assisting me -- we've co-taught many beer and cheese classes at Artisanal Premium Cheese.
.
The food served at Chefs' Tribute is always delicious -- how could it not be when Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Waxman, Ben Ford, Alfred Portale, Craig Koketsu, Jean-Georges Vongerichte, and Charlie Palmer are serving you! So were the cocktails that Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club coordinated with a team of guest mixologists. A number of wineries attend, along with Fuji Water. Stella and Southampton also served beer this year. It was great to meet Dick & Nancy Ponzi, legends in the Oregon wine industry.

The Hurricane Club hosted the after party, and showcased a special cocktail Barry made using Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum.

Some of my favorite moments are when restaurant industry folks seek out my table and share their stories about craft beer. I had a great time with this woman from Gotham Grill, and the crew from Ford's Filling Station at the after party in 2011.

A hugh Thank You to the CityMeals team for inviting me to pour beer at their fundraiser each year since 2004. Feast of Many Moons was the theme. I served Rogue's Soba Ale alongside Chef Morimoto who was next to the chefs from the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. The smell of exotic spices was infectious, as was the music and energy of the crowd dancing under the big top tent at Rockefeller Center.

Gilt Taste showcases Valerie Confections Chocolate Stout Truffles made with Rogue Ales

2011-08-07T21:10:00.011-04:00

Online gourmet retailer Gilt Taste is selling Valerie Confections Scotch & Stout Truffles infused with 10yr old Macallan Scotch as well as Rogue Chocolate Stout -- the gift box includes 10 pieces of each (note, the photo is different quantity than the Gilt Taste gift box.)

Thanks to Los Angelenos Valerie Gordon and Stan Weightman Jr. of Valerie Confections for using Rogue Chocolate Stout, and the folks at Gilt Taste, an interactive magazine and online market, for showcasing this!

twitter tags @RogueAles @ChocolateStout @ValerieConfctns @GiltTaste

Yaquina Bay Bivalves and Rogue Beers on Bleecker Street

2011-05-09T23:04:00.008-04:00

The 16th annual Pacific Northwest Beer & Oyster Fest at Blind Tiger Alehouse in NYC is May 10-11, 2011.Today 2500 Yaquina Bay Oysters were delivered from Newport, Oregon (farmed up the bay from Rogue's brewery!) and the beer is ready to be tapped!

Nitro Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout
Dry-Hopped Mogul Madness
John John Dead Guy
John John Juniper Pale Ale
Dad’s Little Helper Black IPA (new recipe for 2011)
Love & Hoppiness (special JLS release)
I2PA (Imperial India Pale Ale)
Charlie 1981
Morimoto Soba
Chipotle Ale
Hazelnut Brown
Double Dead Guy
Brutal IPA
Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Sig's Northwestern Ale
Mocha Porter

The Tiger's event graphics this year are over the top cool. Thanks to Dave and the crew who worked at Hudson Street and now at the Bleecker Street Tiger, and for this blogpost!

Rogue’s Pacific Northwest Beer & Oyster Fest Tues & Weds May 10th-11th @ 2 pm

"How many breweries have a Department of Agriculture? Only one that I know of, and it’s located in Newport, Oregon. When you read about what Rogue has been up to lately, you get the feeling they could show the Federal Government a thing or two about running a farming operation. Then again, Rogue could probably show the Feds a thing or two about a lot of things. What if we became the first country run by a craft brewery? It would give Rogue Nation a whole new meaning.

Back to that Department of Agriculture - I was lucky enough to visit Rogue about nine years ago, when they were just a beautiful brewery overlooking Yaquina Bay, just up the road from a certain oyster farm. Since then they’ve been busy, adding the Rogue Hopyard on the Willamette River, where they grow seven varieties of aroma hops on 42 acres, including their own proprietary strains (If you visit, you can stay in their Hop ‘N Bed, a 100 year old farmhouse set up for guests).

From there it’s a short hop to Chatoe Rogue, their tasting room overlooking the hop bines and the river beyond. The wine industry has been building fancy chateau-like tasting rooms for years, going on about terroir in a glass. Craft beer finally has an answer, a place to sample the unique bitterness alluvial soil is capable of producing.

Of course, malt is equally important, so Rogue has acquired a barley farm in the Tygh Valley Bench in eastern Oregon. Home to 265 acres of Dare and Risk barley, their own proprietary grain, Rogue Farms can now grow and process an entire pint of beer just like the farmhouse breweries of yore. Speaking of farm breweries, Rogue has built a tiny one at Chatoe Rogue, a nano system that will produce collaborations from the Heart of the Valley and Capitol Home-Brewers,.

Of course, land isn’t the only thing with terroir. Unique bodies of water also have a “sense of place” in the flavors they produce, and Yaquina Bay oysters, our other featured guests, are perfect with Rogue Ales. Every year since 1997, Rogue has flown in a bunch of oysters from their oyster farming friends down the road, so we can have that perfect food and beer pairing.

Think of Rogue’s Pacific Northwest Beer & Oyster Festival as a craft beer collaboration with Nature."

A shout out to several years of PNW Yaquina Bay Oysters & Rogue Ales at Blind Tiger Alehouse -- here are photos I took in

2010

Publish Post

2009

2008
and check out the video NBC broadcast online in 2010

For more info on these beers, visit Rogue.com and the bivalves, visit Oregon Oyster Farm Better yet, come visit Newport, Oregon and the Rogue Hop Farm in Independence, and taste Rogue Ales at the source!

Aloha Rogue! March 22 Beer Dinner at 3660 On the Rise

2011-03-15T17:23:00.006-04:00

Aloha! Check out this menu for a Rogue beer dinner in Honolulu, HI next week that Jack Joyce has arranged and will be attending. All I can say is save room for dessert!

3660 On the Rise is hosting the dinner and owner / Chef Russell Sui is partnering with Chef Colin Nishida of Side Street Inn (his recipe for deep friend pork chops is legendary... ask Anthony Bourdain if its good!)

And on March 21st grab a 22oz bottle of Rogue's Morimoto Soba Ale or Black Obi Soba Ale, sit back and watch Chef Morimoto debuts on Hawaii Five-0!

Allez Cuisine!

E ʻai ka-kou (Bon Appetite in Hawaiian)

truffle truffle ~ Green Beer Marshmallows for St Pattys Day ~ the Rogue way

2011-03-07T17:15:00.009-05:00

truffle truffle in Chicago uses Rogue Chocolate Stout in their beer & pretzel recipes and have a special green beer marshmallow for St Patricks Day 2011 that will benefit the community ~ Rogue go Bragh!

green beer o'mallows

think green...beer marshmallows! Inspired by local tradition, we've turned our beer marshmallows green for St. Patrick's Day! This limited edition box, finished with a kelly green bow and shamrock tag, features our beer and pretzel marshmallows dressed up for the occasion, with a green hue and Shamrock confetti. Best of all, since "thinking green" means so much more to all of us, a percentage of proceeds from the sale of these seasonal treats will benefit Gateway Green's Tree Partnership Program, dedicated to converting abandoned lots into community green spaces to beautify Chicago's neighborhoods.

Order online before March 18th: http://www.truffletruffle.com/beer_pretzel_collection.php

Rogue Cheese and Beer at Old Hickory Steakhouse

2011-03-06T16:09:00.006-05:00

I love it when restaurants and chefs embrace beer and cheese. On April 8th, the folks at Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee are hosting a Rogue River Creamery & Rogue Ale, Cheese & Beer Extravaganza on April 8th.

Rogue Creamery produces two cheddar cheeses made with Rogue Ales, the Chocolate Stout Cheddar and Morimoto Soba Ale Cheddar. Their vast array of cheddar and blue cheeses are 100% beer friendly ~ find your perfect pairing! If you (like me) cannot be there, here are a few great gifts for your favorite Rogue!

Friday, April 8, 2011

For the first time in Orlando history two of the biggest names in Cheese and Craft Beer will come together to share their passions. Join David Gremmels, past President of the American Cheese Society and owner of Rogue Creamery and Brett Joyce, President of Rogue Ales, as we indulge in an evening of ale, cheese and a very special Old Hickory menu!

Time: 6pm doors open (6:30pm dinner)
Price: $80* per adult 407-586-0708
RSVP: 407-586-0708 Seating is limited! Call the Culinary Concierge, seats will go fast!

If your travels include Oregon on March 19th, check out the 2011 Oregon Cheese Festival in Central Point at Rogue Creamery, and be sure to make a reservation for the dinner on March 18th at the Ashland Springs Hotel which benefits the Oregon Cheesemaker Guild!

March 8th Rattle N Rogue in NYC on International Womens Day

2011-03-06T14:15:00.009-05:00

Tuesday March 8, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, which coincides with a Rogue Ales promotion, Rattle N Rogue at Rattle N Hum in midtown NYC!

What better way to celebrate than over a pint of beer with a woman on the label. Rogue Chocolate Stout and Mom Hefeweizen will be on tap, along with 25 other Rogues at Rattle N Hum, 14 East 33rd (between 5th & Madison). 6pm until. Pay as you go. Here is a draft list of the draughts:

Juniper Pale Ale
Chatoe Wet Hop Ale - farm grown
Shakespeare Stout on Nitro
Dead Guy Ale
Mocha Porter
Mogul Ale
Brutal Bitter
Hazelnut Brown Nectar
Yellow Snow IPA
Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale
Chocolate Stout
Younger’s Special Bitter
American Amber Ale
Russian Imperial Stout
Santa's Private Reserve
Chipolte Ale
Morimoto Soba Ale
Double Chocolate Stout
Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Imperial India Pale Ale - I2PA
Rogue Irish Ale
Chatoe (no sure which other...) - farm grown
John John Dead Guy
John John Hazelnut Nectar
Captain Sig’s Norwestern Ale
Charlie 1981
Mom Hefeweizen

Come join the Rogue Nation for a great beer line up with Mussels to boot on Tues March 8th! Rumor has it there may be several cocktail made with Rogue Spirits on the menu too.

I'll be at Rattle N Hum from 6-9pm and hope to see you in Gotham! If you see me with my We Can Do It lunchbox, ask what is inside! This image is often misattributed to Norman Rockwell, it is a WPA era design my J. Howard Miller for Westinghouse.

Join me in celebrating many accomplishments of women, especially in the brewing industry and culinary trade, plus the women who grow the ingredients we eat and drink.

Here is a short history from the United Nations. The banner logo above is from this UN 1997 post, and has the dove symbol which I associated with Danish designer Siersbol. I have my Grandmother Lillian's necklace with this dove/women's sign which was made in Denmark.

I've posted about women in the beer industry and the Pink Boots Society, and my involvement with food as a member of the American Cheese Society and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Assoc (sign up today, we want you as a member!). Its all about educating and promoting craft beer, from the tank to the table. Barley's Angels, is the new consumer leg of Pink Boots Society for ladies to enjoy and learn about beer. Chapters are being setup across the globe, check us out ladies & friend us on facebook!

Another highlight this week is Top Chef All Stars on Wednesday. Three of the five finalists are women. Kudos to Chef Carla Hall, Chef Tiffany Derry, and Chef Antonia Lofaso. The episode on Ellis Island, exploring each contestant's genealogy and their families connection to food was wonderful.

You Go Girls!

Growlers of Rogue in Gotham @ Whole Foods Bowery Feb 18th

2011-02-17T21:32:00.004-05:00

Rogue Ales will take over the 6 taps at Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room on Friday February 18th at 6pm ~ bring your empty or purchase a new growler and fill up 64 or 32 ounces of fresh draft beer from Newport, OR! Here's the draft lineup, get your Rogue Growler before the keg kicks!

Mogul Madness ~ a strong ale loaded with hops and barley.
Yellow Snow ~ an India Pale Ale any Huskie would enjoy.
Chocolate Stout ~ an oatmeal stout with real bittersweet chocolate.
Chipotle Ale ~ smoke japaleno peppers lightly infused into a golden malty ale.
Morimoto Soba ~ brewed with barley and roasted buckwheat groat (soba), light and nutty. The 1st in a series with Chef Masaharu Morimoto ~~ Allez Cuisine!
John John Dead Guy ~ Dead Guy Ale aged in Dead Guy Whiskey Casks. A new classic!

Ever tried Chipotle Ale blended with Chocolate Stout? I call it the Holy Mole' !

Choose from a selection of bottles from Rogue Ales, brewed in Newport, Oregon and available at the Whole Foods Beer Room in NYC!

Join Sebbie and Chris at 6pm for a meet and cheese in the beer room. A selection of cheeses from Rogue Creamery will be available for sampling and for sale too!

Mark your calendars for March 8th when Rattle N Hum will host an evening with 27 Rogues on tap and several cocktails made with Rogue Spirits! Pink Gin and Dead Guy Whiskey are now available in NYC!

Beer, Cheese and Chocolate Tasting at Rogue Public House in San Francisco

2011-01-29T12:04:00.007-05:00

Here are ten reasons to celebrate Valentine's Day and San Francisco Beer Week at the annual Rogue Ales Public House event ~ 10 artisan cheeses & chocolates selected by Sheana Davis paired with 10 beers created by John "More Hops" Maier at Rogue's brewery in Newport, Oregon. Join us Sunday February 13, 2011 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at 673 Union St @ Powell in North Beach/SFO. Rogue Nation Members $45, general tix $50.

Sheana's Delice de la Vallee (a fresh triple creme cow and fresh goat milk fromage blanc) will be the first pairing and took a Blue Ribbon at the 2010 ACS Competition. Epicurean Connection is based in Sonoma, so if you are in Wine Country, stop by Shean's retail store.

Teal Berry Tonic cocktail for Turn Up The Heat, A Celebation of Women Chefs

2011-01-23T12:53:00.017-05:00

I was asked to create a teal cocktail using Rogue Spirits for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Gala, Turn Up The Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs. This annual fundraiser is for a great cause with a who's who of DC's best Women Chefs (*). Encourage your friends and politicos in DC area to buy a ticket or table for 10, and join us on Feb 15th at the Ritz Carlton. http://www.ovariancancer.org/gala/

Teal is the color of the cause against Ovarian Cancer, so my cocktail is called the Teal Berry Tonic. Mix 2 parts / jiggers of each:

Rogue Spirits White Rum
Rose's Cocktail Infusion: Blue Raspberry Mix
Pineapple Juice

Shake & pour over cracked ice in a Tom Collins or a tulip glass, top off with Tonic water and mix with a swizzle stick.

I did not have Blue Curacao at home and picked up the teal colored cocktail mixes at ShopRite. Martini Gold Wildberry, which was sweeter than Rose's. I tried making a blueberry simple syrup (using 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup rum, 1/3 cup truvia, 1 cup of smashed blueberries boiled for 10 minutes and strained through cheesecloth) which was delicious but deep purple in color--and a great addition to blueberry pancakes!

(*) Back to the Gala on Feb 15th - members of the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Assoc are involved in this event, me included. Here is the who's who...

Turn Up The Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs:

Coordinating Chef, Ris Lacoste of ris

Beverly Bates of Vidalia
Amy Brandwein of Casa Nonna
Polly Brown of POLLYstyle
Sue Conley, Peggy Smith and Janet Conley of Cowgirl Creamery
Violeta Edelman of Dolcezza Gelato
Sara Fatell of Grassroots Gourmet
Ruth Gresser of Pizzeria Paradiso/Birreria Paradiso
Susan Holt and Susan Watterson of CulinAerie
Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne of Georgetown Cupcake
Jamie Leeds of Hank's Oyster Bar
Les Dames de Michel Richard of Michel Richard Citronelle, Central Michel Richard and Michel by Michel Richard
Tiffany MacIsaac of Birch & Barley and Buzz Bakery
Amy Miller of Brasserie Beck
Janis McLean of 15 ria
Melanie Parker of 701 Restaurant
Elizabeth Petty of Elizabeth's Gone Raw
Susan Povich and Robyn Povich of Red Hook Lobster Pound DC
Alison Reed of Cafe Saint-Ex
Santanna Salas of Bourbon Steak
Kavita Singh and Yasmine Sandhu of New Heights Restaurant
Tamesha Warren of The Oval Room

Maryland

Patrice Dionot and Somchet Chumpapo of L'Academie de Cuisine
Rita Garruba of 8407 Kitchen Bar
Carole Palmer of Good Taste Marketing Services
Marla Romash of Marla's Magic
Susan Sorrenko of Moorenko's Ice Cream

Virginia

Gladys Abi-Najm and Grace Abi-Najm Shea of Lebanese Taverna Restaurants
Meshelle Armstrong, Shannon Overmiller, Maria Chicas and Melissa Horst of The Majestic Restaurant Eve and
Vaishali Chitnis and Charleen Huebner of Stratford University School of Culinary Arts
Christine Wansleben and Femme Foodies of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs of Richmond
Kate Jansen and Tracy O'Grady of Willow Restaurant
Aimee Suyehiro of Argia's
Christine Wansleben of Mise En Place Culinary School
Laurie Weber of The Swiss Bakery
Kyong Yi of Fontaine Caffe & Creperie

West Virginia

Elizabeth Gallery of Stone Soup Bistro

Beverages

Sebbie Buhler of Rogue Ales and Rogue Spirits
Jodi Lehr of Santa Lucia Estate Coffee
Five Rivers Winery

Does you bird deserve beer this Thanksgiving? How about the pie??

2010-11-23T00:13:00.011-05:00

A common misconception is wine is the beverage for Thanksgiving, yet beer pairs better than you might expect with the classic dishes served on the fourth Thursday of November. Here are my picks for fish, fowl & meats, and what others suggest for dessert.

Smoked Salmon: a sprucey & hoppy ale like Saint Rogue Red or a maltier American Amber melds nicely with smoked salmon, capers, eggs yokes, cream cheese and thinly sliced onion. The carbonation helps lift the fattiness of the fish off your palette with each sip.
If you go whole hog and serve California Caviar, try Morimoto Soba Ale with the Hacklebeck Sturgeon.

Turkey: Rogue Juniper Pale Ale or the new JohnJohn Juniper Pale (aged in the Rogue Spirits Sprue Gin casks) pairs with any bird and sides like garlic mashed potatoes, green bean and French's onion rings, baked yams smothered in butter, or a tossed green salad with blue cheese dressing. To brine or not to brine? Here is a recipe.

Pork or Beef: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale or the JohnJohn Hazelnut Brown (aged in the Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum barrels). Any dish with roasted vegetable (mushrooms, asparagus, beets, chestnuts) pairs beautifully with this beer, as do most cheeses (from chevres to blues to cheddars) and gravy.

Desserts: On CraftBeer.com, Randy Mosher suggests a piece of pecan pie served with a glass of Rogue Chocolate Stout. Icing on this pie would be beer ice cream or gelato, made with the Chocolate Stout (Yo Capogiro!). Here is a recipe easy to adapt for home and using Rogue... The Miami Herald also recommends Rogue Chocolate Stout with your dessert... I love Fred Tasker's headline, Try beer, not wine, for Thanksgiving!

Just save room for dessert ;) Prost!

Craft Beer and Women -- a panel at the Beer Bloggers Conference

2010-11-01T01:07:00.014-04:00

I'm preparing for the BeerBloggers Conference in Boulder next weekend and the panel Craft Beer and Women: As Consumers, Industry Members, and Blog Readers. The audience is a mix of traditional and online press, brewery and allied industry who blog about beer.

In preparation for the panel I need to compile a list of 10 Things To Do, and 10 Things Not To Do to attract the attention of the woman beer drinker. These are generalizations, and I have 2/3 of my list written and hit a wall. Here is a start:

10 Top - To do

use photos, visuals, include beer & food pairings. use appropriate size for media (web, print, etc.)
include recipes, details about how to make it at home / by the reader with short videos or photos.
keep an open mind, ask for comments, share the responses.
ask the experts, use local and industry resources.
make it portable... easy to share with others and view on various platforms online:
smart phone, iphone, ipad, and oldschool 80386 pcs running dos 3.1... and dialup.
cite your sources, acknowledge and link then

--

10 Top - Not to Do

Assume there is only 1 opinion, yours.
Language and tone -- Keep it fresh, not dirty. Don't talk down, or generalize.
Not cite references.
Hide behind an alais. Keep your ID hidden or hard to find.
Post long-winded videos with rambling narratives and no thought about location, content, etc.
Allow pop up ads, use flash and more flash, more pop up ads.

Anyone? (ha, , I can say that, being a Buhler). Send me 3 ideas how to engage and communicate with women about craft beer (or what not to do!) and read about it online next weekend!

In the meantime, I'll reread Ashley's post, "Don't Support the Objectification of Women: Drink Craft Beer" on 10-12-2010 and the comments, and stroll down memory lane and revisit my post about Women Drinking Beer , which may jump start my Halloween candy sugar coated brain.

365 Bottles of Beer: Oct 12th is Rogue Chocoate Stout Day

2010-10-11T12:44:00.006-04:00

10-12-10 is Rogue Chocolate Stout Day according to the 365 Bottles of Beer Calendar from Workman Press!

A few of my favorite recipes include Bruce Aidell's cake in Bon Appetit Oct 2009 issue...or The Nibbler's recipe for a Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake... or Bananas Foster with Rogue Chocolate Stout... or Cupcake Villians Devilish creations... For me, the icing on any of these cakes is the Gelato from CapoGiro, made 2 years in a row for Philly Beer Week... and the best of all, pour this elixir into a glass and enjoying it. A hugh shout out all of you who brew, bottle, ship, distribute, sell and enjoy this delicious & nutritious (imho) beer! As Rogue Brewmaster John "more hops" Maier says, Prost! I say Gracias, Danka, Thank You and Enjoy!

Shout out: Rogue Creamery Newsletter, October 2010

2010-10-05T15:16:00.006-04:00

The Rogue Creamery October, 2010 newsletter has great recipes and pairing ideas, and a Shout Out to Rogue Ales & Spirits.

Chocolate Stout Cheddar Cheese Toast with Mushrooms and Bacon

Blues and Brews (& Cheddars too) for OktoberFest.

Sausage Rolls with Oregon Blue... this would be great for tailgate parties, serve it with a bottle of Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale!

Rogue Creamery has a selection of gifts packs ~ indulge yourself or buy something special for the favorite rogue in your life... My favorite is The Lodge:

Chocolate Stout Cheddar, award winner at the 2009 ACS Competition, made with Rogue Ale’s Chocolate Stout beer, our award winning Chipotle Cheddar and the world’s first Smokey Blue® Cheese. Lillie Belle Caramel-Almond Organic Dark Chocolate and 34 Degrees crispbread crackers make this a generous selection.

Thanks to our friends @Rogue_Creamery in Central Point for sharing!

Chocolate Stout Ice Cream and Wasabi Peas!

2010-09-02T22:40:00.007-04:00

I love it when chefs host beer dinners and create recipes and pairings that picque my appetite. Hats off to Jake Grove who wrote about this upcoming dinner in the Independent. I checked the One12.net and noticed Chef Josh Crenshaw cooked at Galatoir's Bistro in Baton Rouge before opening his own restaurant in Anderson, SC. Check out (and friend) his fb page.

Four Course Rogue Beer Dinner tentatively set for Monday September 13th. The beers to be showcased are Morimoto Soba Ale, Brutal Bitter, Chipotle Ale, Chocolate Stout.

Course I:
Coffee crusted sea scallops, sweet potato nest and pomegrante gastrique.
paired with Morimoto Soba Ale.

Course II:
Smoked-Fried quail breast with cornbread and caper tapenade.
paired with Brutal Bitter.

Course III:
Braised pork shoulder with honey tuile and szechuan buttons.
paired with Chipotle Ale.

Course IV:
Toffee torte with chocolate-stout ice cream and wasabi peas.
paired with ChocolateStout.

The cost will be $45 per guest or bring a date and get $80 for two. This price is all inclusive of tax and gratuity. Guests will also have the chance to purchase beers by the bottle after dinner. Seating is limited to 50 guests. Please call One 12 at 864-965-9019 to make a reservation.

Chef and owner Josh Crenshaw
One 12
112 N. Main Street
Anderson, SC 29621

www.one12.net

Chef Crenshaw's dessert reminded me of a Rogue beer dinner at Morimoto in Philadelphia in June which ended with a chocolate toffee torte, chocolate stout ice cream, roasted almonds, and wasabi peas. I can still taste it in my minds eye...

Women drinking beer

2010-07-22T00:02:00.012-04:00

Did you know almost one in three women in the US drinks beer!

I moderated the panel Beer According to Women at the Craft Brewers Conference (Boston, April 2009) which presented a point of view from women who brew, market and promote beer. Teri Fehrendorf who founded the Pink Boots Society inspired me to submit a panel presentation, Candice from Beer Advocate and Jodi from Stoudts joined us for the panel discussion.

I am on the Pink Boots' consumer education committee and prepared the material below for a meeting during the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in Sept 2009. My focus was ideas for getting more women to enjoy craft and artisan beers. I've added a few updates and links for online surfing. Grab a craft beer and enjoy the journey!

Photo above: an article mentioning me, Carol Stoudt and Julie Bradford from the mid-1990's about Women and Beer. 15 years ago women drank 25% of beer consumed in America, today its 31%. Women drinking craft beer is a growing segment of an growing marketplace!

Women & Beer
Consumer Education and Industry Networking Notes,
i.e., how to get more women to drink craft beer...

Prepared by Sebbie Buhler, Rogue Advocate
for the Pink Boots Society meeting during GABF, 2009.

Background: The panel I moderated, Beer According to Women , was blogged during the Craft Brewers Conference in Boston, in April, 2009. I used the questions asked to a panel of women in 2002 as a reference and inspiration for my panel.

During NYC Beer Week on 9-15-2009 a panel & tasting event Women in the Beer Industry: from brewers to bar owners was held at the French Culinary Institute on Sept 15, 2009. Maggie Fuller of BeerEthos moderated. Sorry to have missed this one. In June, 2010 I attended an spoke at the post SAVOR event in DC, which Tammy Tuck organized and called All 'Ale the Ladies.

Blogs, websites, and clubs focused on women who drink beer...
Know and communicate with the media (online and print, tv and radio). Blog and get blogged!

What I blog about -- http://roguechocolatestout.com
Pink Boots Society - http://www.pinkbootssociety.org/
Stoudts Brewery -- Carol, Jodi, Elizabeth, Laura, Grete - http://stoudtsbeer.com/brewery.html
CandiceAllstrom's blog post about my panel -- http://www.scandalouscandice.com/pork_chops_chicken/2009/01/candice-alstrom-to-speak-craft-brewers-conference.html
Carolyn Smagalski - The Beer Fox -- http://www.bellaonline.com/about/Beer
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35902.asp
Cornelia, Beer Drinker of the Year! -- http://www.realbeer.com/edu/abm/corey.php
Suzanne Woods (Phila)... In Pursuit of Ales http://www.beerlass.com
Ales 4 Females (CO) Left Hand's womens club -- http://www.lefthandbrewing.com
Ginger Johnson (OR) - http://www.womenenjoyingbeer.com/
Lucy Saunders's Cooking with Beer -- http://www.cookingwithbeer.com
and her BeerCook website -- http://www.beercook.com/index.html
Lisa Morrison in PDX, and what she's done -- http://appellationbeer.com/blog/fantasy-beer-dinner-5-lisa-morrison/
Tiila's Women who Love Beer (SFO) -- http://www.femaleist.com/
and a shout out to Tiila from the Beer Wench!
Aleuminati -- http://aleuminati.ning.com/group/womenwholovebeer
Maggie Fuller (NYC) -- http://www.beerethos.com/
The ladies at the Cambridge Common / Lizard Lounge (Boston) -- http://www.womeninbeer.com/
Ms Wort Hog, An Oregonian in Kansas City -- http://www.kcworthog.com
Brewmnaster Jenny Talley's blog -- http://jennytalley.blogspot.com
Julie Johnson Bradford, editor of All About Beer -- http://www.allaboutbeer.com
Julia Herz, Brewers Assoc -- maven of press and all things networked.
All 'Ale the Ladies - an evening in DC June 6, 2010. Thanks to Tammy and crew for organizing this.
Girls Pint Out - There are several chapters in the US, I first learned about the Phoenix chapter from Mo, we met in DC at ChurchKey.
Drinking with the Wench: Ashley will be the chief blogger at the Beer Bloggers Conference.
Go.Girl.Magazine: Megan took a beer appreciation course at Wellesley College and had a beer epiphany, and headed west to Seattle.
ChicksLoveBeer - these gals in NoVA reached out to Rogue and are on my radar!
Naked Pint - Christina and Hallie's unadulterated guide to craft beer- http://www.thenakedpint.com/Home.html
Ladies Beer Tea - An annual event during Philly Beer Week - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56227.asp
Alison Grayson's video For the Love of Beer - check it out!!

We've come a long way baby... spread the word!
Women were the original brewers... in many cultures and on many continents (chica)!
Fast forward to the 21st Century...Brewster Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing Co was the first woman to win the prestigious Brewer of the Year award at the 2008 World Beer Cup. Not enough people know this, especially women.

Check out this 1994 article on the California Queen of Beer homembrew competition. Barbara Groom at Lost Coast is one of the West Coast women brewing pioneers!

Fast forward 15 years ~ participate in and support local homebrew competitions for women! Queen of Beer, a BJCP and AHA Sanctioned will be held October 2010, for information contact qoborganizer@hazclub.org or visit http://queenofbeer.hazeclub.org/
Allied fermentables... American Cheese Society
Get to know your local cheese makers, taste and pair their cheeses with your beers, set up tastings in your brewpub or their retail store, if they sell wine, ask them about selling your beer!
Invite the cheesemaker to co-host a beer and cheese event at a restaurant working with the chef on menu ideas.

Check if your gourmet retailers do tastings or have store sampling opportunities, Whole Foods and other grocers who have culinary education programs and classes. Encourage them to host an event for Women Beer Drinkers.

Focus on Women’s Events and Charities
I pour beer at several breast and ovarian cancer fundraisers which often showcase Women Chefs and tend to be very wine focused, beer is always appreciated! Some groups I network with: Ovarian Cancer National Alliance - Turn Up the Heat annual fundraiser and tasting event with Women Chefs from DC and environs. SHARE - Breast and Ovarian Cancer Support Network, 2nd Helping of Life Benefit. SHARE 2010 is Sept 20 in NYC.

Sept 17, 2010 - Boulder Beer Co will host Beer for Boobs, a fundraiser celebration to support the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Walk for the cure... join the Susan G. Koman 3-Day for the Cure (tm) fundraiser being held in many cities... or pledge for someone who can!

Taste of the Nation - Share Our Strength’s nationwide tasting event each spring held in dozens of cities, mostly wine focused, always great chefs/restaurants. A great event to showcase beer with gourmet foods to consumers and to the participating chefs and restaurant staff.

My tip: Set up early, let the chefs know you are there, tell them what beers you are serving that work with the dishes they are serving. Not only will you eat better (they will bring food for a bottle of beer to take back to their station), you’ll make contacts in the back of the house and they will ask their Beverage Manager to bring in better beer.

Women Chefs and Restaurateurs
Get to know the the women chefs in your market who are making a buzz. Top Chef 1st female champ, Stephanie Izard is a beer drinker based out of Chicago (and just opened The Girl and The Goat - with lots of beer on her menu!). Chef Jamie Leeds, President of WCR has 3 restaurants in DC, all carry a nice selection of beers.

There are numerous chefs and culinary associations, these two are key:
Women Chefs & Restaurateurs mission is to promote and enhance the education, advancement and connection of women in the culinary industry. Formed in 1993 by eight of the nation's top women chefs and restaurateurs, WCR has grown to a membership of over 2,000 members, offering a variety of networking, professional and support services.
Les Dames d’Escoffier is the only organization of its kind: a world wide philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality.

Don’t whine about wine drinkers.
Know the wine scene and what they are promoting. Any restaurant, bar or store doing tastings with wine makers are perfect opportunities to get beer onto the radar of the consumer, and onto the menu. If the beverage manager is uneasy about adding beer, suggest they try it with a beer dinner to launch and offer a selection of bottles for 8 weeks, and pair the beers with the menu. Encourage beer flights and samplers. If the servers are jazzed about suggesting beer, and the chefs are keen in cooking with or pairing with beer, the consumers try it.

Schedule a wine versus beer dinner and let the consumers vote on the best pairings. The Sommelier Smackdown I did in NYC was mostly wine drinkers.There were several beer epiphanies in the audience, despite losing by a few points to Emily Wines, a Master Sommelier!

Clubbing It
Lisa Morrison, Sister Suds, teaches Beer Appreciation classes for women in Portland, OR.

Ales4Females, Left Hand’s club which Sue Smith-Troy and Cinzia Wallace organized, meets once a month at the brewery from 6:30-8pm. It is now so popular you must RSVP to attend, $6 per meeting or $60 for the twelve month membership!

Suzanne Woods segment on WCAU TV about Phila’s In Pursuit of Ale, a beer club for girls, is posted online.

All 'Ale the Ladies was held after Savor in June, 2010. Washington DC has a vibrant scene for women beer drinkers, check Tammy Tuck's posts and events with Rachael Murray at Brickskeller and elsewhere.

FemALEist -- Women Who Like Beer, Girls Pint Out, Chicks Love Beer, and Beer for Babes are just a few of the clubs I've learned about recently.

Remember women involved with beer have had powerful places in society, for example,
way back when...Ninkasi, Sumerian Matron Goddess of Beer, and today... Betty Buck, first women chairperson of the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Celebrate
March is Women’s History Month. A great opportunity to brew a special beer, have a beer dinner or tasting event with a woman chef, cheesemaker, etc. This article caught my attention.
http://www.mlive.com/kalamabrew/index.ssf/2008/05/women_and_craft_beer_part_1_be.html

Here are some facts about women and beer:

· The sale of beer to women is a growing market.
· Women currently account for 25 percent of beer consumption in the USA.
· 31% of Women in the United States drink beer (Julie/BA)
· 50.9% of the US Population are Women, we are the Majority.
· A Majority is not a Niche or Novelty. (Ginger/Snap!)
· You train for a marathon, you mentor for a lifetime. (Ginger/Snap!)
· Women between the ages of 21-30 are drinking more beer than any other age group.
(seb/web)
· Beer drinking among women in the 50-plus age group is increasing, a fact and group often overlooked in the media. (seb/web)
· 20% of MBAA members are women in 2009, there were none thirty years ago. (seb, from · Brewers Bulletin editor and mbaa members)
· AHA is about 95% male, 5% female. (very generalized, not verified, summer 2009)
· BA membership is about 90% male, 10% female (very generalized, not verified, summer 2009)
· US Beer Drinking Team is 85% male, 15% email (email inquiry with USBDT, summer 2009)
· American Cheese Society is 51% male, 49% female (email inquiry, summer 2009)
· Women Chefs and Restaurateurs is approximately 4% male, 96% female (email inquiry)

· By 2010, women will control more than half the private US Wealth, or about $14 Trillion. · By 2020 that number will rise to $22 Trillion. (seb / web)

The article, "Hey, Get this Woman a Beer!" in the February, 2009 issue of Beverage World, written by Michael Kuderka cites these statistics:

* Women make 83% of all household purchases in the U.S.
* Women take care of 75% of the family finances.
* Women handle 89% of checking accounts in the U.S.
* Women, unlike men, tend to shop for other people as much as they do for themselves.
It's not about "Pink" Beer"... "Women don't need "girl" beer; they need to be given a chance to see what is so special about a beer."

“Forget the stereotyped notion that beer drinking is a male phenomenon. More women worldwide are drinking beer, particularly light ales, than ever before. The fact of the matter is that modern women no longer play a passive role in beer consumption or, indeed, in beer advertising.”
http://www.drinkfocus.com/articles/beer/women-and-beer.php

News from the Land Down Under...

MELBOURNE - While a new brewery is all set to open in Australia’s Warnervale on the Central Coast, it is believed that more women would be hired as professional beer tasters, for they apparently make better tasters than men. With the opening of the new Bluetongue Brewery, almost 100 jobs will be created, out of which 10 and 15 will be of full-time beer tasters, and that too without any experience. The 120 million dollars brewery will open in late 2010, and is expected to produce enough bottles daily to stretch 109km. And to make sure that every beer tastes right, owners are expecting that the majority of the jobs would go to women because they make better beer tasters. “Women typically are better able to detach a smell from the object,” the Courier Mail quoted Bluetongue’s head brewer Tim Williams as saying. Williams said that women could smell a liquid in a cup and say “strawberry” whereas men “have to see the strawberry”. Unlike wine, beer tasters must swallow. “A lot of beer’s bitter characters are detected at the back of the throat,” Mr said Williams. (ANI)

Women have better palettes then men! This is not news, but it has received a lot of press recently, thanks to the SABMiller video and the WSJ online and the article from Down Under (above) I'll pour myself a beer, Rogue Chocolate Stout blended with Chipotle Ale (I call this the Holy Mole'!) and drink to that!

Cheers!

~ Sebbie / seb@rogue.com
www.RogueChocolateStout.com
twitter @ChocolateStout
updated/posted on 7-23-10

Morimoto Restaurant in Philly ~ 2nd Annual Rogue Ales Beer Dinner

2010-05-28T23:11:00.002-04:00

Morimoto Restaurtant in Philadelphia is hosting their 2nd Annual Rogue Ales Beer Dinner

Monday June 7, 2010
Dinner is $95.00, seating from 6:00 - 8:15 pm
Reservations: 215-413-9070

Morimoto
723 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.morimotorestaurant.com

Mocha-Potato- Spicy Karashi (Cod Roe) - Basil
paired with Rogue Somer Honey Orange Wheat.

Kani (Crab) Cake - Mustard Miso - Charred Corn Compote
paired with Morimoto Imperial Pilsner.

Spiced Soba Ale Short Rib - Pickled Pepper - Kochujan Sauce
paired with Morimoto Soba Ale.

Chef's Choice Sushi/Maki
paired with Morimoto Hazelnut Brown Ale.

Chocolate Toffee Torte - Chocolate Stout Ice Cream - Roasted Almonds, Wasabi Peas
paired with Rogue Chocolate Stout.

Confirmed Guests

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gelato in the City of Brotherly Love

2010-05-28T22:56:00.006-04:00

Capogiro is making a Rogue Chocolate Stout for Philly Beer Week 2010!

As posted in Philly Beer Scene Magazine....

The perfect way to enjoy a beer in Summer.

One of the first things I fell in love with in Philadelphia, aside from beer, was Capogiro. As soon as I walked in and saw the bizarre flavors such as basil, cucumber, avocado and champagne mango sprinkled with cayenne, I knew I found something special. Then, after trying it I realized it was even more special than I initially thought. Already in love with this, you can only imagine my reaction when I walked into the 13th and Sansom location last March during Philly Beer Week and found a Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato amongst a few other beer flavored offerings. Rich and creamy gelato with malty, delicious beer, it’s almost impossible to go wrong with that combination. [snip]

As for what flavors we can expect this year: Stephanie only promised Rogue Chocolate Stout and Guinness again.

Three cheers to John and Stephanie Reitano and the crew at Capogiro!

Rogue Ales and Artisanal Premium Cheese Class in NYC May 14, 2010

2010-05-08T22:11:00.005-04:00

Artisanal Premium Cheese Center is hosting a beer and cheese class on Friday May 14 with Sebbie Buhler from Rogue Ales and APC instructor Candela Prol. The class starts at 6:30 pm and runs until 8:30. Usually five beers are served and tasted with a selection of six cheeses during the class. The opening reception includes a variety of cheeses and sparking wine before the class begins, along with Artisanal's Cheese Fondue. Cheesecake is served at the end of the evening. Artisanal Premium Cheese Center, 500 West 37th Street, New York City.

FemALEists' Socola Chocolatier and Rogue Ales Tasting for Women Only on June 27

2010-05-08T21:28:00.012-04:00

Tiila of FemALEist hosts Women Who Like Beer tasting events in the Bay Area. I asked her to consider an event at Rogue Ales Public House in North Beach, and to pair the beers from Rogue with the truffles made by Oakland based Socola Chocolatier. Socola is owned and operated by two sisters, Wendy and Susan Lieu who have experimented using Rogue Ales in their truffles. The ladies did some preliminary tastings and have a program set for Sunday June 27th from 2-4pm at Rogue's SFO Public House featuring 8 truffles paired with 8 beers for $32. Reservations can be made on meetup.com

While the pairings may change, here are some notes on which beers and truffles are being considered

1. Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale paired with Socola Tamarind Black Sesame Truffle

2. Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout with Socola Shakespeare Stout Chocolate Truffle

3. Rogue Chipotle Ale paired with either: Socola Burnt Caramel with Sea Salt or Notorious H.O.G.Truffle

4. Issaquah Brewhouse Menage A Frog paired with the Socola Give it to me Guava Truffle

5. Eugene City Brewery 200 Meter IPA paired with Socola Jasmine Tea Truffle

6. Rogue Imperial Red paired with Socola Burnt Caramel (no salt) Truffle

7. Rogue Mogul Madness paired with Socola Yuzu Truffle

8. Rogue Double Mocha Porter paired with Socola Vietnamese Espresso Truffle

Rogue Dinners at Tap in Atlanta, LJ's & Kat Lounge in Hagerstown, Summits Wayside in Cumming & Snellville, and Fork in Philadelphia

2010-02-28T16:54:00.020-05:00

Here is a hat-trick of beer dinner menus featuring Rogue Ales and Spirits in March, 2010:

1. Tap Gastropub in Atlanta, GA on March 4th ~ Dead Guy Whiskey Flip, beam me up Scottie!
2. LJ's & Kat Lounge in Hagerstown, MD on March 14th ~ The Elvis is for dessert!
2. Summits Wayside Tavern in Cumming and Snellville, GA on March 15-16th ~ this is a special East Coast meets West Coast collaboration beer dinner with two brewers and ten courses!

... stay tuned for a beer dinner menu at Fork Restaurant in Philadelphia on Monday March 15th. Chef Feury is preparing a Rogue Ale and Rogue Creamery Beer Dinner ~ three course paired with beer, including a cheese course for $45. Chef Fuery is the guest Chef at the James Beard House in NYC on April 17th and is a semifinalist for a James Beard Award, along with 20 Chefs from the Mid-Atlantic region, Finalists will be announced on March 22nd at the Palace Cafe in NoLa ~ Best of luck Chef Feury!

A selection of beer dinner menus and recipes featuring Rogue Ales and Spirits are posted online.
And to all the Chefs who created these eclectic beer dinner menus, Allez Cuisine!

Rogue Ales' Hop Farm in the NY Times ~ Hop N Bed

2010-02-27T10:13:00.010-05:00

Have you ever wanted to visit a hop farm ~ connect to the land where the lupulin grows?

Rogue Ales has just the answer, its called the Rogue Farms Hop N Bed (a rustic farm version of a bed & breakfast), located on the former John Haas Alluvial Hop Farm in Inde pendence, which is in the heart of Oregon's hop growing re gion. Spend the night in a 100 year old farmhouse that was once a boarding school for children working on the farm, enjoy Chocolate Stout pancakes in the morning, take a tour the hop museum, watch the hops grow on the 42 acre farm and picnic along the banks of the Willamette River.

Rogue Farms' Hop N Beer was part of an article, Make your Beer and Drink it, too in The New York Times Travel Section on February 28, 2010 article, page 8:

In the Pacific Northwest, Rogue Ales, one of the more celebrated American craft breweries, has a six-bedroom house on its 42-acre hops farm in Independence, Ore. Brett Joyce, president of the brewery, said that staying there gives visitors a chance to better experience one of beer’s main ingredients. “We even have a wedding scheduled there next summer,” he added.

Rogue Farms: Hop Farm
3590 Wigrich Rd.
Independence, OR 97351
For reservations and information, email Denise@rogue.com or call 503-347-8288

Rogue also has a Bed & Beer in Newport, on the Oregon Coast!
Steps above the Rogue Ales' Bayfront Public House and across the Yaquina Bay Bridge from Rogue Ales' brewery and Rogue Spirits' distillery. Join us for the Journey!

Valentine's Day and Every Day Gift Ideas for the special rogue in your life

2010-02-13T21:29:00.015-05:00

Valentine's Day is a mere 24 hours long -- a single day to share a special gift is 364 days too short, imho. Here are a few of my favorite things to share and enjoy, every day, and on Valentine's Day, with that special rogue in your life.

Garden of Holly's Rogue Chocolate Stout Soap. It looks good enough to eat... like a big fat chocolate stout brownie, except its a bar of soap, made with beer!

How about something edible that pairs beautifully with a bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout ~ Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout Cheddar ~ available online and from selected retailers (including the Rogue Ales Pubs), or in a The Lodge gift package from Rogue Creamery via mail order. This cheddar cheese is made with Rogue Chocolate Stout and won 2nd place ribbon at the 2008 and 2009 American Cheese Society competition!

Liquid Gratitude offers a bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout with a Rogue pint glass filled with Wildflower Cookie Co's chocolate shortbread cookies, available via mail order.

Sometimes its better to offer a suggestion from someone else.. . here is what was posted on the blog Where and Back Again, Beer my Valentine... "For my money however, Rogue's award-winning chocolate stout—silky, sweet, and full-bodied—has a slight edge. Like your favorite candy bar, it's irresistible. A couple of glasses of this kind of liquid happiness and neither you nor your sweetheart will care how many blizzards hit the East Coast this winter. " Thank you Benjamin!

If the snow drives you to drink, or you need a beer cocktail after shoveling, or better yet, if you need a good excuse to make your favorite Rogue a special cocktail, try the Rogue Diplomat Gone Rogue which combines Rogue Chocolate Stout with Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum and Pedro Ximenez Sherry!

Beer, Cheese and Chocolate in San Francisco on 2-10-2010

2010-01-22T23:02:00.009-05:00

A Taste of the Rogue Nation... On February 10th during San Francisco Beer Week join the crew at Rogue Ales Public House in North Beach for an evening with Sheana Davis of the Epicurean Connection and sample 8 different Rogue Ales with a selection of artisan and farmstead cheeses and chocolates. Tutored tasting runs from 6-8 pm, $40 Rogue Nation Members, $45 Non Members.
A great Valentine's Day gift for that special Rogue in your life!

Rogue Chocolate Stout, GYO/Chatoe Dirtoir Black Lager, Morimoto Soba Ale, American Amber Ale and Russian Imperial Stout are just a few of the beers that will be paired with cheeses and chocolates on 2/10/2010.

A hat-trick of Beer Blends using Rogue Chocolate Stout

2010-01-10T17:25:00.006-05:00

Here are three of my favorite beer blends, perfect for any occasion!

1. Holy Mole'

Blend Rogue Chipotle Ale with Rogue Chocolate Stout.
The proportions are your choice, some prefer more smoked jalapeno/chipotle flavor, others more chocolate. I use 50/50. Hints of smoked jalapeno linger through the bittersweet chocolate and oatmeal stout flavors. Pair it with with Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Cheese, or try it with a steak.

2. Spontaneous Sebbie

Blend equal amounts of Hanssens Oude Kriek, a Belgian sour cherry lambic that is spontaneously fermented, with Rogue Chocolate Stout.

An aperitif beer cocktail created and named by Stephen Beaumont for a beer dinner at Monks Cafe in Phila in 2004. He also suggested the name Sebbie up the Kriek, but introduced it as Spontaneous Sebbie, both are pretty funny (imho!) It was served in a stem aperitif glass (6-8 oz...), I recommend upsizing this to a full pint, and enjoy it before, with or after dinner!

This lovely dry, tart, fruity and rich drink pairs beautifully with duck confit, lamb shanks, pork loin, blue cheeses, and rich desserts.

3. Malted Maven's ChocoNuts & Spirits

Spritz a wine glass or stemmed beer glass with Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum, pour equal amounts of Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale and Rogue Chocolate Stout into the glass, and spritz the finished blend with more Hazelnut Rum.

The aroma is chocolaty and nutty, the taste is sublime. I created this on the fly for the dessert course at a Sommelier Smackdown Dinner in NYC in July 2009. I was pitted against Master Sommelier Emily Wines at Nios Restaurant. We had nicknames for the evening, I was the Malted Maven, Emily was the Blue Nun. She did beat me by a couple of votes (rematch!), and was quoted in Serious Eats as being impressed with my elixir!

Bon Appetite!

Beer Cocktail, The Rogue Diplomat Gone Nuts

2010-01-10T16:45:00.008-05:00

There are many ways to create fun beer blends using Rogue Chocolate Stout, but I wanted to take it to the next level and make my own signature beer cocktail for Valentines Day, so I chose the Stout Diplomat as the base (created by Yanni at Nopa in SFO) and tweaked it. Here is my recipe for the

Rogue Diplomat Gone Nuts!

Blend in an Old Fashioned glass, or wine glass

1 ounce Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum
1/2 ounce Pedro Ximenez Sherry
6 ounces Rogue Chocolate Stout

Stir, but do not shake. I recommended you chill the bottles prior, since no ice is used in this cocktail... unless you use whiskeystones. For those who don't like the flavor of Hazelnuts, try Rogue Spirits Dark Rum.

The sweet, nutty and roasted flavors of this beer cocktail pair beautifully with spicy foods, anything grilled, big cheeses (Rogue Creamery blues, esp the Smoky Blue, aged cheddars or goudas (Boerenkase), and bloomy rind cheeses), and of course desserts like creme brulee or a slice of apple pie and ice cream! Sip and enjoy!

Cambridge Common Rogue Dinner Menu 1-26-2010

2010-01-06T01:00:00.008-05:00

Rogue Ales Beer Dinner, Tuesday January 26, 2010 from 6:30PM - 9:30PM
at Cambridge Common Restaurant, Cambridge, Massachusetts
beerdinners@cambridgecommonrestaurant.com (617) 547-1228

Event Details:

Pre-Dinner Beer: Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale -- an India Red Ale, perfect to stimulate your appetite! Dedicated to Captain Sig of FV Northwestern and the Hansen Bros, the Rogues of the Bering Sea.

~ Soup ~ Garlic, Cheddar, and Andouille, Paired with Dead Guy Ale -- a Maibock hybrid, rich and malty with a medium crisp hop finish, brewed with Pacman (Ale) Yeast, giving this beer an Oregon twist to John's German Heritage.

~ Salad ~ Baby Spinach, Toasted Hazelnuts, Cranberries and Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Paired with Hazelnut Brown Ale -- a rich & robust brown ale with a nutty finish that is more food forward than most beers.

~ Entree ~ [choice of]

Crab Stuffed Halibut with a Peppadew Buerre Blanc, Hop Infused Rice, and Poblano Fries Paired with Yellow Snow -- an India Pale Ale that stands up to heat and then some...just watch out where the Huskies go.

OR

Pork Chop with a Black Lager Mushroom Jus, Scalloped Potatoes, and Haricot Vert, Paired with the new Chatoe series Dirtoir Black Lager -- the roasted malts will meld with the earthy flavors of this dish. Brewed with first growth RISK malts, along with Independence and Revolution hops from the Rogue Farms.

~ Dessert ~ Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, Paired with Rogue Chocolate Stout. Yummmmm, just save room for dessert...

Tickets are $50 (inclused tax, gratuity and the Brown Paper Ticket fee.

Cupcake Villains' Rogue Chocolate Stout Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

2010-01-06T00:34:00.009-05:00

Thanks to Gibbs for posting this recipe and giving a shout out to use Rogue Chocolate Stout. Gotta love a cook who suggests you drink the leftover beer while the cupcakes are in the over (my kind of recipe!) Cupcake Villain's blog lists the ingredients and recipe for the cupcakes and frosting, with step by step instructions and photos. I could not do justice to it here, so skip on over to wordpress and check it out! Get your mixing bowl and measuring cups ready, and a 22oz bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout. Here is a visual treat... Food for thought...Happy Baking!

http://cupcakevillains.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/chocolate-chocolate-stout-cupcakes/

Celtic Kitchen Recipe for Rogue Chocolate Stout Cake

2009-12-26T00:33:00.007-05:00

I came across this recipe online in the Irish American News' Celtic Kitchen. Thanks to Julianna Leber for posting it and suggesting my beer, and to the reader who requested it. Time to dig out the bundt pan and do some baking!

Chocolate Stout Cake
Makes 1 2-layer cake or 6 mini bundts
1 c. stout (Guinness or a Rogue chocolate stout)
2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (+ 2 T.)
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 scant c. sour cream

Ganache
1 c. heavy cream
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, in bits

Butter and flour (with 2 T. cocoa) pans. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Heat stout and butter in heavy pan and stir. Add cocoa powder and mix completely. Let cool. Whisk dry ingredients together. With electric mixer, combine eggs and sour cream. Add stout mixture to egg mix and beat to combine. Add four mixture and mix slowly, just to combine. Using spatula, fold ingredients together to mix completely. Pour into pans and bake 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Mini bundts will be 10 minutes shorter. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove and cool completely.

In heavy saucepan combine cream and chocolate and stir until fully melted. Set aside and cool until almost spreadable. When ready, frost or pour ganache over cakes, top with whip cream and serve.

Merry Christmas!!

To twitt or not to twitt, when you've been tweeted...

2009-12-26T00:21:00.006-05:00

I have resisted twitter, but now I've been tweeted... what is a beer to do?

Rogue Chocolate Stout. It's like all the best sex you've ever had poured into a bottle and served by a sexy lady.

To knead or not to need beer bread...

2009-12-13T21:50:00.005-05:00

What a wonderful surprise to my wondering eyes... a Chocolate Stout Beer Bread recipe posted on Maria's Golden Oven uses Rogue Chocolate Stout inspired by a no-knead method. I may not need bread but I love a loaf with a crunchy crust and lots of flavor and texture inside. Maria writes this bread may be better than the beer itself... I don't know about that, but it is up to you to decide! I'm thinking this would make great French Toast, yummy toasted with Peanut or Almond Butter and Bananas, or toasted for a BLT (bacon is one of my feel good / comfort foods to cook, and eat!)

Photo Caption: I invented this recipe after being inspired by Jim Lahey's no-knead method. It's even better than beer itself! At least I think so.
___________________________________
Ingredients
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
5/8 cups chocolate stout beer (I used Rogue beer from OR)

Directions
1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add the beer and mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. If it's not really sticky to the touch, mix in another tablespoon or two of water. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.

2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third, and place the covered 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.

5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution - the pot will be very hot) Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and continue baking until bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to gently lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.

Thank you Maria!

Seeing, Listening and Haiku'ing Beer

2009-12-12T13:46:00.012-05:00

Having your own haiku ... and drinking it too...

how sweet it is!
Captain Hops, thank you!

The looking glass photo was taken during the Brewers Association Media Luncheon at Great American Beer Festival. I spoke about Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale, which was paired with the molten chocolate cake and Andy from BA took this photo through a glass of Rogue's elixir.

Beer and Comfort Foods... sounds like Umami! CraftBeerRadio has posted a mp3 of me talking about beer and flavors during the GABF Tasting Panel... its here is the marquee

Beer is food according to Rogue Advocate, Sebbie Buhler. Some of our favorite comfort foods (and haute cuisine) are best enjoyed with ales, lagers, stouts and porters. This tasting experience will touch on the versatility of beer as the ultimate beverage for sweet, salty, bitter and sour along with the fifth sense, Umami. Explore the flavors of Rogue Creamery Cheese, Nueske's Bacon, and Tcho chocolate; paired with a selection of beer from Rogue Ales

Beer and Cheese 101

2009-12-04T01:58:00.015-05:00

When pairing beer and cheese, consider the classic Ploughmans
Lunch in Britain -- a pint of bitter, a wedge of cheddar, pickles & picked
onions, charcuterie and a baguette. The variety of craft beers & styles
and artisan cheeses that are available can be daunting, so here are a few
tips and rules of thumb to break!

It is all about Taste...
Aged cheese (parmesean, gouda, blues, cheddars) have a crystalline texture
from the naturally occurring glutanic acid, this is the basis of Umami. Some
argue Umami is the fifth taste sense (bitter, sweet, salty and sour are the core
four), others say it is just a sensation. It is hard to argue the pairing of an aged
cheese with a big flavored beer (lots of malt, and hop forward) is anything
but amazingly delicious, and quite pleasurable, thanks to Umami.

and Breaking Myths... this headline sums it up:
Forget wine and cheese parties -- the true soul mate for fromage isn't
made from grape juice.
Janet Fletcher, a noted author of 18 books on food (Niman Ranch Cookbook),
wine, and cheese (The Cheese Course) , has a cheese column in the San Francisco
Chronicle. Her article in Februaury 2005 heralded the virtues of beer and
cheese ~ Janet had a beer and cheese epiphany, which is music to my ears!

Her article highlights pairing rules, suggestions and references from
Garrett Oliver (brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, author of Brewmasters Table),
Lucy Saunders (Beercook.com website, noted beer/food author) and
Tom Dalldorf (Celebrator Beer News editor). Her article is great read and reference.

Janet's pointers are bold, along with a few of my pairing suggestions:

Pairing Pointers... Although you'll find many happy matches that
break the following rules, these guidelines are a good starting point
for thinking about beer with cheese.

Pair delicate beers with young, fresh cheeses.

Morimoto Soba Ale with a fresh chevre (goat milk), or the classic
pairing with Rogue Creamery Morimoto Soba Cheddar.

Juniper Pale Ale with Vella Dry Jack or Rogue Creamery Crater
Lake Blue (really!).

Pair rich malty beers with nutty, aged cheeses.

Dead Guy Ale or American Amber Ale with an Aged Gouda
(Willamette Valley) .

Hazenut Brown Ale with Rogue Creamery Raw Milk Sharp
cheddar or TouVelle.

American Amber Ale with Rogue Creamery Chipitle Cheddar.

Pair highly hopped, bitter beers with tart, sharp cheeses,
especially cheddars.

Youngers Special Bitter with Fiscalini Bandage Wrapped
Cheddar (other classic aged cheddars, WSU Cougar Gold,
Beechers, Jasper Hill, Grafton, Shelbourne Farms, Widmer Bros.)

Imperial Younger’s Special Bitter with
Rogue Creamery Echo Mountain (part goat, mostly cows milk).

Pair strong, sweet beers with blue cheeses.

Any Rogue Stout (Chocolate Stout, Shakespeare Stout, Imperial Stout)
or Old Crustacean Barleywine paired with
any Rogue Creamery Blue (OR Blue, Crater Lake Blue, Smokey Blue,
Rogue River Blue, Oregonzola, Cave Man Blue, Echo Mtn Blue).

Bottom line: Cows do not eat grapes... (JackJoyce-ism)

Photo: Seb's beer and cheese class at Artisanal Premium Cheese Center in NYC

Save room for dessert paired with chocolate stout

2009-12-03T22:53:00.017-05:00

This week the Naked Pint book tour was in the land some call Munich on the Willamette or the City of Roses... BlueHour sponsored a dinner with Christina and Hallie, fellow Rogue colleagues attended and sent me the menu... first thing I notice, the name is wrong... Rogue Double Chocolate Stout will be released in 3Q 2010, also Double Chocolate is not twice the hops and barley and oats you find in "regular" Rogue Chocolate, but a totally different hop and grain bill! For the record on their book tour dinner, Blue Hour paired Rogue Chocolate Stout with their dessert Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Pot de Creme and dried cherry chocolate chip cookies... Yummmm, I hope the folks who attended this dinner saved room for dessert!

Since this post is about pairing beer and dessert and the various chocolate stout recipes, here is another pairing story.

Rogue Imperial Chocolate Stout was served at the National Homebrewers Conference in June 2009. Next summer (2010) this beer will be debuted in a 22oz bottle as part of the Double series (with Dead Guy and Mocha Porter)! Remember, Imperial, aka Double Chocolate is an evolution of the regular Rogue Chocolate Stout recipe, but not twice the ingredients.

Homebrew Chef Sean Paxton's dessert (for 800) was made with a keg of Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale and many pounds of Tcho chocolate (in the mousse), sprinkled with roasted Crystal Malt and whipped cream was served in an edible chocolate cup, with pieces of Tcho's chocolates on the side -- paired with Japanese export bottle, Rogue Imperial Chocolate Stout. It was sublime! To Tcho or not to Tcho? I Tcho!

Read All About it...

2009-11-21T14:41:00.014-05:00

I have a plethora of new books to read from recent travels and events. Here is a quick look at my reading list and beer related gift suggestions:

the beerbistro cookbook.
by Stephen Beaum ont and Chef Brian Morin
Great design and readability, well presented and categorized.
Who doesn't want to cure their own bacon... Chocolate Stout Jelly...
My brief visit to beerbistro was with the Brewers Assoc Trade Mission, featuring American Craft Beer for Canadian Retailers and LCBO.
Maple Berkshire Bacon Brulee was the opening amuse ~ it was an incredible dinner with great beer pairings, conversations and connections.
I cannot wait to visit BeerBistro Restaurant on King Street in downtown Toronto again, but until then, I'll enjoy the photos (mussels!) and experimenting with Chef Brian's recipes at home. I highly recommend this book. 262 pgs, hardcover.

Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune, authors of The Naked Pint, the unadulterated Guide to Craft Beer, came to the City of Brotherly Love on a book tour. A dinner was arranged at Fork Restaurant with the help of Jennie Hatton. The dinner comprised six beers paired with the reception and four course dinner, representatives from each brewery attended.

Beerlass Suzanne Woods blog'd the dinner designed and prepared by Chef Terence Fuery, with food photos and nice recap. Below is a group photo with Ellen Yin (Fork Restaurant), JennieHatton (ProFile/PR), Suzanne Woods (Sly Fox, BeerLass), Megan Maguire (Ommegang), Wendy Dormant (DogFish Head), Christina Perozzi (NakedPint), Jodi Stoudt (Stoudts), Hallie Beaune ((Naked Pint), Sebbie Buhler (Rogue Chocolate), Whitney Thompson (Victory), Tracy Mulligan (Victory). Even Lew blog'd it... he'll review the book soon too.

I sat with several locals who are foodies and love beer, soon to be Dr's Julia and Dan, Luke and his wife Abbey, a Fork'ster...they all bought the Naked Pint and I cannot wait to get their opinions! Three Cheers and thanks to Ellen Yin at Fork, one of Phila's earliest supporters of women in the beer and beverage industry!

Yo, forget the cheesesteaks in Philly, head to Market & 3rd and dine at Fork ~ be sure to have the Lamb Belly Confit, we had it with Sly Fox Saison, yummmm... Loved the scallops & meyer lemon (along with bacon, scallops are a must have in my diet) paired with Rare Vos; Smoked Duck & Raison D'Etre, duck-d'etre- done; the dessert was divine ~ chocolate caramel tart and Rogue Chocolate Stout.

Back to the reason we were dining at Fork, the book... Naked Pint is something I've perused several times this week and will continue to peruse. I love easy reading, I love opening a book to any page and enjoying it. Love the Tiffany Blue, golden type and Chocolate Stout mirage on the cover... selling is all about first looks, and this book has it. Love the table of contents: Beer 101, The Art of Beer, Neophyte, Sophomore, Devout, Promiscuous, Home is where the Beer is, Beer Lover's Kitchen, Brewing at Home, Entertaining with Beer, and Parting is such sweet sorrow. Bravo Christina and Julia! As for the rest of y'all, don't even think about borrowing this book, buy your own!

Mastering Cheese ~ a new book from David Gibbons and Max McCalman, Dean of Curriculum at Artisanal Premium Cheese in New York City. I've had many chances to sample beer and cheeses with Max in the last 2 years at cheese conferences, food shows, and the dozen classes at APC in NYC I've co-taught. Max recently presented Rogue Juniper Pale Ale & Hazelnut Brown Ale at his annual Epcot / Artisanal Cheese class to much fanfare and delight (from the emails Rogue Ales gets!) , so I know he understands why beer pairs better with cheese...

Rogue Chocolate Stout was selected for one of the tasting plates (page 258-260) which pairs three beers: Pilsner Urquell, Dogfish 60 Minute IPA, Rogue Chocolate Stout; with six cheeses: Stanser Schaf Reblochon, Durrus, Fiscalini Bandage Cheddar, Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Aged Dutch Gouda, Cashel Blue.

Max's deduction, Rogue Chocolate Stout paired the best with the six cheeses (proof is on the pairing score sheet), especially with the Fiscalini Bandage Cheddar which reminded him of the flavors in a chocolate cream pie.

Mastering Cheese is a mere 384 pages, chock full of information about cheese, cheese makers, styles, pairings, recipes, photos and facts, faqs and more facts. A welcome addition to my library, and I hope yours too.

Back to beer books... I was highest bidder on Silent Auction Lot #2, the Ale St News package at the Richie Stolarz Tribute Dinner on November 10th at Cloverleaf Tavern in Caldwell NJ. Lot #2 included: Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium, Roger Protz's 300 Beers to Try before you Die, Jef Klein's History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York, Bill Yenne's The American Brewery. All welcome additions to my library!

Back in August at the American Cheese Society I bought Ari Weinzweig's Guide to Better Bacon. Ari is a partner at Zingermans, one helluva promoter and business leader. His bacon book is already one of my favorite gift items for 2009, and will be in 2010 too! They even have a limited edition PigSkin edition... cereal!

Hazelnut Brown Ale Gelato and Molten Chocolate Cake at GABF Media Luncheon

2009-10-10T23:54:00.012-04:00

I attended the Brewers Association Media Luncheon on behalf of Rogue Ales, during Great American Beer Festival on 9/25/2009. Hosted at the Marriott Hotel, the hotel Chefs prepared the meal and were involved in the beer selection, Kudos to the Marriott Chefs/kitchen and BA for a job well done!

Dessert,a molten chocolate cake with a Hazelnut Ale Gelato and a fresh Chinook hop bud (sprucy, grapefruity). was paired with Rogue Ales' Hazelnut Brown Ale and Jolly Pumpkin's Maraciabo Espacial Brown Ale.

Here is a nice shout out from The Captains Table.

Fifth Course
Molten Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Brown Ale Gelato and Garnish of Fresh Chinook Hop
Paired with Hazelnut Brown Nectar Ale, Rogue Ales and Maracaibo Especial Brown Ale, Jolly Pumpkin
The density of the cake was amazing, with the gelato elevating the dish with a creamy texture that really worked for me. Sebbie Buhler at Rogue explained that Oregon is the nation’s largest producer of hazelnuts, accounting for 97% of production, and it’s clear they’ve perfected the incorporation of the ingredient in their beer. Both the Rogue Hazelnut Brown and Jolly Pumpkin’s offering were a nice way to cap off what was a very memorable meal.

Thanks to Julia at the BA for showing my short video of a 14 yr old bottle of Chris Studach's NHC/AHA commemorative beer from 1993, Oregon Nut Brown. This was brewed at Rogue with John Maier's help, and sampled in the summer of 2007. Thanks also to Charlie Papazian for gifting me this bottle at NHC / Denver in 2007, which I got to share with John & Chris, 14 yrs after they brewed it!

Umami Flavors and Beer at the Great American Beer Festival

2009-10-10T22:30:00.015-04:00

I spoke at the Great American Beer Festival Taste Pavillion on 9/26/2009 about Umami Flavors & Beer. The comfort food I prepared was Nueske's Applewood Smoked Bacon wrapped around a fresh organic fig stuffed with Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Cheese, broiled until crisp, cooled and tempered in Tcho 68% dark chocolate.

This was served on the plate as a component, and deconsructed with
a rasher of bacon, a few chips of chocolate, a piece of 2 yr old Shelbourne Farms Cheddar, and the flavor map for tasting Umami with the 4 beers from Rogue:
Somer Ale, MaierFest Lager, Morimoto Soba Ale, and Chocolate Stout.

'

Thanks to everyone who contributed and assisted with this tasting -- Carrie, Liam, Marlys, Jeremy, Cary & DavidG, Bradley & McKenzie, Carolyn for her heartfelt introduction, Chefs Sean & Bruce for your words of encouragement, and the students from Johnson and Wales who assisted plating, serving and pouring beers to a packed house.

Rogue Spirits Rum Balls -- recipe ideas

2009-10-10T22:09:00.006-04:00

I've been making Rum Balls with Rogue Spirits White Rum and served them at Rogue events this year. Long story short each batch is different--variety is the spice of life. Here are some of my recipes and suggestions.
Base: vanilla wafers or gingersnaps, cocoa powder.
Sweeteners: agave, honey, sorghum, molasses.
Texture: bacon, coconut, roasted hazelnuts, ovaltine,
Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue cheese, chilis ...
Coating (optional): smoked sea salt, tempered dark chocolate. roasted crushed hazelnuts.
Booze: Rogue Spirits White Rum, Hazelnut Spice Rum, Dark Rum, Dead Guy Whiskey... Spruce GinBall anyone? I'm game, stay tuned!

having your cake and eating it too

2009-09-07T13:31:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite beer cookbooks is Bruce Aidell's Real Beer and Good Eats. So imagine how thrilled I was to hear about the October 2009 issue of Bon Appetite Magazine and a chocolate layer cake recipe that recommends Rogue Chocolate Stout, written by Chef Bruce!

Forget milk—stout is the perfect pairing for this cake.
Serve glasses of the same brew you used in the cake batter.
Take it up a notch by adding a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream to the beer for a grown-up float.

Bravo! The photo of a wedge of cake with a glass of stout in the backgroud is irresistable! Thanks to Diane for calling Rogue Ales HQ, asking where to buy a bottle of RCS in Potomac, MD in order to bake this cake, which was passed onto me for followup. I hope your cake was delicious! The recipe calls for strong coffee, my pick is Stumptown HairBender.

Another chef who uses Rogue Chocolate Stout in a cake and frosting recipe is Chef Michael Wagner from Lola's on Harrison in Hollywood, FL!

Rogue Chocolate Stout marinated steak scores a Red Ribbon at TX Reds Steakoff

2009-08-20T13:38:00.011-04:00

Rob Bane's Team Cruel and Unusual took 10th Place at Third Annual Texas Reds Steak Cook-off in Bryan, TX. for their Rogue Chocolate Stout marinade!

I marinated the the steak for 6 hours in
chocolate stout then seasoned with a rub
of salt pepper garlic and chipotle.  I then
sauced the steak with chimichurri and habanero
& purple haze goat cheese sauce.
I took  my rogue bottle up to the stage hoping
to get it in the paper or on the steakoff website.

Rob has used Rogue Chiopotle Ale in his marinade for some time, and contacted the brewery when he could not find a supply for the TX Steak Cookoff finals a few years ago. Rogue Ales hooked him up and we've kept in touch about his steakoff endeavours & competitions ever since.

The Texas Steak Cookoff in Hico was held this past weekend and this year we used Rogue Chocolate Stout as a marinade and made our own rub consisting of chipotle, salt, pepper and garlic. There were 82 teams attending this year so they split us up in three heats of 27 teams each with 8 teams advancing from each heat. Unfortunately we had a tough heat consisting of the top ten from last years competition and 17 other teams and we didn’t make it out of the 1^st round. However on a good note, we cooked a lot of steaks for the public and we received a lot of comments that our steak was the best they tried even after trying some from those who made the final round.

My next competition will be held in Bryan Texas on June 20 at the Texas Reds Festival

Brooklyn's Chocolate Room and Chocolate Beer

2009-08-20T00:40:00.004-04:00

As the smell of chocolate manages to make its way outside from “The Chocolate Room,” located on 86 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, it’s obvious.

You know you’re in for a special experience.

Sitting in the middle of an area finishing up a demographic shift that is quickly becoming a trendy epicenter for new businesses, “The Chocolate Room,” which has been in business for a few years now, fits right in with a soft-lighted dessert palace that is sure to hook anyone looking for something different.

Billed as a dessert cafe, “The Chocolate Room” is so much more, offering a wide selection of flavored coffees, hot chocolates, confections, cakes, chocolate-flavored beer from the Brooklyn Brewery such Black Chocolate Stout, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, Rogue Chocolate Stout and wine, making it a destination for those looking to relax with a drink as well.

Thanks to Patrick Henry for this post above, and to the folks at The Chocolate Room -- Jon, Naomi and Chef Fritz!

The Chocolate Room, 86 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 // (718) 783-2900

The Chocolate Room, 269 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 // 718-246-2600

Rogue Creamery takes a Red Ribbon for Chocolate Stout Cheddar and wins Best of Show for Rogue River Blue

2009-08-20T00:19:00.007-04:00

Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar won a Red Ribbon (2nd place in its category) for a second year in a row at the American Cheese Society conference held in Austin Aug 5-8, 2009. My beer is infused into this cheese, how surreal! It was exciting sitting next to Rod from Willamette Valley Cheese Co during the awards, he won several for his Dutch-style cheeses (love the Perrydale), and witness the multiple awards for Rogue Creamery, including Best of Show for their Rogue River Blue and to be able to congratulate and share the moment with Cary and David! If you are anywhere close to Portland, OR - The Wedge is October 3rd, an Oregon Cheese Guild event hosted at the Green Dragon.

Boho Braises with Rogue Chocolate Stout

2009-08-19T23:53:00.004-04:00

I love reading about chefs who cook with beer, and pair beer with their food--and diners who enjoy these meals and share their dining experiences and photos. I mailed Chef a postcard thanking him for using my beer in his braise -- cannot wait to visit SoCal and make my own pilgrimage to Boho in LA. Thanks to foodshethought for the shout out.

HM ordered the short ribs, and luckily for me she loves to share. Braised in Rogue chocolate stout and guajillo chiles, this had just a trace of sweetness, much less than the oxtails. I loved the pearl onions and carrots. In the back of the photo you can see the buttered spaetzle making an appearance. Yum.

http://foodshethought.blogspot.com/2009/05/second-chances-at-boho-hots-misses-but.html

Sommelier Smackdown in Gotham... Beer vs Emily Wine!

2009-07-10T01:08:00.010-04:00

I received an unexpected invitation that I could not refuse...would I consider challenging Emily Wines, a master sommelier, to a smackdown in NYC--her beverages against mine, paired with a three course meal. Odds are I'll learn a thing or ten, being a beer advocate with no bartending experience. I've been known to blend my beers and infuse my cocktails, and considering the host is Chef Patricia Williams at Nios, we will eat well too! So join me on Tuesday July 28th at Nios Restaurant inside The Hotel Muse for Round 2 of the Sommelier Smackdown in Gotham, and see whose beverages reign surpreme!

Where were the beer drinkers? One more vote for the barley would have ensured a victory over the grape... I lost by a few points--it was really close, so I challenged Emily to a rematch, with cheese. She has retained her title and belt, but not for long!!

Nice shout out in a SeroiousEats interview!
Q: What have been some of your favorite pairings from the smackdowns you've hosted so far, either yours or someone else's?
A: I loved the dark beer spritzed with hazelnut liquor that Sebbie Buhler from Rogue Ales did with the chocolate peanut butter crepes.
Toche'' I spritz’d each glass before serving the Chocolate Stout & Hazelnut Brown Ale beer blend at the table. Then I spritz'd the glasses individually which added lovely nutty aromas and foam! Emily & I spritz’d her pairing, a classic Port, which was seriously good with Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum!

Rogue-Trip NYC Summer Tour

2009-06-06T10:38:00.006-04:00

Summer in the city means the smells of street food will be wafting up the avenues and across the streets of Gotham, especially when Street and Savory, the annual Gala for CityMeals-on-Wheels returns to Rockefeller Center on 6/8.

On Monday June 8th, I will be pouring
1. Rogue Juniper Pale Ale, in honor of Chef Josh DeChellis at La Fonda del Sol, who is serving Taylor Bay Scallops, Tomato, Saffron, Horseradish. 2. Dry-hopped Saint Rogue Red, in honor of Chef Zak Pelaccio at Fatty Crab & Cabrit o and his Pork Belly Satay.
3. Rogue Chocolate Stout, because I am. 4. Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale, because its Morimoto! 5. Stuff from under the table, because its where the stash is... Diet Killer, Diet Coke & Dead Guy Whiskey anyone?

Beer According to Women

2009-05-03T13:33:00.006-04:00

I moderated a panel at the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference, Beer According to Women: How Women Brew, Present, Pair and Sell Beer (yes, gender matters).

This was my first panel and first time speaking to my peers in the craft beer industry. It was just a little daunting (!) and choosing the panel was not easy, despite the small percentage of brewers who are women. I wanted the panel's perspective to include brewing, retail experience, sales and distributor management, educational and culinary focuses, and last but not least, a deep passion for beer and a sense of humor. There were so many women I wanted to invite on the panel, but I narrowed it down to Jodi Stoudt (Stoudts Brewing), Candice Allstrom (Beer Advocate), and Teri Fahrendorf (Pink Boots Society).

I shared the questions in advance, and the responses were posted on Candice's blog, as well as the Beer Advocate Forum which raised some lively discussion whether gender matters! The panel was also blogged by DrinkCraftBeer and TopFermented! Thanks to everyone for their input!

We will continue this discussion, so stay tuned and please do raise your voice if you have an opinion!

Here are a few figures and soundbytes from the Craft Brewers Conference:

50.9% of the US Population are Women, we are the Majority.
A Majority is not a Niche or Novelty. (Ginger/Snap!)
You train for a marathon, you mentor for a lifetime. (Ginger/Snap!)
31% of Women in the US Drink Beer (Julie/BA)
Women between the ages of 21-30 are drinking more beer than any other agre group. (seb/web)
Beer drinking among women in the 50-plus age group is increasing,
a fact and group often overlooked in the media. (seb/web)
20% of MBAA members are women in 2009, there were none thirty years ago.
(seb, from Brewers Bulletin editor and mbaa members)
By 2010, women will control more than half the private US Wealth, or about $14 Trillion. (seb/web)

Chocolate Stout for Easter, suggestions from Down Under

2009-04-10T23:25:00.002-04:00

Slow Beer's suggestion for Easter... I agree! Who needs peeps or a hollow milk chocolate bunny?

Pours dark dark brown with substanital dark tan coloured head. Aromas of dry coco and vanilla dominate. Palate is rich and viscous with hazelnut, chocolate and some dry coffee roast. Caramel/honeycombe malt supports well to make way for a roasty, bitter finish.

Cloudwine Cellars

Slow Beer is the specialist on-line beer retailing arm of Cloudwine Cellars, a fiercely independent wine merchant with 3 stores in Melbourne – Camberwell, South Melbourne and Brighton.

Homebrew Recipe, Rogue Chocolate Stout

2009-04-10T22:53:00.003-04:00

This recipe appeared in Zymurgy, the official organ of the American Homebrewers Association awhile back. An updated recipe is rumored to be coming soon (Summer of '09). The ingredients are no secret, Rogue's 22 oz bottles list all the barley and hops for each beer (without proportions/ measurements), and Rogue's proprietary Pacman yeast can be cultured, but that free range coast water is native only to Newport!

http://www.beertown.org/pdf/BestBeersAmerica4.pdf

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gelato at Capogiro Artisan Gelato in Philadelphia

2009-04-10T22:27:00.005-04:00

How sweet it is...

During Philly Beer Week 2009, unbeknownst to me, the folks at Capogiro Artisan Gelato made this amazing gelato! Best of all, the brewmaster from Rogue, John "more hops" Maier and his wife Stacey learned about the RCS gelato at Home Sweet Homebrew, around the corner from Capogiro's 2-th & Sansome Street store... Heartfelt thanks to Janina et al for the delicious experience. Here's what they have to say about it...

The Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato bears just a trace of the beer's dark color, but fully captures the rich roastiness that makes this brew so enjoyable. A bitter, bracing finish reminds you that this is an adult treat.

http://www.capogirogelato.com/article.php?id=35&c=n

From the mouth of Babes...

2009-02-15T16:09:00.005-05:00

Felicia D'Ambrosio's Brew Revue in the Phila City Paper came as a complete surprise on Valentine's Day! Sweet!!

Sebbie regards Stilton.

Photo l Michael Persico

Ever take a look at the babe on the Rogue Chocolate Stout bottle and wonder, what do you have to do to get your face on an amazing beer? The chick is Sebbie Buhler, the Oregon brewery’s East Coast rep and all-around badass.

Sebbie herself was in town on Wednesday getting some Beer Week events in order, and she spared a moment to offer us a beer and cheese pairing — one of her passions, along with pairing beer and chocolate.

The huge quantity of chocolate in Rogue Chocolate Stout, along with malted barley and tons of hops, give it a full body that can only be matched by an equally robust cheese. “Stouts call for stinky cheese,” Sebbie opined. The best match? “Colston Bassett!” she said firmly, and Di Bruno’s cheesemonger Hunter agreed.

Colston Bassett Stilton is the only remaining traditional Stilton; it is produced in Nottinghamshire, England. The curds are hand-ladled over the course of four days, creating a cheese that has “sweeter flavors of dried fruit and maple syrup, with the refined character of walnuts, tobacco and old leather,” according to Di Bruno’s description.

With a fistful of blue cheese in one hand and a chilled chocolate stout in the other, I have to agree that the funk of the cheese makes a fine foil for the smooth and roasty beer, which tames the cheese’s salty wildness. The pairing elevates each solitary product from merely excellent to absolutely transcendent.

To get your face on a bottle, you gotta be good — and Sebbie is epic. “Gotta head out,” she said, giving Hunter a farewell pound. “See you when you least expect it.”

Colston Bassett Stilton is $29.99 per pound at Di Bruno Bros., and Rouge Chocolate Stout can be found at any bottle shop or distributor worth their foam.

http://mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/02/12/brew-revue-from-the-mouths-of-babes/

Chocolate Stout at Ted with Vosges Chocolate

2009-02-15T16:03:00.003-05:00

Rogue Chocolate Stout at the 2009 Ted Conference, courtesy of Vosges Haut-Chocolate and paired with the Caramel Marshmallow.

Rogue Chocolate Stout blogged at San Francisco Fancy Food

2009-01-21T21:47:00.005-05:00

Fancy Food Show in San Francisco just wrapped up, but even before the show ended I got blogged.

I helped Rogue Creamery in their booth and introduced the folks from lickmyspoon.com

to Rogue Ales and the Chocolate Stout Cheddar and Morimoto Soba Ale Cheddar made by Rogue Creamery.

Sheana Davis of Epicurean Connection hosted an openhouse Monday evening at the Rogue Ales House in North Beach which Brewed for Thought reviewed. Guests included brewers, cheese makers, wine makers, chefs, press, picklers makers, tea importers/purveyors, kobe breeders, retailers, and many other food service industry allies. Thanks to everyone who came for sharing in the celebration!

Chocolate Stout winter warmer... neat!

2009-01-13T22:45:00.006-05:00

Goodbye 2008... what a year, and its over.
Hello 2009...change is in the wind, bring it on!

A few words of wisdom for 2009 from the City of Brotherly Love ~ how to enjoy the long, dark and cold days of winter ~

"On frosty nights when darkness comes to fast, there's nothing like a rich, inky stout to warm you. The dead of January is prime time for one of America's most revered beers, Chocolate Stout from Rogue Ales in Oregon.

Plush in the mouth, with a whisper of sweetness and a creamy froth, this black beauty is loaded with flavors of espresso and bread pudding.

Try it on tap at South Street's Ten Stone, Jose Pistola's on 15th or Ron's Original Bar and Grille in Exton.- M.O."

(wow...my humble thanks to Marnie Old, Philadelphia Magazine, January 2009, pg 123.)

Vosges Caramel Marshmallows + Rogue Choocolate Stout

2008-11-08T11:10:00.008-05:00

What a treat for your favorite Rogue this holidays!

Vosges Haut Chocolate has two new purple gift boxes with Rogue Ales inside!

Mo's Bacon Bar + Rogue Shakespeare Stout Gift Box
Rogue Shakespeare is an oatmeal stout, distinctly mellower than its Irish ancestors. Oatmeal stout dates back to the 1800s when it was discovered that the addition of oatmeal to the brewing process yielded a "healthier" beer, touted as a virtual cure–all. Rogue's Shakespeare Stout is an ebony–tinged brew, laden with notes of chocolate and just the right amount of hops to compliment the umami notes in the Bacon + Chocolate line.

Caramel Marshmallows + Rogue Chocolate Stout Gift Box
Rogue Chocolate Stout fills your glass with its rich, ebony yumminess, revealing mellow oats, chocolate malts and hops through its creamy head. Its Comfort Food coupling just makes relaxing easier, with layers of sweet Madagascar bean marshmallow balanced by the bitter hops finish and caramely nuttiness complementing the earthen malts. Oh and chocolate, lots of chocolate.

Inspiration: The magic of Beer + Chocolate began with a soir'ee at our Chicago Purple House. Each pairing carefully contemplated — tart and tangy Flemish Sour with balsamic vinegar and dark chocolate truffles. Tables with mini pilsners brimming with ice cold, frothy beer along side row upon row of chocolate. After about 10 minutes, the few cynics in the room were immediately believers. When I met the Rogue rep Sebbie Buhler, whose image graces each bottle of Chocolate Stout and tried her beer, I knew I had found the perfect beer for chocolate pairing. Now, I've decided to roll out the Rogue Chocolate Stout + Caramel Marshmallows party in a portable purple gift box for all to enjoy.

– Katrina

Making Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar

2008-11-08T10:55:00.007-05:00

I visited the Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon on August 28, 2008 and made 900 pounds of Chocolate Stout Cheddar, 300 of which went into Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar. Here I am pouring the beer into the curds. Many thanks and a big shout out to the Craig, Daniel and Scott for allowing me to make cheese with them! Ask for the Chocolate Stout Cheddar wherever Rogue Creamery cheese is sold, or should be sold!

Check out the gift box The Lodge: Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar, Chipotle Cheddar, and Smoky Blue along with Lillie Belle Caramel-Almond Organic Chocolate and Deux Chats Honey Wheat Crackers.

2008-08-11T23:30:00.002-04:00

Vosges Haut-Chocolate Ice Cream Socials, NYC and Chicago in late July 2008

A special tasting events showcasing the (soon to be) newest Ice Creams from Vosges:
Argentinean-style dulce de leche,
Arriba Nib Brownie,
Madagascar Vanilla Bean.
Barcelona Exotic Candy Bar -- deep milk chocolate, Fleur de Sel salt & hickory smoked almond, blended into a creamy custard ice cream bliss.

Add a little Rogue Ales Chocolate Stout to create a delicious Ice Cream and Beer Float.
Ice cream cones were offered with optional topping like crumbled bacon, olive oil and sea salts, all of which paired nicely with Rogue's Chocolate Stout or Morimoto Soba Ale.

Tasting a 1993 Oregon Nut Brown bottle in July 2007 (aka Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale). Sebbie's interview & tasting with John Maier and Chris Studach

2008-02-22T17:37:00.008-05:00

During the 2007 American Homebrewers Conference in Denver I invited by Charlie Papazian (founder of the AHA, and author of The Complete Joy of Home Brewing) to taste a 14 year old bottle of Oregon Nut Brown, a recipe created by Chris Studach.   Chris was asked to brew his recipe as the commemorative beer for the 1993 AHA conference and enlisted the help of his friend John Maier at Rogue Ales in Newport, OR. Rogue Ales released Chris' recipe as a commercial product under the name Hazelnut Brown Nectar in 1994. Chris is a member of the Cascade Brewers Society.

Charlie cellars several bottles of each commemorative beer. After the tasting in Denver, he gifted me a bottle of 1993 Oregon Nut Brown which I shared with Chris and John during the 2007 Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland.   This video tells the story of this 14 year old bottle of beer! Stacey Maier said the closing remarks, a favorite tag line of Charlie's: Relax, Don't Worry. Have a Homebrew!

Here is a photo I took in Denver of the 1993 label and bottle:

Was I impressed with this 14 yr old beer? You betcha! Kudos to Chris and John and thank you Charlie!

US Debut, 22 ounce Rogue Chocolate Stout

2008-02-14T21:55:00.001-05:00

Rogue Chocolate Stout was released for sale in the USA in early 2001 in 22 ounce bottles and kegs. Until then it was brewed for export to Japan (12 ounce Choco Bear Beer) and sold on tap, very occasionally at Rogue Ales in Newport (before Issaquah Brewhouse, Eugene City Brewery and Rogue in San Fran, Portland & Astoria, Oregon opened), That all changed in 2001 and by 2003 Chocolate Stout became available year-round due to popular demand.

Infused with real Dutch bittersweet chocolate using an oatmeal stout as the base (Shakespeare Stout), Rogue Chocolate Stout is a hearty ale, chock full of body and flavor. Truly a 20th century recipe for the 21st century beer drinker!

Awards for Rogue Chocolate Stout include:
2008 New Zealand International Beer Awards—Bronze
2008 Mondial de la Biere Fest—Gold
2008 Australian International Beer Awards—Bronze
2007 Beer of the Year, Miami Herald
2007 World Beer Championships—Gold (Best of 2007)
2007 Montana Beer Fest—People's Choice
2007 Great International Beer Festival—3rd
2006 World Beer Championships—Gold
2005 Great International Beer Competition—1st
2005 Great British Beer Fest—1st
2005 BIIA—Gold
2005 Australian International Beer Awards—Bronze
2004 World Beer Championships—Gold
2004 Australian International Beer Awards—Gold
2004 Capital Food & Wine Fest—Best in Show
2003 World Beer Championships—Gold
2003 LA County Fair Beer Competition—Gold
2001 GABF—Silver
2000 International Beer Summit—Gold
2000 - Great American Beer Fest, Silver

meanwhile back in the year 1

2008-02-14T20:38:00.000-05:00

from Stephen Beaumont's www.WorldofBeer.com broadcast in February 1998, Vol 3, No 2

"Just as I was preparing to file this edition of World of Beer, a press release crossed my desk touting a milestone for Rogue Ales. The event it trumpeted was the shipment of the Oregon brewer's one millionth bottle of beer to the Japanese marketplace.

According to the release, Rogue sent bottle number one on its way to across the Pacific back on May 9, 1994. At the time, the Newport-based brewer had three brands prepared for Japan, each labelled in traditional Japanese script: Brown Bear Beer, Red Fox Amber Beer and White Crane Bitter Beer. That number has now swelled to eleven, with Rogue having added such interesting brews as Chocolate Bear Beer, Kitami Mint Beer and Chitose Hasscup Malt Liquor to its Asian product line.

Acknowledged in the release as assisting Rogue "through the export red tape" was the proprietor of Beer Inn Mugishutei on Hokkaido, Phred Kaufman. A twenty-year resident of Japan, Kaufman is known to readers of several American beer publications, for which he serves as occasional correspondent, and is reportedly a prominent beer authority in Japan. He is also, according to the release, "wild about Rogue Ales."
Congratulations, Rogue, here's to the next million." http://worldofbeer.com/9802/news_globe.html

Blog Ob: Feb, 2008 -- this blog is Dedicated to a decade of Rogue Chocolate Stout, exploring its history and origin, pairing notes and recipe ideas, and looking to the future, sharing new food/beer epiphanies and experiences with you. Join me for the Journey ~ Salut! Bon Appetit! Prost! Enjoy!

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Rogue Ales Beer Dinner in TX Hill Country January 27, 2012 - Westin La Cantera

The world's best flavored stout - - complex, great mouthfeel, hint of bitterness

Teal Dragoness, a cocktail for OCNA 2012 Turn Up the Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs

Here is a list of Chefs participating in 2012 Turn Up the Heat, February 7th at the Ritz Carlton, DC.

WASHINGTON, DC

MARYLAND

VIRGINIA

WEST VIRGINIA

Beverages

Celebrating November 3rd , International Stout Day

The Women of Beer Dinner Oct 25th in Phila supporting Susan G Komen for the cure

October is American Cheese Month

Craft Beer Rising to the ICC Occasion in NYC October 2-4

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gone Underground

CityMeals-on-Wheels Chefs' Tribute in NYC ~ June 2011

Gilt Taste showcases Valerie Confections Chocolate Stout Truffles made with Rogue Ales

Yaquina Bay Bivalves and Rogue Beers on Bleecker Street

Aloha Rogue! March 22 Beer Dinner at 3660 On the Rise

truffle truffle ~ Green Beer Marshmallows for St Pattys Day ~ the Rogue way

green beer o'mallows

Rogue Cheese and Beer at Old Hickory Steakhouse

I love it when restaurants and chefs embrace beer and cheese. On April 8th, the folks at Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee are hosting a Rogue River Creamery & Rogue Ale, Cheese & Beer Extravaganza on April 8th.

March 8th Rattle N Rogue in NYC on International Womens Day

Growlers of Rogue in Gotham @ Whole Foods Bowery Feb 18th

Beer, Cheese and Chocolate Tasting at Rogue Public House in San Francisco

Teal Berry Tonic cocktail for Turn Up The Heat, A Celebation of Women Chefs

Does you bird deserve beer this Thanksgiving? How about the pie??

Craft Beer and Women -- a panel at the Beer Bloggers Conference

Anyone? (ha, , I can say that, being a Buhler). Send me 3 ideas how to engage and communicate with women about craft beer (or what not to do!) and read about it online next weekend!

In the meantime, I'll reread Ashley's post, "Don't Support the Objectification of Women: Drink Craft Beer" on 10-12-2010 and the comments, and stroll down memory lane and revisit my post about Women Drinking Beer, which may jump start my Halloween candy sugar coated brain.

365 Bottles of Beer: Oct 12th is Rogue Chocoate Stout Day

Shout out: Rogue Creamery Newsletter, October 2010

Chocolate Stout Ice Cream and Wasabi Peas!

Women drinking beer

Morimoto Restaurant in Philly ~ 2nd Annual Rogue Ales Beer Dinner

Confirmed Guests

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gelato in the City of Brotherly Love

Rogue Ales and Artisanal Premium Cheese Class in NYC May 14, 2010

FemALEists' Socola Chocolatier and Rogue Ales Tasting for Women Only on June 27

Rogue Dinners at Tap in Atlanta, LJ's & Kat Lounge in Hagerstown, Summits Wayside in Cumming & Snellville, and Fork in Philadelphia

Rogue Ales' Hop Farm in the NY Times ~ Hop N Bed

Valentine's Day and Every Day Gift Ideas for the special rogue in your life

Beer, Cheese and Chocolate in San Francisco on 2-10-2010

A hat-trick of Beer Blends using Rogue Chocolate Stout

Beer Cocktail, The Rogue Diplomat Gone Nuts

Cambridge Common Rogue Dinner Menu 1-26-2010

Cupcake Villains' Rogue Chocolate Stout Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Celtic Kitchen Recipe for Rogue Chocolate Stout Cake

To twitt or not to twitt, when you've been tweeted...

To knead or not to need beer bread...

Seeing, Listening and Haiku'ing Beer

Beer and Cheese 101

Save room for dessert paired with chocolate stout

Read All About it...

Hazelnut Brown Ale Gelato and Molten Chocolate Cake at GABF Media Luncheon

Umami Flavors and Beer at the Great American Beer Festival

Rogue Spirits Rum Balls -- recipe ideas

having your cake and eating it too

Rogue Chocolate Stout marinated steak scores a Red Ribbon at TX Reds Steakoff

Brooklyn's Chocolate Room and Chocolate Beer

Rogue Creamery takes a Red Ribbon for Chocolate Stout Cheddar and wins Best of Show for Rogue River Blue

Boho Braises with Rogue Chocolate Stout

Sommelier Smackdown in Gotham... Beer vs Emily Wine!

Rogue-Trip NYC Summer Tour

Beer According to Women

Chocolate Stout for Easter, suggestions from Down Under

Homebrew Recipe, Rogue Chocolate Stout

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gelato at Capogiro Artisan Gelato in Philadelphia

From the mouth of Babes...

Chocolate Stout at Ted with Vosges Chocolate

Rogue Chocolate Stout blogged at San Francisco Fancy Food

Chocolate Stout winter warmer... neat!

Vosges Caramel Marshmallows + Rogue Choocolate Stout

Making Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar

Tasting a 1993 Oregon Nut Brown bottle in July 2007 (aka Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale). Sebbie's interview & tasting with John Maier and Chris Studach

US Debut, 22 ounce Rogue Chocolate Stout

meanwhile back in the year 1

In the meantime, I'll reread Ashley's post, "Don't Support the Objectification of Women: Drink Craft Beer" on 10-12-2010 and the comments, and stroll down memory lane and revisit my post about Women Drinking Beer , which may jump start my Halloween candy sugar coated brain.