Sunday, January 23, 2011

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

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:

Maryland
Virginia
West Virginia
Beverages
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

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

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!
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Monday, November 1, 2010

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

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
  1. use photos, visuals, include beer & food pairings. use appropriate size for media (web, print, etc.)
  2. include recipes, details about how to make it at home / by the reader with short videos or photos.
  3. keep an open mind, ask for comments, share the responses.
  4. ask the experts, use local and industry resources.
  5. 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.
  6. cite your sources, acknowledge and link then
--

10 Top - Not to Do
  1. Assume there is only 1 opinion, yours.
  2. Language and tone -- Keep it fresh, not dirty. Don't talk down, or generalize.
  3. Not cite references.
  4. Hide behind an alais. Keep your ID hidden or hard to find.
  5. Post long-winded videos with rambling narratives and no thought about location, content, etc.
  6. 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.

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Monday, October 11, 2010

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

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!
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Shout out: Rogue Creamery Newsletter, October 2010


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!
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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Chocolate Stout Ice Cream and Wasabi Peas!

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...
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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Women drinking beer


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
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