Sunday, December 26, 2010

Roots Less

I've never been much of a beer drinker. It's just never been my thing and that's unfortunate living in a town that arguably has the best available selection of beers in the world. Part of the reason for the vast selection is the late Jim Kennedy of Admiralty Beverage who had a long list of world beers long before it was trendy. The culture of Portland is a large part of the equation as well; with microbreweries in all quadrants and fine dining restaurants with beer lists longer than most restaurants wine lists.

For a long time I looked at an opportunity to drink beer with the same enthusiasm I usually reserve for an invitation to a white zinfandel tasting. But times and tastes change and now I find that I'm drinking more beer than wine over the last month or two. I don't know how long that will last, but I'm having fun sampling beers from around the world.

Portland is blessed with more than it share of bierstubes and some of them sell by the bottle as well. One of the oldest, if not the oldest biercafe/bottleshop in town is Belmont Station. I've been shopping and sampling here lately. It's far enough away that it's not too convenient and close enough that it's not a pain to get to.

Last Tuesday Belmont Station hosted a vertical tasting of the recently closed Root's Brewing Epic Ale. They served the 05, 06, 07, 08 and 09 versions. I was sure it was going to be a zoo and I decided to pass on this once in a lifetime, last chance opportunity. Wednesday I stumbled in to Belmont Station looking for a beer or two to take home and low and behold the opportunity to try all five versions was still available. I grabbed a seat and placed my order.

 I didn't take notes and it's been a few days, but here are a few of my general impressions. 2005 - Wow! this is a phenomenal product. Hints of smoke, a mouthful of toffee and espresso. It was rich and sweet; like a port aged in a scotch barrel. 2006 - the little brother of the 05. I don't think it will reach the depth of the 05, but it was my second favorite. The 07 & 08 showed the same character of the first two, but didn't seem as well built and it didn't seem to me that they would ever become what the 05 or even the 06 attained. The 09 was my third choice and it seemed to be built to go the distance. I don't know that it would become the 05...but you can only hope and then hope that a few years down the road you get the chance to find out.

So the brewery is closed and I won't get this once in a lifetime opportunity again, but I'm glad I did make it in and try the line up.

So it's Boxing Day (and the Feast of St. Stephen) and I'm distinctly lacking in ambition today. Plenty that I should be doing; laundry, dishes, vacuuming and the like - just the time to procrastinate and write to this poor neglected blog.

I made some oyster stew today and it turned out really well. I had all the ingredients on hand and it came together really well.

Keith's Damn Good Oyster Stew

1 Pint of oysters and their liquor
1 quart of milk
1 cup of half and half
1/2 a large onion - chopped
3 stalks of celery - fine dice
4 slices of good smoked bacon - diced
Salt, Pepper, Old Bay Seasoning
a splash of Absinthe or Herbsaint if you've got it. It's traditional in New Orleans oyster dishes and adds a hint of anise.

Saute the bacon until it's crisp and remove from pot and reserve

Saute the onion and celery in a couple tablespoons of the remaining bacon fat.

While the onions and celery are cooking; put the oysters and their liquor in a pan and poach them until they are just cooked. Set them aside to cool.

When the onions and celery are softened and before they brown add the milk, half and half and the liquor out of the poached oysters. Season with a couple of good shakes of Old Bay or salt. Add a couple of grinds of pepper and a splash of Absinthe or Herbsaint.

Cut the cooled oysters into 3 or 4 pieces.

When the stew mixture is getting hot but not boiling, add the oysters and bacon and give them a minute to warm up.

Serve it with Oyster Crackers, Pepper, a shake of Old Bay for color, some Tabasco and a cold beer (I'm drinking a Deschutes Jubal Ale)