A Wonderland of Beer
Perfect Pairing of food & drink Cooking with Wine & Beer
3rd Annual
Grape Adventure
Tour & Tasting at
Cricket Hill
Bring in this ad through 1/31/13 and receive a free wine tasting & glass.
January 2013 Stem & Stein
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Stem & Stein January 2013
H
ello Everyone and Happy New Year!
Welcome to our sixth issue of Stem and Stein magazine . We’ve had a lot of fun bringing you this magazine over the last six months while visiting breweries, wineries, and many other events. (It’s not such a tuff job.) As we look forward to two thousand thirteen we plan on making some improvements and upgrades in our magazine and website. We appreciate all you comments and look forward to seeing you while we are out and about this upcoming year.
Until Next time,
am Mark and P
CONTENTS Stem & Stein
January 2013
The 3rd Annual Grape Adventure • 04
Perfect Pairing •8
PUBLISHERS
Mark Ruzicka & Pam Mazalatis EDITOR
Barbara Kolb LAYOUT & DESIGN
Wonderland of Beer • 11
McNabb Studios
www.mcnabbstudios.com PHOTOGRAPHY
Mark Ruzicka & Kieran CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Jimmy Vena, Dr Audrey Cross, Kevin Celli, Eric Wormann, Pam Mazalatis & Mark Ruzicka – STEM & STEIN –
Cricket Hill Tour & Tasting • 16
PO Box 699 Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849 Phone: 973-663-6816 • Fax: 973-663-6378
www.stemandsteinnj.com Stem & Stein is published monthly and reproduction of content is not permitted without the express written approval of Mark Ruzicka. Publisher assumes no financial responsibility for errors in ads beyond the cost of space occupied by error, a correction will be printed. Publisher is not liable for any slander of an individual, or group as we mean no malice or individual criticism at any time, nor are we responsible for the opinions or comments of our columnists, and promises, coupons, or lack of fulfillment from advertisers who are solely responsible for content of their ads. Publisher is also to be held harmless; from failure to produce any issue as scheduled due to reasons beyond control; all suits, claims, or loss of expenses; this includes, but is not limited to, suits for libel, plagiarism, copyright infringement and unauthorized use of a persons name or photograph. Publisher does not promote excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.
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BY PAME
LA MAZA
I n November, Stem & Stein was invited to The 3rd Annual Grape Adventure which is held at Six Flags,
LATIS
Jackson, New Jersey. The original date was Nov. 3rd & 4th, however due to superstorm “Sandy� they had to postpone the event until Nov 10th & 11th. At this event, they featured 13 Wineries from New Jersey. They also had food and craft vendors on the grounds. It was nice to get a bite to eat, a bottle of wine and enjoy the music of Acoustic Road. Unfortunately, due to the weather this year they had to cancel the Safari package with the Giraffes that is always enjoyable. We at Stem & Stein were lucky enough to experience this in 2011. With the Safari package, they drove us through the Safari where we were let out to experience the Giraffes up close. There was a wine tasting available while you enjoyed the views and fed the Giraffes along with learning about some other animals and seeing the babies. Since they were forced to cancel the visit with the Giraffes for the safety of the animals they put together something else for everyone to enjoy. There was a animal showcase indoors where they took out animals for you to see and learn about. We were able to pet some of these animals. To tell you the truth, some I would not want to touch, but that is just my preference. From what we hear next years Safari will be better than 2011. We suggest this as something for your to do list for 2013. I missed the Giraffes in 2012, however it is comforting to know they have the animals safety in mind. Thank you for having us and we look forward to coming to your next event. 4
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Photography of event 2011 and 2012 by Mark Ruzicka January 2013 Stem & Stein
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FOOD & DRINK
JIM MCGRADY
PERFECT PAIRINGS (NJ Style)
Chocolate Covered Pretzels : Sweet stouts scream for chocolate and my palate craves the perfect union of salt and sugar. Either white or dark, these handdipped treats are simply scrumptious.
boardwalk, have me longing for the caramely pecan goodness of this gooey treat. Beer for breakfast you say? Relax, it’s a European thing.
CAPE MAY STOUT Cape May Brewing Company
This English-Style sweet stout is another winner from CMBC. The roasted malt and barley may appear as dark as a moonless midnight, but the mellifluousness of this milk stout is like liquid silk. It is akin to having a growler of sweetened espresso. This smooth selection pairs well with anything chocolate, creamy desserts and soft cheeses, dark meats and game birds. Here is what I love with this luscious libation: 8
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WARNING: researchers have found that once your brain’s nefarious neurotransmitters have been activated by these addictive nibbles, they are nearly impossible to turn off.
Monkey Bread:
I usually take my breakfast breads with coffee. But memories of my mornings on the Ocean City
Shepard’s Pie:
With the same traditional spirit as brewmasters have instilled in this beer, what could have more British backbone than this classic peasant dish? A cottage pie
loaded with Welsh lamb and root veggies, is not just the lord of leftovers, it is the consummate comfort food. And a perfect pairing for growler of smooth stout.
Ice Cream:
Donkey Cheese:
Ass cheese? I find opulence interesting. This is the most expensive cheese in the world valued at up to a “caviar-priced” $700 per lb. “Pule” is only made from the milk of a minuscule family of Serbian donkeys. It is white and crumbly, similar to Spanish manchego, and it would be a perfect pairing, if I could get any…but I can’t right now. Why? because tennis star and famous cheese-hoarder, Novak Djokovic has bought up all the current supply for himself! I guess eccentric extravagance is alive and well in the formerly socialist state.
Have you ever been to The Bent Spoon in Princeton? (omg) I cannot resist plopping a scoop of their mocha ice cream in the middle of my pint glass and enjoying a luscious sweet stout float. Beer and ice cream. The two things that without, life would be rendered meaningless.
MEADOW’S EDGE RED
Natali Vineyards Cape May Courthouse
This is a big bold red table wine and one of the best reds I’ve yet to taste from NJ. From their website: “Meadow’s Edge, Made from very ripe grapes from New World vines. Your Grandpop (Nonno) might have made them this way from similar grapes during Prohibition when home wine-making was still legal. But unlike “Nonno” we use the best cultured yeast science can provide. This is a “strong” wine with a lasting finish.” I received this bottle just before the Holidays, so it made it onto my bountiful Christmas dinner table. I am a big fan of complex assertive wines that love fat and protein and I fed my family plenty of that. Check out what I made:
Goose: Goose is a classic Christmas dish. After all the presents were January 2013 Stem & Stein
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opened, I popped the big bird in the oven to cook while I took my family to see the “Hobbit”. It turned out spectacular! (the bird, not the movie)… if I do say so myself. Geese have “soft fat” which renders at a very low temp and is perfect for slow roasting (don’t forget the rosemary). This all dark meat fowl was so rich and fatty and this wine was truly the perfect pairing. Kind of gave me goosebumps!
season, roast to 125 degrees and let it rest, that’s it. The only way to ruin it is to cut into it too early, don’t touch it! 20 minutes will be fine.
MOJAMA:
BRAISED VEGGIES:
PRIME RIB:
We also had to have some beef, right? There is nothing more special at Christmas than a perfectly cooked slab of roast beef. Not difficult to do at all. Get a 12-14lb. rib-eye, properly 10
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Ok, so now what to do with all this precious rendered goose and beef fat? Ahh, time for some braised veggies. I’ve got brussel sprouts, red cabbage, carrots, leeks, sweet potatoes…. all good healthy choices. Not when I got done with them. But, oh how delicious! They say you can’t trust a skinny chef? Well you can’t trust a fat one either. Don’t forget the butter too.
I love cured fish (I also made gravlax). Not too many fish preparations will stand up to this wine, but this dry-cured “tuna prosciutto” will. Sustainability is the buzz word in my world and preservation of fresh local food is crucial. Sliced paper thin and served on a buttery crispy crostini. I wish I could tell you about all the rest of the menu, but we’ll save that for another day.
JIM MCGRADY Executive Chef/ Managing Partner at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant Reality.biz
A Winter Wonderland of Beers By Eric Wormann
T
oday it seems that every beer drinker looks forward to the fall. This year nearly every brewery had their own take on either an Oktoberfest beer or a pumpkin ale. Some beer drinkers prefer higher ABV pumpkin stouts, some prefer hoppy pumpkin porters, some prefer spiced pumpkin brown ales. Some beer drinkers like traditional German style Oktoberfest beers while others prefer a sweeter spiced Americanstyle Oktoberfest. No matter which variation on the styles you prefer, most of this year’s fall seasonal beers fell into one of those two broad categories: Oktoberfest or Pumpkin Ale. This year’s batch of winter seasonal beers is a different story. If you ask five people what their favorite winter seasonal beer is, they may name five different beer styles. While most tend to have a huge malt presence, some of the most popular winter seasonal beers are IPAs, pale ales, and hoppy barleywines. This winter, there is something for everyone. If you are looking for something hoppy, there is a great selection of big IPAs and pale ales to choose from. Saranac Big moose Ale is an easy to drink American Pale Ale with plenty of citrusy hop flavor and aroma. Lagunitas Brown Shugga is a hoppy American Strong Ale that resulted from a botched attempt to brew Lagunitas Old GnarlyWine Ale with brown cane sugar, which creates a fantastic mix of hop bittering and malty sweetness. Sierra Nevada Cel-
ebration Ale is a fresh hopped American IPA that has been a winter staple for thirty years. The most popular traditional winter style is the Winter Warmer. An English style, Winter Warmers tend to be dark in color, occasionally spiced, sweet and malty with a low hop presence. Anchor Christmas Ale is brewed with a secret recipe that, along with the tree on the label, changes every year. Sly Fox Christmas Ale is great for those who like spiced wassail style, as it is brewed using ginger, clove, all spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Harpoon Winter Warmer is one of the longestrunning American-brewed winter warmers with cinnamon and nutmeg dominating every aspect of this beer. If you are into bold, dark stouts, there are plenty of choices this winter. Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout tastes exactly like it sounds: a milk stout flavored with cocoa nibs and shells from Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company. Boston Beer Company’s newest beer is Samuel Adams Merry Mischief, a gingerbread stout featuring dark roasted malts, a touch of wheat, and spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and ginger. Evil Genius Beer Company, a young brewery based in Pennsylvania that contract brews out of Cooperstown Brewing Company, has a unique chocolate oatmeal stout called Pure Evil, brewed as an oatmeal stout that is conditioned with their own homemade chocolate syrup. This winter’s beer selection has something for everyone, so whether you like hitting the ski slopes, building a snowman, or curling up by the fire, you’re bound to find a new beer to love this season. January 2013 Stem & Stein
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COOKING WITH WINE & BEER
CHEF JIMMY VENA
Dream Weaver Wheat Beer
Troegs Brothers Brewing Co Hersey PA Historically, before the invent of refrigeration and rapid transport of fresh food ingredients , winter was a period of time when people survived on root vegetables, cellar storable vegetables (such as cabbage) and if lucky cured or smoked proteins. Of course, in our life time these restrictions didn’t limit our choice of foods but because of culture and family traditions most families still have seasonal favorites. The English, Irish and Scottish all share some version of “bubble and squeak”, a hearty winter dish, made in its most simple form, of potatoes and cabbage. I used Dream Weaver Wheat Beer to cook my bubble and squeak along with Smoked Ham Hocks to produce a hearty, carbo fueled dinner.
Smoked Ham Hocks with Bubble and Squeak 2 smoked hocks that are small on bone and big on meat 12
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Rinse of the hocks (there may be some salt crystals on the outside) Thin Slice 1 large Onion Place the onion and hocks with 2 bottles of Dream Weaver Wheat beer in a cover pot and boil for 15 minutes. Add 2 cups of sliced green cabbage to the pot Add 2 large baking potatoes that have been washed and sliced Add 1 cup of water. Cover and boil approx ½ hour. All liquid with be gone and the potatoes and cabbage will be soft. Remove the hocks. Keep aside Add ¼ stick butter and table grind black pepper to the vegetables Mash the veggies, add some fresh chopped parsley Serve the hocks over your “Bubble and Squeak” Goes great with horseradish and a cold Wheat beer!
Old York Cellars
Cabernet Sauvignon The first full week starting on a Monday in December is “Shot Gun” or “Deer Week” in New Jersey. It’s the only 7 days of the year when a hunter (who has already downed a doe) can shoot at Buck with shotgun. This year I took the invitation to spend the week with the men at the Ozark Sportsmen’s Club, a private lodge in the Jersey Pine barrens since 1951. Unseasonably warm and rain or snow free it was a record setting year for the club, downing 38 Bucks The club members share all the roasts, chop, stew and eventual sausage and jerky that come from the Bucks but the hunter who actually downs the deer gets the “back strap” from it. The backs trap is the loin that runs from shoulder to hind along both sides of the back bone.
Although its often referred to as the “filet” it is not the “filet mignon” tenderloin piece. It is lean and tender, cooks and eats like a pork “filet mignon” tenderloin. For those of you not fortunate enough to have a friend to get some fresh venison from try D’Angelo in Philly, PA www.dangelobros.com. Marinade whole Back Strap for 24 Hours in 3 pieces caramelized ginger ½ cup Agave or Honey 1 cup Old York Cellars Cab. Sav ¼ cup Virgin Olive Oil 2 tablespoons Brazilian BBQ Beef Rub spice 1 tablespoon minced garlic Remove from Marinate and keep aside Roast back Strap in pre heated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes For the gravy ½ stick butter and 3 table spoons full flour… cook until light brown and smells like hazelnuts Add ¾ cup beef stock Add the strained marinate Bring to boil and reduce and cook 15 minutes Let meat sit 5 minutes before slicing and serve with the Old Cellars Gravy
Chef
Jimmy
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WINE & HEALTH
AUDREY CROSS, PHD, JD
Driving away DWIs Alcohol & Gasoline Don’t Mix
N
ew Jersey is tough on drunk drivers – very tough. Judges have little sympathy for drivers who are buzzed, tipsy or stone cold drunk. More than 25,000 people are arrested each year in New Jersey for “DWI” – “driving while intoxicated.” Penalties are stiff – see http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Violations/ dui.htm Drunk drivers cause around 600 fatalities per year in NJ. Beyond fatalities, victims are disabled, maimed, disfigured and hospitalized because someone got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. How do you get drunk? Alcohol is absorbed by the stomach and small intestines directly into the blood stream. The body attempts to eliminate it by increased urination (which is why Brits call being drunk “pissed”) and through the breath (which is why breathalyzers work). Your liver breaks it down – but this takes time – up to 1 hour to break down 1 oz of alcohol. Roughly, a 12oz beer, 5oz wine or 1 ½ oz of hard liquor is an ounce. These routes are slow so alcohol can build up quickly. Your first drink may relax and loosen you up. The next may begin to impact your judgment. By the third drink functional changes may occur in your speech, vision, eye-hand coordination, body coordination, reaction time, etc. Here’s how it goes: Blood Alcohol Symptom 0.08 or > illegal to operate vehicle 0.05 first euphoric effects 0.10-0.15 functional signs of intoxication 0.30 stupor and coma 14
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How much you can “hold” is determined by: amount of alcohol you drink (A); rate at which you drink it (.015xH); your weight (W) and your sex(R). The Widmark formula calculates Blood Alcohol Concentration: %BAC = (A x 5.14 / W x R) - .015 x H Go to our website for an explanation of this formula and an example of how it works: www.VillaMilagroVineyards.com/alcohol-test.html To avoid intoxication, eat before and while you drink. Food in your stomach slows the rate at which alcohol is absorbed. Drink a glass of water for each alcoholic drink. This will help avoid dehydration which contributes to hangovers. Pace yourself to the 1 oz per hour rule. Above all, remember that alcohol and gasoline don’t mix! And, by the way, when you sit on the porch at Villa Milagro to enjoy great wine and views but don’t consume that entire bottle of wine – cork it and put it in the trunk of your car. NJ’s fine for an open container in the passenger compartment is $200. Cork it, store it and save that $200 for your return trip to our winery to buy great wine!’ Dr. Audrey Cross, a renowned nutritionist who owns Villa Milagro Vineyards with her husband, Steve Gambino, will provide monthly reviews of wine & health issues for Stem & Stein. Next month – Does drinking cause breast cancer? www.DrAudreyCross.com & www.VillaMilagroVineyards.com
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T
he holiday season is upon and I am sure we all have a day or two between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when you just don’t know what to do with yourself. I felt just that way this past week so I decided to head over to Cricket Hill Brewing in Fairfield. Every Friday night from 5:00 to 7:00 pm they hold brewery tours and beer tastings. It was a nice diversion from the holiday schedule and a chance to talk to Cricket Hill owner, Rick Reed, and get caught up with the latest happenings at the Cricket Hill brewery and enjoy a few their beers. I stopped first to talk to Cricket Hill doormen, Chuck and Tony O, who were pleasantly surprised at the turnout considering it is the holiday season. Then I went to meet Rick Reed and find if anything new is happening at Cricket Hill Brewing. I grabbed one of my favorite beers, Cricket Hill Hopnotic, and found Rick talking with beer
photographer, Sean Noach, who was showing Rick his latest ink, a tattoo of the Cricket Hill logo. I had a chance to talk to Rick about some new plans they have for Cricket Hill. Rick said, “We are adding some new beers for next year and took on a new distributer in New York making their beer available in the five boroughs of New York. After talking with Rick for a while it was once again time for everyone’s favorite part of the evening when Rick climbs up on the platform and starts his rant. This time he told everyone about some things that are going to happen at the brewery in 2013, and how his hopes of a Giants/ Steelers Super Bowl are over. No matter what he’s talking about whether it be football or the evil mass produced commercial beer companies, it’s always funny.
CRICKET HILL
TOUR & TASTING BY MARK RUZICKA
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You can check out one or more of these rants on You Tube or Cricket Hills website, however I recommend you go see it in person. You wont be disappointed.Â
Cricket Hill brewery is located at 24 Kulick Road in Fairfield, New Jersey and is open for tours and tastings every Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Â You can also find them on the web at www.crickethill brewery.com. January 2013 Stem & Stein
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For advertising call 973.663.6816 or visit our website www.stemandsteinnj.com 18
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