Sunday, December 30, 2007

Lots of beer and other things this time I promise!!!

Well this weeks has a lot of different things in it. I hope you all had a good Christmas and before I forget I hope you all have a great New Year. Looking forward to 2008 I plan on actually adding some real interviews into the pubcast instead of just me rambling all the time on random things

I've got Yuengling in here, some Magic Hat, Genny Cream Ale and others that you might want to take a look at. Also I visited Lunar once more.. Like that is something unusual. No Lodge this week but you can bet I will be there next week!

Two kind of neat articles
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Commissions Solar Array
and
St. Pauli Girl Readies 2008 Poster for January Debut

Ok I'll admit the last one is because the Paulie girls are hot!!!

Ok links and junk
Yuengling
http://www.yuengling.com/index.htm
Magic Hat
http://www.magichat.net/
Genny
http://www.highfalls.com/
Daffins Candy
http://www.daffins.com/
Me!!
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/index.html

Recipe!


Beer Cheese Soup
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups/Stews
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup butter
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon mustard
8 cups chicken broth
1 12 oz. can beer -- preferably flat
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
chopped fresh parsley
1. In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add celery, carrots,
and onion; sauté until tender but not brown. Remove vegetables with a
slotted spoon, reserving butter in soup pot. Place vegetables into a food
processor or blender; whirl until smooth; set aside.
2. In the soup pot over medium hat, make a roux with reserved butter, flour,
and mustard. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly. Reduce heat
to medium-low and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture
just comes to a gentle boil and is thickened.
3. Reduce heat to low. Add beer and stir to combine. Mix in pureed
vegetables and Cheddar cheese; simmer another 20 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Serve in soup bowls
topped with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Flossmore, Galway Tribes, and a good beer week.

This week I had a chance to travel a bit and try some new beers. I started out at The Lodge as I normally do, I had Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence. This was a very good beer. Deep rich dark chocolate and beer.. what else could one ask for? The wife got her holiday bonus so we thought what the heck lets go some place new. We are dog and cat sitting this weekend and since they live on the south side we though we would got to Flossmore Station Brewery. This place is great. The atmosphere is fun and inviting close but not crowded. The food was great!! They had a beer cheese soup made with their Station Master Wheat Ale. This soup was just great. I had the Rib Eye and Gorgonzola sandwich. It is served on toasted garlic chibatta bread. The whole thing was just so tender and juicy and full of flavor.

After this we headed over to Galway Tribes in Frankfort, IL This place is an outstanding beer bar with great food and a wonderful staff. It is my south side Lodge. Same idea with lots of good beer and food. You walk into this place and they make you feel like family. The Welcome is warm and authentic. You feel as if have always been there even if it is your first time. Niall (Nile) Is the Owner and a bartender there. This man know his beer and know how to share about the beer. Friendly open and full of energy. I think the staff gets it from him. They too are very nice and very happy to help find the right food and the right beer for just about any person. You won't leave this place hungry thirsty or unsatisfied for sure! As side note they will be on Check Please. a local restaurant review show.

Ignore the rambiling bits

Link time

Listen to me at
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com

Flossomore
http://www.flossmoorstation.com/index.htm

Galway Tribes
http://www.thegalwaytribes.com/

Ommegang
http://www.ommegang.com/

Check Please wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_Please

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Bells pouring in IL and a very cool beer cellar

This week was a fun week. I had my birthday at the lodge as all of you know. The food there is just awesome. Also I picked up a Kwak gift pack and had lots of fun trying to figure out how to beer and drink the beer with that glass. After a fashion I was able to figure it out. I suggest you pick on up and try it for yourself.

I really wish I had some more beer news for you but I have been very bsuy this week with Xmas shopping and all that fun of the holidays.
Let me give you the links and stuff before I give a bit of news that I read the other day.
Coolest beer cellar
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21533483@N05/sets/72157603396620359/

Bell's
http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/home

Kwak Beers
http://www.bestbelgianspecialbeers.be/main_eng.html

Listen to me at
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/

Email
murphyspubcast@yahoo.com

The NEws below is from the Beeradvocate site but I found it intersting.
NEWPORT, OR (December, 2007) - On February 7, 1990, the Central Committee of the Soviet Union's Communist Party agreed to endorse President Mikhail Gorbachev's recommendation that the Party give up its 70-year long monopoly of political power. In the following weeks 15 Soviet Republics held their first elections and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved.Rogue is commemorating the historic event by launching Imperial Red on February 7th, 2008. Imperial Red is the newest addition to Rogue's award winning Imperial Family of XS products that include Old Crustacean Barleywine, Imperial Stout, Imperial India Pale Ale, and Morimoto Imperial Pilsner. The Imperial Family of XS products has been awarded 59 medals for taste and packaging, and are available in 750 ml ceramic swingtop bottles and on draft.Celebrating its second century, Rogue Ales is an Artisan Varietal Brewery founded in Oregon in 1988, as one of America's first 50 microbreweries. Rogue has 550+ awards for taste and quality and is distributed nationally and in 9 other countries. Rogue Ales also operates 9 embassies: Brewers on the Bay, Rogue Bayfront Pub, Rogue Wolf eel Cafe and the Rogue House of Spirits in Newport, OR; Rogue Distillery and Public House in Portland, OR; Eugene City Brewery in Eugene, OR; Rogue Astoria in Astoria, OR; Issaquah Brewhouse in Issaquah, WA, and Rogue Ales Public House in San Francisco, CA.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

My Birthday, Craft packs, and LOTS of other random stuff

Ok this week is really random with my birthday at The Lodge, craft packs, Texas Dork Fish, and all kinds of silly things.

I'm 39 today so I think I'm just being odd.

I had a wonderful dinner with my wife today and we had a great time. Some German ladies had stopped in for lunch as well and they sang a few German songs that were just wonderful!

I talk about one of the first craft packs I ever bought from JW Dundees as well as a mixed pack from World Market.

So if you like check me out at
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/

email me at
murphyspubcast@yahoo.com

and Linkage time
North Country Brewing that will be on next week
http://www.northcountrybrewing.com/

The Lodge Beer list
http://www.bavarian-lodge.com/beerlist.html

JW Dundee's
http://www.jwdundees.com/JWDundee.aspx

and Mulled wine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glogg

Importand Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2

Thanks and have fun

Never take anything I say here as serious. O-Griffs is a nice place with nice people

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Turkery, Accidental Aging wine and other random things

Well this week I talk about the pork dinner from last pubcast as well as dinner of at my friends house. We had a wonderful smoked turkey, home made corn bread stuffing and lots and lots of GREAT FOOD!! thanks guys

Also there is yet another gift pack so I can get more glassware YAY DUVEL!!

I give a brief explanation of how I came to better beer thru better wine. Its an odd circular route but hey it works for me. There is random things about squirrels and using beer to kill slugs.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A_Wikimanual_of_Gardening/Slugs

Read thru it you will see it works :)

Also I had a question about some other good stouts and I give a short list of some of the ones to try
Guinness
Beamish
Murphy's Stout (family plug :) )
Young's
Victory Storm King
Old Rasputin
Edmund Fitzgerald

Also how I accidentally aged some beer that turned out great.

So that is a brief idea of what to look forward too.

Link time
Young's
http://www.youngs.co.uk/
Shiner
http://www.shiner.com/
Duvel
http://www.duvel.be/
Port Wine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_wine

Listen to me at
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/

and drop me a line
murphyspubcast@yahoo.com

thanks

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Chimay, Glassware, Pork Roast, Winter Warmer

Well this week is a mix .. like most weeks are.
I went to Sam's in Downers Grove and picked up a chimay three pack with a chalice!!

It is way cool!!!

Here is the Chimay Site
http://www.chimay.com/index.html
Take a look around there is a lot to learn besides beer. they have cheese! Yum!

Ok now on to the food
http://recipesbycindy.homestead.com/RoastPork.html

I want to thank Cfahooligan on Beer Advocate for posting this.. It looks great and next week I'll let you know how it turns out.

Winter Warmer beer. I had the Great Lakes Christmas Ale. What a wonderful beer this is and I will have it with dinner for sure.

And finally Glassware

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/glassware

Lots to learn there. Check it out, its a great place to read up on glass styles and beer to put into them.

As always the podcast is at
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/


Oh yeah the wassail song

http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtrad/pages/tiWASGLOUC;ttWASGLOUC.html

Sunday, November 11, 2007

ESB better Bitter Beers

Hi there its yet another new week. This week I have some news on Russian tap that pours beer four times faster than regular taps. Also some news on an aged beer coming from Lunar Brewing Company. I was thinking about things this Russian tap says it can do. I mean I know faster is better but their tap works on plastic bottles. I don't know about that.
Also the beer this week is an ESB Extra Special Bitters. One of my Favorite styles of beer.
Thanks for coming around to listen again.
Any way I have some links for you

Breckenridge Brewing
http://www.breckbrew.com/

Summit Brewing
http://www.summitbrewing.com/

Left Hand Brewing
http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

Also always listen to me on
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com

You can mail me at murphyspubcast@yahoo.com