1) Classic City Brew Fest 3) Cooking With Beer 4) Did You Know? 5) Beer News 6) Beer Events 7) Beer Quote of the Week *********************************************************** Classic City Brew Fest A Benefit for the AIDS Coalition of NE Georgia Saturday, April 10th 2 pm - 7 pm Classic Center on Thomas Street Downtown Athens, GA 706.254.BREW http://www.negia.net/~brew/ *********************************************************** Cooking With Beer Scotch Ale Soup 3 tbs olive oil 2 cups finely chopped onions 1 tsp dried savory 1 tsp celery seed 4 cups defatted chicken broth 1/2 dried mushrooms, soaked and grit removed 1/2 cup pearl barley 3 tbs peanut oil 1 pound round steak 1 cup peeled and sliced carrots (2 med) salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 cup Scotch ale or extra stout ale *Place olive oil in a 1-galln heavy Dutch oven and place on medium heat. *Add onions and sauté until they caramelize to golden brown; stir often to prevent burning or sticking . Add savory and celery seed. *Stir in the chicken broth, dried mushrooms, and barley. Simmer about 45 mins. *While soup base simmers, place a heavy 10 inch skillet over high heat and pour in the peanut oil. *Bring the oil to the smoking point, then add the round steak and sear on both sides. When both sides are seared with a brown crust, remove from heat. Cut into cubes and reserve the juices and pan drippings. *When mushrooms and barley are tender, add the carrots, salt and pepper, and the cubed steak and reserved juices. Stir and cook for 15 mins more or until carrots are tender. Deglaze the steak saute pan with the ale, then scrape all into the Dutch oven. Simmer 5 mins until warmed through. Serve with crusty bread Yield: 6 servings Pairing: Dark Lager *********************************************************** Did You Know . . . Barmy: A term used to describe someone whose brains are as the barm (foam) on a beer. A modern equivalent would be "airhead." Beating the Bounds: An old English church custom practiced during the Christmas holidays in which the local vicar would lead a parade of the devout around the bounds (or borders) of the parish at night. This torch lit procession would stop at every house along the way for ale - which church law required to be available Encyclopedia of Beer. Christine P. Rhodes, editor. *********************************************************** Beer News Philip Morris and Miller Over? Rumor has it that business conglomerate Philip Morris is considering selling it share in Miller Brewing Company. It is suggested that the most logical buyer for Miller would be Coors and that Bud Light, while growing very fast, is not beyond a serious consideration. Anheuser-Busch announced its nationwide launch of Tequiza, a lime and tequila flavored beer. This is the first product of its kind offered and will rival Mexican imported beer sales. The product will be sold in long necked clear bottles with a yellow label featuring the blue agave plant (the source plant for tequila). The Mexican government has questioned the source for the tequila used in the product. Any product called "tequila" must be of Mexican origin. A-B insists that the U.S. distillery supplying the tequila for blending has the appropriate sourcing documents. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has announced that it will allow wine producers to mention potential health benefits of wine consumption on their labels. The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently ruled that throwing a beer bottle at someone so hard that it breaks qualifies as "assault with a deadly weapon." ******************************************************************* Beer Events This Week February 20th Kichener, Ontario Canada Kichener Beer Wine & Food Fair 519.579.2476 Feb 17th Washington D.C. Redhook Tasting with Paul Shipman Brickskeller 202.293.1885 ******************************************************************* Beer Quote "Why should I weep, wail, or sigh? What if luck has passed me by? What if my hopes are dead, My pleasures fled? Have I not still my fill Of right good cheer, Cigars and beer?" -George Arnold (1834-1865) ******************************************************************* Visit our Website http://www.tacomac.com/ Keep watching for details on the grand opening of our newest location Cumming, Georgia