World of Beer Towson

The newest addition to the Towson Square complex on Joppa Road at Virginia Ave in Towson (duh) is World of Beer. It is also the noisiest addition, at least it was on the night we were there. It was the beer emporium's first day open and when we arrived at 6pm, it was half-full of loud rowdies. They may well have been perfectly normal people, but the acoustics of the place turned them into shouting idiots. (Or, they could have been shouting idiots to begin with.)

By the time we left, it was 3/4 full, and I was so glad to have had a pair of earplugs in my purse. Sadly, the din, with or without the plugs, prevented any conversation with my spouse, apart from pointing to the various foodstuffs on the table and mouthing, "good?" So you are forewarned that World of Beer is not the place to go for a romantic date, nor if you want to have any conversation at all that doesn't require shouting. For some odd reason, there was a couple there that felt a restaurant with the word BEER in the name was the ideal place to bring their three small children. Fine parenting. If the kids hadn't been getting up and running around, as the children of fine, fine parents are wont to do, it wouldn't have bothered me. It was so damn loud in the place, I couldn't hear their typical childish whining/squeals.

That said, the food was pretty good, and one cannot fault the beer selection.

Although there were so many beers, we had difficulty deciding from the lengthy list. Mr Minx eventually decided on the "Batmobile" from the mixed draught section. A combo of Guinness and hefeweizen, it was like a sorta-banana-flavored black and tan. I had a Full Tilt Patterson Pumpkin, mostly because of the name, and also pumpkin. Later, hoping that the more we drank the less we'd be able to hear, we also had a Brooklyn Oktoberfest and an RAR Nanticoke Nectar.

Now, we only went to World of Beer on the opening day because we thought that, as media, we'd get a tour, and perhaps some free food. Otherwise, it's always better to wait a few weeks before trying a place so the kinks have been worked out, both food- and service-wise. An owner and a manager came over separately to shake our hands (one of whom had a nasty, limp, wet fish handshake...shudder), but neither offered anything in the way of telling us about the establishment, about its infusion tower, its partnership with Jail Break Brewing Company and special Monkey Hefeweizen + banana infusion, or the Heavy Seas firkin tapping that occurred earlier in the day. I only know these things because we received a press release a week before the event. Hey, but if an owner didn't care, or think we were important enough to bother to share this information, we shouldn't care either, right?

The service, as is usual on a first day of operation, was a bit off. We were approached at various times after entering by employees who welcomed us and told us to sit anywhere. After we picked what we hoped would be a relatively quiet location (near the open front), a few more people came by to say hi (and ask if we had ever been there before, and when we said no, still didn't bother to tell us about the infusion/firkin/etc.) before the person who would be our actual server showed up. She seemed nervous yet eager to please, but spoke too quietly to be heard over the screaming in the background. I originally wanted to order a flight of IPAs, but after realizing there were too many choices coupled with my inability to hear her recommendations, I gave up.

Though I would rather have left, we ordered food. Fortunately, it was generally pretty good. I had two ahi tuna tacos, which were generously-sized and fresh-tasting. Mr Minx ordered a pesto grilled chicken sandwich. It also was huge, filled with nicely moist and juicy chicken breast, and good amounts of pesto and cheese. The steak fries on the side were cooked properly and both dishes were overall pretty well done.

Except we had ordered appetizers, which hadn't arrived yet. After reminding our server, she ran off to set things right. She had recommended their mac and cheese, which is made with spiced pepperjack cheese and topped with crisp bacon and herbed breadcrumbs. The textures were nice --super gooey cheese, crispy crumbs--but apart from being properly salted, the dish was bland. The bacon wasn't even particularly bacon-y.

We also tried the fried pickles. Another huge portion, the pickles featured a melange of shapes and some Peppadew peppers, all lightly battered and fried to a nice crispness. They were well-seasoned and didn't necessarily need a dip in the accompanying sweet-ish dipping sauce (which was maybe a tad too thick).

Limp-fish-hand presented us with our bill, saying he had comped the mac and cheese because it had come to the table so late. But we apparently had to pay for the pickles, which were even later. And everything else, too. But the prices are very reasonable for the portion sizes and the bill wasn't that bad. If we hadn't ordered beers (I know, at a place called World of Beer), it would have been downright cheap.

We sucked down our second beers and beat a hasty retreat. I couldn't help but notice that al fresco diners at the restaurant next door had to put up with the noise emanating from World of Beer, which by that point in the evening also included live music. I wonder how it will end up affecting the adjoining businesses.

World of Beer
125 Joppa Road
Towson, MD 21204



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Christmas Ale

In a previous post, I talked about how I got my brother Craig involved in brewing beer when I gave him a home brewing kit that The Minx and I received from Smithwick's. After attempting a red ale using a kit with pre-measured ingredients, Craig decided to tackle a Christmas ale using a recipe from the how-to book included with the beer making kit. Since I was curious to see how the process worked first hand, I came over to his house and we set about making Christmas ale.

Craig had already purchased all the ingredients and equipment necessary from Annapolis Home Brew. We started by measuring out the crystal malt and the black malt. The grains were mixed with 1.5 gallons of purified water and put on the stove to heat to 160 degrees F. Once it reaches the desired temperature, the mixture must be kept between 150 to 160 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Craig attached a candy thermometer to the pot to watch the temperature. After the 30 minutes was up, we transferred the wort to a separate pot for boiling. During this process, all the equipment must be kept clean to prevent bacteria from getting into the brew. Craig kept a bucket of water mixed with PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) on hand to clean everything as we went along.

Weighing the ingredients

While all this was going on, I was busy preparing the flavorings. I zested the peel from four oranges, chopped up a large knob of ginger, measured out some cardamom, and got a cinnamon stick ready. Honey and malt syrup would also be added to the wort, so we warmed those ingredients by immersing the containers into a hot water bath. Once the wort had boiled for one hour, we added the honey and malt syrup, stirring to incorporate. Then we added some cascade hops. Another 30 minutes of boiling and we added the orange zest, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon stick. After another 10 minutes boiling, we added a half ounce of saaz hops for aroma.

At this point, the wort needed to be brought down to room temperature, the faster the better so as to avoid bacteria development. Some people do this by putting the pot in a tub of ice, but Craig purchased a nifty device called a wort chiller. Basically, it's a coil of copper tubing with plastic tubing running off each end. One end of the plastic tubing is attached to the water tab, and the other end is placed in the sink. The cooper coil is plunged into the pot and the cold water tap is turned on. As the water flows through the copper coil, it makes the copper quite cold, thus cooling the wort quickly. Of course, the water flows back through the plastic tube and dumps into the sink. It was amazing to watch the temperature drop on the candy thermometer. We had the wort cooled from boiling to room temperature in 20 minutes.

Cooling the wort with a wort chiller.

With the wort cooled, we strained the liquid into a plastic bucket. The ingredients kits put the grains in steeping bags, but since our ingredients were loose, we used a giant strainer placed over the mouth of the bucket to catch all the gunk. We also used a siphoning tube to drain the wort from the pot to the bucket so we could control the flow. A few times in the process, we had to stop and empty out the strainer because there was so much detritus in the wort. Eventually, we got all the wort into the bucket. Then more purified water was added to bring the mixture up to five gallons.

Aerating the wort with a bubble making thingee for an aquarium.

The how-to book we were using recommended that the wort be agitated to incorporate some air in the mix. A stirring wand was provided with the home brew kit, but Craig channeled his inner Alton Brown and bought an electric bubble making device used for aquariums. After a few minutes of bubble making, Craig took a reading of the wort with a hydrometer.

In order to ascertain the alcohol percentage by volume of your brew, you must measure the original gravity* when the wort is first made and then measure the fermented gravity after the wort has fermented. You run these two numbers through a special formula to reach the alcohol percentage. The two measurements are taken with a hydrometer. Simply drop the long stick-like device in the bucket and read off the number at the surface of the liquid.

The final step is to pitch the yeast in water and add that to the wort. Then we put the lid on and added the airstop. The airstop is filled partway with water. After 24 hours, one should see bubbles in the water, an indication that fermentation has begun. The bucket needs to be stored in a cool, dark place for six days. We used one of Craig's closets for that.

After six days, the wort is transferred to a clear jug known as a carboy. They come in plastic or glass, but glass is better because it can be more thoroughly cleaned between uses. The airstop is placed in the carboy and the fermentation continues for two more weeks.

The final step is to add sugar to start carbonation and pour into bottles. Once the beer is in the bottles and capped, it should sit for at least another two weeks to develop full flavor. Although we started this process in September, we decided to wait until Thanksgiving to drink the beer. I was disappointed that the cinnamon flavor was not more prominent, but it had an interesting flavor all its own. The Minx described it as a cross between Coca-Cola and beer. We used it to make shandies for our Thanksgiving dinner and they were quite tasty.

* Gravity refers to the relative density of the wort compared to water at various stages in the fermentation. It largely depends on the amount of sugar in the wort.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

The Just Beer Project

After generations of drinking crappy beer that tasted more like the byproduct of large horses with extremely hairy legs than hops and barley, Americans have started to demand better libations. Craft beers are being produced everywhere, and even Baltimore has been named one of America's best beer cities. Now one can buy beers of every color and strength, flavored with fruits, coffee, and even peanut butter. But sometimes folks just want beer that tastes like beer. And that's where the Just Beer Project comes in. Alan Newman, founder of Magic Hat Brewing Company, and no stranger to craft brewing, realizes that there are some people out there who just want a tasty, uncomplicated brew that they can drink all night long. Just Beer's first product is Just IPA, which comes in at 5.2% ABV (alcohol by volume).

Just IPA is lightly bitter and lightly floral, just enough of both to keep the drinker from getting bored, but not so much that the beer is more interesting than the food that it accompanies. Or doesn't accompany. We're not huge IPA drinkers in this house (but, I must confess, I do rather like the super floral/fruity ones) but both of us were pleased with our sampling of Just IPA. We're hoping there's a Just Lager coming out in the future because we just happen to enjoy lagers with Baltimore's favorite summertime meal, steamed crabs.

Just IPA is available in a limited area for now, and only on draft at the following Baltimore-area locations.

JD’s Smokehouse Bar & Grill
3000 O’Donnell St.
Baltimore, MD

Plug Ugly’s Publick House
2908 O’Donnell St.
Baltimore, MD

Freddie’s Ale House
7209 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD

Mother’s Federal Hill Grille
1113 S. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD

Social Pub and Pie
25 E. Cross St.
Baltimore, MD

Max's Taphouse
737 S Broadway
Baltimore, MD

Kloby's Smokehouse
7500 Montpelier Rd
Laurel, MD

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

Posted on Minxeats.com.