The Lemon Plum » Wine

German Beer In A Nutshell

thelemonplum — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:24:35 +0000

Throughout Germany, beer is very popular with the culture. Germany contains well over 1,000 breweries, which is more than any other location in the universe. All beer that is mass-produced in Germany must follow the purity law, which allows manufacturers know what ingredients can and can’t be used. Essentially, the only ingredients allowed to produce beer in Germany are H2O, hops, and barleycorn malt.

Due to the strict purity requirements, you can easily notice German beers by their overall level of quality. They have a defined taste, with little to no aftertaste. Some trends of German ale include Koelsch, Weizen, and Altbier. Some kinds of German lager beers include Bock, Pilsener, Dunkel, Helles, and Maerzen. Keep in mind that the taste, fragrance, and semblance can vary, although all can be noted as being legitimate German beers.

The German beer Altbier is a very standard dark ale, that is top fermented in the lower realms of Germany. The beer projects a yellow color, with a taste sensation that is rich in hops. Another ale, Rauchbier, is noted to have a robust flavor with a smoked coloring. These beers taste great, and happen to be very popular throughout the areas of Germany.

German lagers are also very popular, and happen to be popular in other areas of the world as well. Pilsener is one of the most popular and most familiar of all German beers, supplying you with more hops and less malt. Pilsener can be seen for sale all over the world, and happens to be very popular throughout North America as well. Some bars serve it as well, as it happens to be one of the most popular dark lagers out there.

Throughout Germany, there are several different companies, produce over 4,000 different brands of beers. Some of the more well known and larger companies of north Germany are Beck, St. Pauli, Warsteiner, and Krombach. In the southern region of Germany, there are more breweries, although most of them are smaller, as they are locally owned and operated. Southern Germany also contains the Benedictine Abbey, which is one of the oldest breweries in the world. This brewery started producing beer in 1040 – very impressive indeed!

Germany is also home to Oktoberfest, which is held every year in Munich. Oktoberfest starts in late September and carries on for two weeks, ending in early October. During Oktoberfest, beer drinkers from all over the world will travel to Germany and celebrate German beers. Each and every year, over 5 million people attend the event, making it one of the biggest beer celebrations in the world.

During Oktoberfest, local breweries in Munich are the only breweries allowed to serve beer in the bigger tents. There are six breweries in total, producing a variety of different beers. By attending this yearly event, you can learn more about German beer, sample the different varieties, and enjoy the rich bold flavors that make German beer so very popular.

Due to the success Oktoberfest gets each and every year, other cities around the world try and mimic this event. Even though they have success, their level of success isn’t near as much as the original Oktoberfest – Germany. German beers are very popular around the world, with Oktoberfest helping to prove that very claim. If you drink beer but have never experienced what beers from Germany have to offer, you really should give them a try. Once you do, you’ll quickly realize why German beers are so very popular – and why the taste simply can’t be duplicated with any other beer.

Gift Baskets & Wine Baskets

thelemonplum — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:11:03 +0000

I was searching online for a few of these gift basket companies and I have to be honest there’s quite a few out there. But there’s one in particular that caught my eye and I really enjoyed looking through all their different products and product options its called Gift Tree. Plus on top of that the prices are really good. As a Chef I take notice in presentation, besides flavor, presentation is THE most important part of a meal or a product or anything like that. If you want to even just visit the site you can see they really care about their products.

Just as an example of a few products they carry that I really liked:

Kendall Jackson Collection – I absolutely love Kendall Jackson wines, so I think this would be the perfect gift for any of you wine lovers out there and for any of you that knows someone that loves wine and might be having a special occasion coming up. It comes with 3 bottles of wine, two red one white (Cabernet, Chardonnay, Merlot), truffles, a couple food “items” like cheese, crackers, cookies etc. And then on top of all that it comes in a really nice basket and two cheese spreaders that you know you can use over and over again. This is definitely a product you should check out!

The Crowd Pleaser – Among many of the other baskets on this site, this is a good one to buy if your not looking for wine, and just want a really great gift for yourself or someone else. This ones really neat because it actually comes WITH a leather tote and inside the tote are the items. The Crowd Pleaser comes with Almond popcorn, cookies, caramels, pretzels, chocolate and a LOAD of other things!

Grand Indulgence – Is for those of us that are looking for a gift that’s really classy and chic. Between the Caviar, the Camembert cheese, and the Raspberry Tea Cookies this basket is a taste of heaven for me. This one comes with so many items, your really going to have to go to the site and see it all for yourself. And if that weren’t enough it also comes in this really cute picnic basket that you can use.

And in case you were wondering this site doesn’t JUST sell gift baskets, they also sell bottles of wine, champagne, personalized gifts, gifts for specific occasions and a lot more. Over all I think its a really great site and I can see myself ordering one of those Grand Indulgences.. for.. myself!

Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

thelemonplum — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:14:03 +0000

Coulis are usually thick mixtures made with vegetables, but there are many other ones that have fruit in them. Coulis are just one of those things that you can use in a lot of different dishes. A vegetable coulis is commonly used on meat, vegetable and seafood dishes, and it can also be used as a base for soups or other sauces. Whereas fruit coulis would be used mostly for sweet dishes, like breakfast, and most commonly, desserts.

6 Large red peppers (sweet)
1c extra virgin olive oil
S&P to taste
1/2c dry white wine
1T garlic

Over hot coals, or (carefully) over your stove top, grill the peppers whole until they start to blister and char. Remove from the grill and place in a stainless steel bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This allows the peppers to steam while they cool it also helps with the peeling process. Once cooled, peel the charred skins away from the peppers and discard any seeds. Place the peppers, garlic and wine in a food processor. Blend until smooth, and slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture until incorporated. Season to taste with S&P.

Wine.com is having a %30 off sale!

thelemonplum — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:18:58 +0000

I just got this email in my inbox. For the first time EVER, wine.com is giving %30 off a case of wine. Now’s your chance to stock up for the summer and help us make room for new vintages. Buy any 12 (mix or match) of select bottles and save 30%.

Simply click this banner for an automatic %30 off no coupon needed. Better hurry, this offer ends soon!

This offer for WINE only available with in these states: AK, CA, CO, CT, FL, ID, IL, LA, MA, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, TX, VA, WA, WV, WY. For more information please visit the wine.com website for the over view.