Summer Drinks

[FlaSoxxJim]

My friend had some micro brew called like 1554 or something. It had a chocolatey aftertaste. He loved it. I don't like beer, so naturally I didn't like it, but it was weird how it had a chocolate taste.

 

I found it online....

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/1914

 

Dying to try that one! We're supposedly on the verge of getting New Belgium's stuff in FL, but it will be a gradual rollout starting with Fat Tire and then slowly getting in some others. I saw this on on tap at a Yard House in L.A. a couple of weeks ago but when I tried to order it the server told be the keg had just kicked so I got shut out.

[Felix]

Dying to try that one! We're supposedly on the verge of getting New Belgium's stuff in FL, but it will be a gradual rollout starting with Fat Tire and then slowly getting in some others. I saw this on on tap at a Yard House in L.A. a couple of weeks ago but when I tried to order it the server told be the keg had just kicked so I got shut out.

Fat Tire is delicious.

[Chisoxfn]

Dying to try that one! We're supposedly on the verge of getting New Belgium's stuff in FL, but it will be a gradual rollout starting with Fat Tire and then slowly getting in some others. I saw this on on tap at a Yard House in L.A. a couple of weeks ago but when I tried to order it the server told be the keg had just kicked so I got shut out.

Its good. New Belgium is my favorite micro brew (if that is what you'd call it). When in doubt, I feel you can never go wrong with Fat Tire. 1554 is rock solid too.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Fat Tire is delicious.

 

I'm a big fan as well. Can't wait until we can get it here.

[bigklita]

All you Blue Moonies, do yourself a favor just once this summer and treat yourself to a Hoegarden when you see it on tap. It will likely ruin Blue Moon for you, but you'll be moving up a rung or two on the quality ladder.

 

Hoegarden may be my favorite beer. It is definitely better than Blue Moon. Can't believe I forgot to mention it.

[iamshack]

Yeah, I've had Hoegarden...

 

I think I'm just not as big a booze snob as you, Jim...and there is nothing wrong with that - we all have our hobbies/obsessions.

 

Give me something cold and wet and I'm pretty happy as long as there is some nice scenery, some solid tunes, and a decent breeze.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Yeah, I've had Hoegarden...

 

I think I'm just not as big a booze snob as you, Jim...and there is nothing wrong with that - we all have our hobbies/obsessions.

 

Give me something cold and wet and I'm pretty happy as long as there is some nice scenery, some solid tunes, and a decent breeze.

 

I certainly did my share of lowbrow boozing, and I totally agree the right setting can make all the differnce.

 

 

[G&T]

Hoegarden may be my favorite beer. It is definitely better than Blue Moon. Can't believe I forgot to mention it.

 

Get into that finer things thread. There are plent of great wheat suggestions. And I love Hoegaarden.

[DBAHO]

Yeah, I've had Hoegarden...

 

I think I'm just not as big a booze snob as you, Jim...and there is nothing wrong with that - we all have our hobbies/obsessions.

 

Give me something cold and wet and I'm pretty happy as long as there is some nice scenery, some solid tunes, and a decent breeze.

I had a Hoegarden right after a Stella when I was at a pub watching the England vs Slovenia game the other day, and I much preferred Blue Moon actually.

 

Hoegarden was too sweet / fruity for my liking.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I had a Hoegarden right after a Stella when I was at a pub watching the England vs Slovenia game the other day, and I much preferred Blue Moon actually.

 

Hoegarden was too sweet / fruity for my liking.

 

Stop drinking the Stella, it's knocking yor taste buds out of whack!

 

Honestly though, I fear you are being indoctrinated into the young and hip clubbers-and-pubbers society that nearly drove British Real Ale to extinction a few decades ago. Back then it was "dead" keg beer like Watney's Red Barrel, and then lagers like Bud, Carlings and finally Stella Artois that appealed to young generations of Britons to the degree hat they totally forsake Real Ale which remains one of the dearest gifts the bygone age of brewing has left modern beer lovers. If not for the efforts of CAMRA and beer preservationists like Beer Hunter Michael Jackson, real ale could have died out with the old ale drinkers as all the kids were drinking mega-lagers.

 

In more recent times of course, the mass consolidation of smaller UK breweries by large corporate breweries has been the more dire threat, and sadly there are next to no independently owned traditional UK breweries anymore. Modern micros have popped up which is a positive development, but there is a lot of craftmanship and tradition being lost.

 

You know this is really not a dig at you, and all in all it's a good thing we that beer brands and styles are as varied as beer drinkers are. But the cyclical nature of consumer tastes and brand imaging is sort of ironic. With the large number of witbiers available now (be they Belgian, Belgian-styled, Americanized, or totally bastardized knockoffs like Shock Top), how many folks just coming into the beer culture even realize that the witbier style actually WAS driven to extinction by the sorts of changing consumer tastes we're talking about here? The last original witbier brewery (Tomsin) closed in 1955 and it took more than 10 years for the style to be revived by Pierre Celis who had worked part-time at the Tomsin brewery before it closed and thought he kinda-sorta remembered how that beer used to be produced. That beer that Cellis brewed in 1966 was Hoegaarden of course.

 

A lot of old timers like me think Hoegaarden's quality has suffered a bit at the hands of Interbrew/Inbev, but I still consider it a premiere example of a traditional Belgian witbier. And, damn if I could somehow magically get some of you to try the phenomenal Celis White that Pierre and his daughter brewed out of Austin from the late 80s until 2001 after a fire at their Belgian brewery forced the Inerbrew sale. . . Along with Dublin Guinness and a couple of British Real Ales, I truly think that was one of my all-time favorite beers. The corporate monster rears its head in this story too. Miller bought a majority in Celis with the promise (unfulfilled) that they'd get the brand into more markets. The Celis family ended up selling their stake to Miller and in 2001 the beancounters at Miller decided the brand was too costly to brew compared to the revenue it produced and they ceased operations.

 

I have yet to try the Michigan Brewing Company versions of the Celis products but I am happy they are making an attempt at carrying on those products.

[Balta1701]

Fat Tire is delicious.

I'm loving their 1554.

[farmteam]

Electric Lemonade:

 

One 24 case of miller lite

one handle of vodka of choice

lemonade powder

 

-Put in a large jug and stir.

 

It may sound like it would taste terrible, but it is actually pretty damn good, especially for bbqs and outdoor parties

 

What? Every Electric Lemonade I've ever had has been bright blue, and does have the vodka and lemonade, but also perhaps gin and sprite (I hate gin, and am thus ok without it). What you're describing sounds much more like a Baltimore Zoo (which is basically a long island + beer. Tastier than it sounds).

[knightni]

I'm not much of a drinker.

 

I've recently perfected a lemonade recipe. It can go with vodka or not.

 

 

Get a 2 quart container

 

Get a glass measuring cup

 

Fill the measuring cup with a heaping 3/4 cup of sugar (just a tad more than 3/4 cup)

 

Dump in the container

 

Fill the measuring cup with 1 cup of lemon juice either squeezed or from a bottle.

 

Dump again.

 

Fill container up about 7/8ths of the way. Stir or shake depending on the container.

 

Lemons for accent.

 

Just as good as buying from the store at a fraction of the price.

 

 

 

 

[southsider2k5]

Real cherry coke.

[Disco72]

Dying to try that one! We're supposedly on the verge of getting New Belgium's stuff in FL, but it will be a gradual rollout starting with Fat Tire and then slowly getting in some others. I saw this on on tap at a Yard House in L.A. a couple of weeks ago but when I tried to order it the server told be the keg had just kicked so I got shut out.

 

Hopefully soon for you. New Belgium has been in Atlanta for only about 6 months now. I haven't tried the 1554 yet, but this thread is encouraging me to do so!

[FlaSoxxJim]

We had a big over-ripe watermelon here yesterday that was going to go to waste, so we cut it up to play around with frozen watermelon daiquiris. Before the end of the night we realized that we'd get better results if the melon was frozen so we could use less crushed ice in the blender and get a more intense watermelon flavor. I also had evolved the drink from a fruit daiquiri to something much more like a watermelon rumrunner by the end of the night. It actually showed a lot of promise. Froze the rest of the melon and will mix up something along these lines this afternoon after I cut the grass and get cleaned up to watch the Sox sweep the Cubs.

 

Watermelon Rumrunner (serves 2+):

 

~ 3 cups frozen watermelon

• 3 oz white rum

• 1.5 oz 151 (Cruzan kicks Bacardi's arse)

• 2 oz Rose's sweetened lime juice (Rumrunners are about the only place this works better than fresh lime juice)

• 1 oz blackberry brandy (cream de cassis or Chambord would work here as well)

• additional crushed ice if needed to blend smooth

 

The recipe may get a bit of additional tweaking once I see how the frozen watermelon works. I'll report back on the results. It's about as summery as it gets.

Edited June 27, 2010 by FlaSoxxJim

[FlaSoxxJim]

Two more iterations of the watermelon rumrunner this afternoon during the game. Here's the tweaked recipe for 1 serving, and it really is a really good frozen summer drink. Next weekend when you're doing the 4th of July watermelon thing, chunk and freeze an extra one and try this drink. It will impress your guests.

 

Watermelon Rumrunner

 

• 2 cups frozen watermelon chunks

• 1 oz white rum

• 0.5 oz Cruzan 151

• 0.5 oz blackberry brandy

• 0.75 oz Rose's sweetened lime juice

• 0.75 oz 2:1 simple syrup

 

Blend until smooth. Sip and think of sunny, oil-free beaches.

Edited June 27, 2010 by FlaSoxxJim

[The Gooch]

What? Every Electric Lemonade I've ever had has been bright blue, and does have the vodka and lemonade, but also perhaps gin and sprite (I hate gin, and am thus ok without it). What you're describing sounds much more like a Baltimore Zoo (which is basically a long island + beer. Tastier than it sounds).

 

You must be drinking electric lemonade for wussies. You can put some blue coloring in it makes you happy...

[witesoxfan]

You must be drinking electric lemonade for wussies. You can put some blue coloring in it makes you happy...

 

Actually, the electric lemonade I've had is all of the ingredients of a long island, except they use melon flavored rum and sprite instead of tequila and coke. We call your drink a strip-and-go-naked.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Off tomorrow for five days of vacation with the family on Captiva Island on the west coast of Florida!! Had to strip down and put together a traveling bar for drinks on the beach, limiting myself to one plastic milk crate's worth of bottles and mixers and a new Rocket mini blender. The Captiva drink menu will consist of:

 

• The Obligatory Coronas and lime

• Piña Coladas (frozen)

• Margaritas with El Jimador reposado (frozen and rocks)

• Traditional shaken Flor De Caña daiquiris

• Strawberry Daiquiris and Margaritas (frozen)

• Pusser's (84 proof) Painkillers

• Ron Del Barillito 2 Star and coconut water

• Pitu Caiperiñas

• Coruba Planter's Punch

 

And last but not least, a new quick and dirty planter's dubbed the Captiva Cooler which will be concocted thusly:

 

1 oz Cruzan light rum

1 oz Coruba

1 oz lime juice

2 oz pineapple juice

2 oz orange juice

0.5 oz homemade grenadine

0.25 oz 2:1 simple syrup

 

Shake with crushed ice and pour unstrained into drinking vessel of choice.

 

 

[farmteam]

Actually, the electric lemonade I've had is all of the ingredients of a long island, except they use melon flavored rum and sprite instead of tequila and coke. We call your drink a strip-and-go-naked.

 

Yeah, that sounds like our electric lemonades. I still maintain the mix with Vodka, Beer, and Lemonade is a Baltimore Zoo.

[farmteam]

And last but not least, a new quick and dirty planter's dubbed the Captiva Cooler which will be concocted thusly:

 

1 oz Cruzan light rum

1 oz Coruba

1 oz lime juice

2 oz pineapple juice

2 oz orange juice

0.5 oz homemade grenadine

0.25 oz 2:1 simple syrup

 

Shake with crushed ice and pour unstrained into drinking vessel of choice.

 

I've gotten quite a few ideas from you, Jim, thanks!

 

I just sort of play around when I'm mixing things and don't have measurements for everything unfortunately, but the past two I've made have been quite good.

 

2.25 oz Pineapple Vodka

2.25 oz white rum

1.5 oz Triple Sec

Remainder is 50% Sour Mix and 50% Orange Juice...and maybe add a bit more OJ after you're done shaking and it's poured into the glass.

 

Also:

1.5 oz vodka

1.5 oz white rum

1 oz Triple Sec

1 oz Blue Curacao

Some sour mix and club soda

 

 

[Kid Gleason]

A guy came over to our house with his "family recipe" the other day:

 

2 cans of concentrated limeade

4 cans of beer

1 750 bottle of vodka

top off with a little water

 

You couldn't taste any liquor, and before I knew it I was an idiot. Well, more so than usual.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I've gotten quite a few ideas from you, Jim, thanks!

 

I just sort of play around when I'm mixing things and don't have measurements for everything unfortunately, but the past two I've made have been quite good.

 

2.25 oz Pineapple Vodka

2.25 oz white rum

1.5 oz Triple Sec

Remainder is 50% Sour Mix and 50% Orange Juice...and maybe add a bit more OJ after you're done shaking and it's poured into the glass.

 

Also:

1.5 oz vodka

1.5 oz white rum

1 oz Triple Sec

1 oz Blue Curacao

Some sour mix and club soda

 

Those both sound interesting. I don't do a lot with vodka but when I get back from vacation I'll give one of these a spin.

 

So far, the varied frozen coladas have been the drinks of the vacation. The wife is sticking with straight white rum piña coladas and I've been knocking back Coruba and Pusser's colada at every opportunity.

[Controlled Chaos]

I thoroughly enjoyed some Sweet Tea Vodka and lemonade last weekend. I never heard of it before, but it's definitely on my summer drink list now.