FREE BEER!

So there are some definite perks of the job when working in the bar industry. One of them is definitely that, as one of the bigger accounts for the local brewery, invitations to private tours for staff. I had never had the pleasure on going on one of these trips before with my coworkers due to working two jobs, so when I had the chance to get on the Port City tour, I jumped on it!

Port City Brewing Co. is located off Duke Street near the police station and McDonald's at the intersection of Quaker Lane. Why give you an address if that's the best description of its location known to mankind?! Ha!

The bus left the bar I work at around 12 PM with about 12 staff from all three sister restaurants. I don't think any of us really knew what to expect as these things are more of a courtesy and never traditional. I was expecting this to just be an average tour, but when I didn't see the pineapple outside as we pulled up (which means they're open), I figured that this would be a little more tailored.

We were greeted by the owner and two of the brewers when we came in. We were also surprised to find Kathy in the corner.....who was pretty much the creepiest cardboard cutout we'd ever encountered.

When they announced that we would taste through the entire beer list....we knew it was on. We started with the Port City Wit, a light and slightly fruity wheat beer. It was extremely refreshing and a great session beer. This is definitely Port City's biggest seller. Of all the beers we tasted, my favorite was definitely their Tartan Scotch Sour. This brown had a subtle tartness which was delicious and refreshing during the summer, but still retaining some heaviness of a brown ale. The Monumental IPA and the Essential Pale Ale are also some of their more popular sellers, standard but consistently good. I generally do prefer their seasonals though...the Tidings winter seasonal being my ultimate favorite as a Belgian style blonde.

The tour was great. They really targeted the tour for our group and went into all the detail we wanted. One of the highlights was the fact that they label their brew tanks with the songs they were playing at the time they were making it. They also have a workout station in the back, including a pull up bar which one of the beer managers proceeded to show us all up on!

The story of Port City is a great one. The owner informed us that they have pretty much doubled their production every year they have been open. For such a small company, it really is an impressive growth rate. The owner/founder, Bill Butcher, used to work in the wine industry, and switched over to beer in 2011 to create this gem of a craft brewery.

The guys at Port City were really generous hosts and so much fun. I can't wait to go back and refill my growlers! Be sure to stop by if you're in the area and the pineapple is out front, it's well worth a visit. They also do beer tasting flights for visitors which are an excellent way to try the entire list!

Until next time, cheers!

Maryland Blue Crab Steam-off!

There's kind of a sick pleasure that one gets from steaming live crabs. For me, it's not killing the crabs, but finally winning the long battle of crab vs. human over the tongs. Those buggers do hold on for their dear lives, but really no clawed spider of the sea should ever go up against me...the crayfish made the best attempt yet but everyone knows how that turned out for them.

ANYHOW. One of my best friends Katie, who has been featured the odd time in this post, is moving to Portland and had never done a Maryland crab steam. Turns out neither had I, and we figured that might be a good thing to do before Portland steals her soul and converts her to the ways of the western waters.

We started at the wharf, as so many of these stories start (Main St. Fish Market, Washington, D.C., under the 395 bridge). We picked up 2 dozen large female Maryland blue crabs, but he must have given us about 30....We also bought a mallet because every good crab eater knows that your life is not complete without one.

I wanted to get creative with the recipes, but Joe (Katie's boyfriend) was insistent that we stick to the traditional old bay...I even tried to fool him by telling him I would make my own, but no. And the steam-off was born.

For Joe's pot, we did a very traditional water, beer and old bay broth (heavy on the beer!). We used Bell's Oberon, which is delicious and summery.

For my pot, I did a white wine, sherry vinegar, water and cajun spice base. I did a home made blend of cajun spices...an unmeasured combination of Hungarian paprika, cayenne pepper, chili flakes, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, onion flakes, and garlic powder. I just used a dry NZ Sauvignon Blanc and a rail sherry vinegar. Went pretty light on the vinegar as I wanted to enhance sweetness but avoid tartness.

To steam the crabs, you bring the broths to a boil in large pots, I just used any large pot I could find, which included my favorite cast iron dutch oven which worked like a charm. Such a bitch to clean...but such a beautiful instrument!

Make sure to put crumbled up tin foil in the shape of a figure eight on the bottom of the pots so that the crabs do not rest on the bottom. If you're fancy and have a steaming shelf, well, then you can use that ;)

The crabs need to steam for about 10-11 minutes. We did batches of 4-5 at a time in the pots. Be prepared for a fight when putting them in there...we had broth all over the kitchen (including the ceiling) because they were not pleased when their poor crabby faces hit the boiling water. Make sure to place the crabs top down, bottom up in the water as well.

Although making your own hot sauce can be fun, I love Crystal hot sauce. It's pretty traditional for crab. A melted butter sauce is also great on the side, but I generally always lean towards the spicy.

I will refer you to YouTube videos to show proper cleaning and eating methods. That's something you kind of need to see in video form......

The crabs turned out excellent. They were so delicious (and messy to eat!). We did decide that both recipes were equal in merit, but if we had to classify which was better for what, that the old bay beer crabs were better by themselves but that the white wine cajun crabs would be far superior if mixing with other things (crab cakes, soup, etc).

Clean up was heinous...as the crab shells do get everywhere, but a three person cleaning team got the job done pretty quickly. Much easier outside, as a hose can do a lot of the work for you!

Until next time....

Back in the kitchen...finally!

So it's been awhile, to my dismay, not only due to laziness about posting, but also due to a general lack of kitchen time. The balance is returning though, and in glorious fashion! The doubles got to be a little too much, so as of Friday I am shedding the suit!

To celebrate I did hand made pizza. I was lazy and a little short on time so I bought the dough fresh from the local Italian Store. They have great dough anyhow and it's inexpensive to buy it freshly made! I bought a 20 inch ball of dough (for a 20 inch pizza....not 20 inches in diameter!) and used half of it for my little personal pizza.






















I stuck it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I just watched it closely, as I've never really done the whole pizza in the oven without a recipe on the dough before.

I sprinkled a little bit of a balsamic dressing over the top with grated romano when the pizza came out. It was super delicious. With the Volnay 1er Cru (which was divine) it was just such a perfect early summer personal meal!

Back to it now, I have tons to post now that I'm back in the game!

Until the next one...very soon!