 |
| The spot at Crater Lake where Brent asked me to marry him |
 |
| Picture right before he proposed |
 |
| The beautiful ring |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Yellow diamond |
I WAS BORN WITH A SUITCASE IN MY HAND: ADVENTURES AROUND THE WORLD Becky Rochester would gladly live out of a suitcase if it meant she could see the world, and that is what she did and continues to do today. She has lived in WI, IL, PA, CA, OR, New Zealand and Australia. Working in different wineries and vineyards and now a brewery, she lives life to the fullest. Sometimes following her heart instead of her head put her in some difficult situations, but she wouldn't change a thing.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
I said "You Betcha"
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Practice is the best of all instructors
Here are the ten sensory elements I learned today:
1. Isovaleric Acid: aroma, stinky cheese, can be caused from improper storage of hops or by bacterial infection.
2. Diacetyl: aroma/flavor, buttery and butterscotch, can be caused from yeast or from dirty draft lines.
3. Chlorophenol: aroma, Band-Aid or disinfectant, can be caused from water.
4. Geraniol: aroma, rose-like and fruity.
5. Earthy: aroma/flavor, damp soil, freshly dug soil, can be caused from water.
6. Almond: aroma/flavor, bitter almonds and Marizpan, can be caused by aging of beer.
7. Phenolic: aroma/flavor, spicy, herbal, clove.
8. Catty: aroma/ flavor, tom cat urine, can be caused from certain hop varieties.
9. Isoamyl Acetate: aroma, Laffy Taffy Banana, fruity.
10. Onion: aroma, garlic and onion, can be caused from hops.
Beer sensory analysis is similar to winetasting sensory analysis. Eight years of working in the wine industry with many tastings and classes may have helped me today. There are some differences in descriptors ie: earthy in beer is damp soil and earthy in wine is more like tobacco, leather and barnyard. Unlike winetasting where you spit out the sample after swirling it in your mouth, in beer tasting you have to swallow the sample in order for it to register on your flavor receptors at the back of your mouth.
At the end of the session, there was a blind tasting test where we had to identify the ten samples and what was wrong with them. I scored 10/10. Not too bad for my first time, eh? I have never smelled or tasted beer quite like this before.
Hopefully, I will continue to expand my beer tasting skills and knowledge of craft beer. That takes time and commitment. As Pubililius Syrus (Roman author, 1st Century B.C.) once said, "Practice is the best of all instructors."
No Bake Granola Balls
 |
Ingredients: Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips, Trader Joe's Clover Honey,
Trader Joe's Rolled Oats, Trader Joe's Natural Peanut Butter,
Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal, Ghirardelli 60% Cacao
|
 |
| The finished product |
 |
| 1 inch No Bake Granola Balls |
 |
| Delicious! |
No Bake Granola Balls
Ingredients:
1 cup Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Chips
1/3 cup Trader Joe's Clover Honey
1 cup Trader Joe's Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal
1/3 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao
1 tsp. Vanilla
Stir all ingredients together in medium size bowl. Chill in refrigerator for half an hour and then roll into small balls. Store in fridge for up to a week.
Feel free to substitute or add in dried fruit, nuts or other chips. Add more honey or peanut butter if too dry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)