While the world is on fire, I continue my preparations to ventre into the wilderness. To combat the heat of the flames, I’ve packed another beer, Avery’s 14′er ESB.
This one came via a recommendation from John at Bottle Barn. He’s their beer buyer and puts me to shame when it comes to excitement about beer. In our previous discusions I’ve picked up his affinity for ESB, and when I asked for his recommendation of something new, he pointed me to the 14′er. He loves the Bullion hops used in it and was so passionate about the brew, that I coulodn’t pass it up.
Considering John’s passion for the hops, the first thing I did after pouring my glass was buyr my nose in it to catch the aroma. The hops are mild slightly floral, slightly spicy, but very appealing. With the first taste, you get a smooth malty sweetness that finishes with that same mild hop flavor. Very nice beer that I found myself gulping. I immediately thought that I may need to go buy more for the trip. Good recommendation John.
While I was drinking this beer, I was also cooking the chili beans for the trip, because what kind of camping trip could it be without beans? My wife loves my chili beans and i have to say, I like them as well. As I sampled the beer and stirred the chili, I figured, what the hell, and doused the chili with a couple ounces of beer. I never use recipes, but I do know beer in chili is good, so it was worth a shot. The results were great. The chili had a certain sweetness it never had before. Was it worth the 2-3 ounces of quality beer I poured in? It’s a steep price, but I would say yes. Add it early, before you add all the water, and let it mingle with the ingredients for the best results.
We’ve got beer, we’ve got chili, looks like we’re almost ready to go.
