This coming Sunday, April 10th, is the Cocktail Camp PDX event at The Gerding Theater in the The Armory, located in the Pearl Distrcit. It is not really a camp, but rather a day long event full of very informal presentations, seminars, and a a lot of drinking. It's a cocktail- and spirit-focused event, but the organizers have not forgetten where they are, and there's love for the beer geeks, too. A panel at 11am called The Art of Tasting Beer and Spirits will feature presentations by Alex Ganum, Brewmaster/Owner of Upright Brewing, and Lee Medoff, the distiller well known for co-founding House Spirits and his upcoming venture Bull Run Distillery.
Throughout the day, attendees will get to sample the beers, wines, and spirits featured in the presentations. There will also be breaks for social hours, where participants will receive drink tickets that come along with admission.
I am excited to be on a panel at 12:15, along with Jacob Grier, that will make a presentation about Beer Cocktails. I will focus on hot beer cocktails and the Hot Scotchy, probably the most popular beer cocktail we have created. I have been working on the recipe for a while, but I have finally developed a method for any average Joe to make a Hot Scotchy at home without any brewing experience or knowledge. Here is what it says in the pamphlet on my presentation:
Purists might scoff at mixing spirits and beer, yet they have been a classic combination since the Middle Ages. European cultures celebrated with wassail, a combination of ale, mead, and spices. During colonial times sailors would make a mixture of rum, ale, sugar, spice, and eggs to create the Flip. And in modern times brewers enjoy a Hot Scotchy, a drink made with the hot sticky sweet and bready cereal-like unfermented liquid called the “wort.” This hot liquid is mixed with whiskey or another grain based spirit to create a hot potable cocktail that is incredibly simple but nearly impossible for the non-brewer to make. Ezra Johnson-Greenough will be presenting on hot classic beer cocktails and a method he has developed for the non-brewer to make Hot Scotchies easily at home or behind a bar.
Beyond that, Jacob Grier will present on more common cold beer cocktails, and will be focusing on one we recently created for Ninkasi Brewing called the Ale-Avit. Here are the details on his presentation:
Beer is also an underrated ingredient in refreshing cold cocktails. Its wide range of flavors make it perfect for mixing. Beers can be bitter, hoppy, roasty, sweet, and even sour, and their carbonation can lift and extend a drink. Whether as the star ingredient simply laced with spirits or as a supporting component in a more spirit-forward drink, beer earns its place on a cocktail menu. Jacob Grier will discuss several ways to use beer behind the bar.
Personally I am very interested in the seminars on The New American Whiskey and on how to make your own Bitters, Sodas, and Syrups. Below is the full schedule of presentations for the day:
10:30 — Lillet Meet & Greet and social hour
Morning social hour with complimentary low-alcohol cocktails served by Lillet. Come have a morning refresher and meet some of your fellow cocktail enthusiasts before the day gets started.
11:00 — The Art of Tasting Beer and Spirits
Set the stage and your palate for the day by learning how to really taste your spirits and beer. Learn what makes spirits different and how to pick out their defining characteristics. Lee Medoff (Bull Run Distillery), Nathan Gerdes (h50), and Alex Ganum (Upright Brewing) will lead the discussion.
12:15 — Beer cocktails: Why Have One When You Can Have Both?
Jacob Grier (Metrovino) and Ezra Johnson-Greenough (Upright Brewing) will teach you how to craft fantastic cocktails using the unlikeliest of ingredients.
1:00 — Northwest Distillery Social hour
Complimentary cocktail and punch bar hosted by Northwest Distillery and served by Nathan Gerdes.
2:00 — The New American Whiskey
The other whiskeys that have been taking bars by storm and redefining what “American whiskey” means. Learn more from Lance Winters (St. George Spirits), Lee Medoff (Bull Run Distillery), and Sebastian Degans (Stone Barn Brandy Works) about this growing movement.
3:00 — House Spirits social hour
Complimentary cocktail and punch bar hosted by House Spirits Distillery and served by Kyle Webster (St. Jack).
3:00 — Yes, You Can Entertain!
Learn how to plan your own amazing cocktail parties with the help of David Shenaut (Beaker and Flask, Irving Street Kitchen) and Jacqueline Patterson (Lillet).
4:15 — DIY Sodas, Syrups, and Bitters
Expert instruction on doing it yourself from San Francisco’s Jennifer Colliau (Small Hand Foods, Slanted Door) and Columbine Quillen (10 Below).
I recommend getting your tickets now: http://www.cocktailcamp.net/
Making a hot Scotchy at home is easy, just use malt extract, which can be found in any home brew shop.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteuh-uh that is no Hot Scotchy. A Hot Scotchy is made from FRESH hot runnings off of a grain bed, the entire point is to use freshly converted sugars and to get the graininess and cereal like quality lost in a spray dried form of extract. Not to mention Hot Scotchy is made from the "First Runnings". It is not even a comparison.
Where can I purchase the tall glass, low-handled mug shown in the "Hot Scotchy" image above?
ReplyDelete