Today's meal . . . .

A Stout, Cheese and Beef Soup

This one’s from my friend George, who is a professional cook, and therefore finds a recipe that requires a hunk of cooked roast beef to be an ordinary thing.

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds of roasted beef (i.e. leftovers!), cut into chunks

2 to 4 whole cloves garlic

1.5 pounds. cheddar cheese cubes

Three pressurized cans Guinness or other stout (Murphy's, Beamish, etc), room temperature but unopened. (You get to drink the fourth).

Two small yellow onions, diced (optional)

Salt and pepper

Steps

1. Put cooked beef chunks and garlic into pot, adding just enough water to almost cove. .

2. Bring to boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more water a little at a time to keep from running dry.

3. Remove meat from water and let cool, then pull apart if possible or cut into very small pieces. Discard any visible fat.

4. Return meat to broth in pot and slowly add stout, foam and all. If adding onions, do so with this step.

5. Bring to a boil, then set on lowest heat or place in crock pot on medium high setting.

6. Add cheese cubes and stir to mix in.

7. If simmering on stovetop, simmer for about one hour, stirring frequently.

8. If using crock pot, after the initial stir, let alone for one or two hours then stir before serving.

9. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

NOTE: Even if you skim the broth ahead of time, the cheese will cause a layer of fat to form on top. Skim or not, your choice. This will get VERY hot, so eat carefully.

Nothing like beer with 22 of your closest friends

Had a couple of good pub experiences while visiting relatives last week. (Yes, I check for brew pubs, breweries, etc. when I take a trip).

On a Saturday afternoon, about 23 of us went to the Nodding Head Brew Pub in Philadelphia. Mrs. Short Pours and I were there two years ago and remembered it as being a good place, especially for mussels. I had put the word out on the Internet, and I had called to reserve the table.

Excellent beer, service and food. They had us in a separate room with a great waiter. I love getting my friends together over beer. Some of them are beer geeks, others are trying the good stuff for the first time, and some drink soda, but want to be there for the shenanigans. We invariably have a great time, and this was easily one of the best.

Terrific food included the burgers, from what I could see, along with “nut crusted baked brie topped with mango chutney and served with freshly baked pita bread” and the Jerk Mussels, which were “steamed with thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, ginger and beer.” The waiter recommended those over the hot ones we'd had last time.

The beer was fresh and well-made, although they didn't have anything from the “big beer” department. I especially liked the IPA, which had a nice snap. The BPA was different, malty, and very good. Here's the tap list. (There was no Sledwrecker.

We did a planned reprise two days later at Kildare's, the King of Prussia location. Again, terrific food and a solid waitress. The tap line wasn't quite what I would have preferred. There was a good selection of British and English beers, including Victory Hop Devil, but not enough craft stuff for me. Then, I am picky. A great time was had by all.

"We're getting the blog back together"

It's a New Year, and there are two resolutions here at Short Pours.

One is the usual: “Drink better beer.” That gets harder over the years.

The second is: “Post more!” That's always easy at first.

Today is in some ways a relaunch, because I am committing to regular updating and to adding more links and content.

Please, if you are new, take a few minutes to read the other posts. It will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect in this blog. I always appreciate comments and links.

The corollary to my first resolution is: “Always drink good beer.”

I went to bed early last night, after a sipping evening, and so far, the only beer this year is a Joshua Chamberlain Pale Ale from Shipyard Brewing in Portland, Maine.

Two interesting things about this beer:

It's one I got as a gift because of its name. I am a History teacher, and Joshua Chamberlain was the commander of the 20th Maine at Gettysburg. My friend thought I would like it. Oddly, even though it was bought for the name, I like it a lot. That doesn't always happen.

The second surprising thing is that I like it, and it's from Shipyard. Don't get me wrong, Great brewery. One of the best tours I ever got – from a very knowledgeable young man. But I tend to not like their stuff, because they use British hops. I grew up on the American craft beer movement, so I am all about American hops.

Unless, of course, it's Belgian Night.

OK, question: What is the one beer you think folks oughta try this year?