2010 Jolly Pumpkin Michigan Summer Beer Festival offerings

2010 Jolly Pumpkin Michigan Summer Beer Festival offerings
Jolly Pumpkin Michigan Summer Beer Festival offerings:
Weizen Bam with lemongrass
Bam Noire with pomegranate
Roja du Kriek
Calabaza Blanca with hibiscus
Biere de Mars

Also from Ron Jeffries and available at the Jolly Pumpkin table:
Tortuga Ale Company- Chocolate Stout
Golden Manatee- Belipago (gluten free)
Golden Manatee- Beliportigo (gluten free sour ale)

and at the next table:
Leelanau Brewing Company - Good Harbor Golden

Lambicus Dexterius

About the time I first started working with Ron Jeffries at Jolly Pumpkin he started making lambics and stashing them away in his funkiest barrels.

Five years later he is getting to release the first blend New Year's Eve 2009 at the Jolly Pumpkin Cafe and Brewery in Downtown Ann Arbor.

Here is a explanation of Lambicus Dexterius from the Captain himself.

Psenkova Cherry Mead served at the The Greening of Detroit's 20th Celebration.

Psenkova Cherry mead will be served at the Greening of Detroit's 20th Anniversary Celebration. The celebration is a dinner event to be held at Michael Symon's Roast Restaurant in Downtown Detroit. Psenkova has always loved Detroit and the achievements of The Greening of Detroit Organization over the past 20 years are magnificent. We are very proud to have been chosen to be part of a pairing menu for the event.

Here is an excerpt from The Greening of Detroit's website:
"The anniversary will begin on September 17, 2009 with our Greening of Detroit 20th Anniversary Gala. Iron Chef, Michael Symon, owner of Detroit’s Roast Restaurant at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel has graciously opened his doors to host this exclusive, party to benefit The Greening of Detroit. Chef Symon has invited world- renowned celebrity chefs to prepare a rare feast, featuring locally grown and raised food and recipes that will showcase the amazing talents of these culinary artists. Never before have these chefs come together to prepare a feast that focuses on the promotion of locally grown food, providing our guests with a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience unique dishes prepared by some of the world’s finest chefs. Celebrity chefs include: Michael Symon, Traci Des Jardins, Mary Sue Milliken, Marc Vetri and Takashi Yagihashi. Entertainment provided by Royal Garden Trio."

We look forward to tasting what these great chefs have in store. More details to follow.

Psenkova Cherry Mead featured in the Detroit Metro Times

Psenkova Cherry Mead:
BOTTOMS UP

So few fermented drinks capture the essence of their ingredients that finding one is cause for celebration, doubly so when those ingredients are local. Born of honey and cherries from Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula, Psenkova Cherry Mead bursts with aromas of flowers and earth and time. Far from cloying, a sip starts mildly sweet with a hint of cherry tartness to turn pleasantly dusty toward the end. Or try the Peach Apricot Mead. Both are handcrafted in small batches at 45 North Vineyards & Winery.

Metro Times Detroit - September 2-8, 2009 PG. 42
http://metrotimes.com/food/story.asp?id=14322

Leelanau Brewing and Jolly Pumpkin at the 2009 Summer Beer Festival

The Michigan Summer Beer Festival put on by the Michigan Brewer's Guild is already upon us. The event is always a great time with over 50 Michigan breweries participating in the event. Leelanau Brewing Company will be representing the 2009 Summer Whaleback White aged for many weeks in our French Oak.

What's even more interesting is the line-up coming from Jolly Pumpkin.

The Captain has cooked up some fantastic firkins for the event, special release Jolly Pumpkin ales available at the Festival will be:

Perseguidor 4
Flanders style sour blend. Oak aged, cask conditioned & gravity dispensed.

Jipar
A new Norwegian style IPA brewed with Junper. Cask conditioned & gravity dispensed

Amberwheater
A new amber and wheat ale blend. Oak aged, cask conditioned & gravity dispensed.

Weizen Bam + Hibiscus
Refreshing farmhouse sour wheat beer with hibiscus added. Oak aged and cask conditioned & gravity dispensed.

Roja du Kriek
Amber Belgian style sour ale. Made with Michigan cherries. Oak aged, cask conditioned & gravity dispensed.

It makes me happy to know that Ron is out there making ales. Even happier that the Leelanau Brewing Company table is next to Jolly Pumpkin's at the festival.

Michigan Brewer's Guild 2009 Summer Beer Festival, July 24 and 25 2009.

Psenkova Medals from the 2009 Tasters Guild International Wine Competition

Psenkova Meads have been available in Michigan for only two months now. At the reccommendation of our winemaker Shawn Walters we sent bottles of our Psenkova Cherry Mead and Psenkova Peach-Apricot Mead to enter into the 2009 Tasters Guild International Wine Competition. The Tasters Guild International, is a Wine and Food Appreciation Society based in Grand Rapids, Michigan with administrative offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Washington D.C.

The Tasters Guild announced last week the results of its Twenty-Second Annual International Wine Judging held at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"Forty experienced judges from around the country completed over 2,100 evaluations of wine from 36 states/provinces and 13 countries on April 29-May 2, 2009. The judging panels were comprised of a carefully selected mix of winemakers, retailers, wine writers, restaurateurs, and knowledgeable consumers. As part of the total wine evaluation process, nearly 40% of the wines entered were randomly chosen for reevaluation to verify the accuracy and fairness of medal consideration." "By sponsoring this wine judging event, it is the objective of Tasters Guild to give the consumer a reference point in choosing good, quality wine values," explains Tasters Guild President, Joe Borrello. "Tasters Guild recommends any judging results or tasting evaluations be used only as an informational guide in establishing personal preferences. However, with our reevaluation procedure, we take extra precaution to appraise the wines as accurately as possible."

Both Psenkova Cherry Mead and Psenkova Peach-Apricot Mead took medals in the competition.

Lamb Dinner at Michael Symon's Lolita in Cleveland

Lamb at Lolita

Last week I came down to Cleveland to facilitate a Lamb Dinner at Michael Symon's Lolita in Cleveland's Tremont District. The dinner was planned with John and Sukey Jamison's Lamb farm located in Latrobe, PA. The Jamison Farm is one of the only farms in the country who raises lambs from infancy to processing all on their own farm. The lambs are grass fed only. Lolita uses Jamison lambs to create some spectacular dishes.

A lamb menu was prepared to pair our beers from Jolly Pumpkin and Leelanau Brewing Company as well as a dessert paired with Psenkova Cherry Mead. The phenomenal meal was as follows.

1st course:
Lamb Heart Terrine and Lamb Sausage
Paired with: 2008 and 2009 Leelanau Petoskey Pale Ale

2nd course:
Tortelloni with merguez sausage, ramp leaves and pea tendrils
Paired with: 2009 Leelanau Brewing Good Harbor Golden Ale

3rd course:
Gyro w/ hand cut fries
Paired with: 2009 Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

Beer course:
2009 Jolly Pumpkin Biere de Mars
French style stock ale

Dessert:
Sheeps milk ricotta dumplings w/ apricot jam and minted strawberries
Paired with: Psenkova Cherry Mead

Thanks to Lolita and to Jamison Farms for the great dinner!