Feature Beer Friday: Rahr & Sons' Dadgum IPA

by Eric Ducote

Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of Feature Beer Friday!  No blind side by side tasting this week (will come back to that idea though for sure) but I did recently pick up a few beers from Rahr & Sons Brewing Company out of Fort Worth, TX, and anytime I see a new brewery (to me at least) in our market I think it's worthy of a little exploration.  

As I just mentioned, Rahr & Sons hails from Fort Worth, TX, having opened in 2004 before the craft beer movement really exploded.  Those of you that dabble in brewing, on the homebrew scale or larger, might know the name "Rahr" from the Rahr Malting Company, which supplies malted barley to breweries across the country.  Rahr & Sons Brewing was founded by the great great grandson of William Rahr, the founder of the Rahr Malting Company and Eagle Brewing Company, so brewing is definitely part of the family history. Tragically, William Rahr died from burns he suffered due to falling into a brew kettle during an inspection of his brewery in 1880.  Let that be a less to all homebrewers and commercial brewers alike, safety is important! 

Rahr & Sons' Dadgum IPA

This week's selection is their flagship Dadgum IPA, 6.6% abv and charged with citra and lemondrop hops.  It's a deep golden color, very little haze, with a bubbly white head that lingers for a while.  I find the aroma to be quite bitter, with notes of pine and lemon and a little grainy sweetness.  The flavor is hoppy with a medium bitterness, pine notes still come through as well as more citrus, and there's a definite malty base to support the IBUs.  This is certainly a departure from the haze craze, with a strong lingering bitter finish.  

I'll have no problem finishing off this 6-pack, and if you are looking for a bit of a throwback IPA, this one might in your wheelhouse.  If you're wanting more and more dry hops and haze, this isn't the beer you are looking for. One thing is for sure though, there is plenty of room in my fridge for both.  Cheers! 

Jay D's Bites: Duck & Leek Dumpling with Blanc du Bois Blueberry Sauce

by Chef Jenn Breithaupt

These dumplings make an excellent appetizer with a pop of color. You can stuff a dumpling with a plethora of fillings; dumplings are delicious. I chose duck and leek because they pair very well together. The fat from the duck and the acidity from the leek create a great balance. An alternative way to get some color on them is to poach them or quickly sear in a hot skillet.

Duck & Leek Dumpling with Blanc du Bois Blueberry Sauce

makes about 25 dumplings

2 duck breasts, small diced, skin off (reserve skin)
1¾ cup leeks, thin half moons
2 Tbss shallots, minced
½ cup carrots, small diced
1 rib celery, small diced
1 Tbs fresh garlic, minced
⅓ cup Jay D’s Blanc du Bois
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
25 small wonton wrappers
1 egg
1 Tbs water

For the blueberry sauce:

1½ cups Jay D’s Blanc du Bois
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
6 oz blueberries, crushed

Take skin off duck breasts and place skin into skillet. Turn heat to low and allow for skin to fully render fat (this may take a while). Once fat has rendered, discard skin, but keep the fat.

Add small diced duck breasts, shallots, carrots, celery and garlic to skillet with duck fat. Cook until vegetables are soft, duck is cooked and there is no liquid left in skillet. Set aside and allow to cool.

Whisk 1 egg and 1 Tbs of water. Set aside to be used for egg wash for dumplings. Put wonton wrapper down so one corner is pointing towards the top (diamond-shaped) and brush along edges with egg wash. Place 1 Tbs of filling in the middle and take the bottom corner to meet the top corner to form a triangle. Seal on all three sides and brush with egg wash.

In a saucepot, bring water to a simmer. Poach dumplings until dough is soft.

To make the blueberry sauce, combine blueberries, Jay D’s Blanc du Bois, honey and salt in a saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes until thickened and reduced by half. Serve over dumplings or as a dipping sauce.

Feature Beer Friday: Tin Roof Blonde vs. Flying Tiger Burma Blonde

by Eric Ducote

Good morning everyone!  This week I'm going for a bit of a departure from the standard review.  I happened to have two Louisiana brewed blonde beers (one ale and one lager) in the fridge, so I figured this was the perfect chance for a little side by side blind taste test.  I had my lovely wife Mandi pour the pair of beers into identically sized glasses and bring them out without me knowing which beer was which.  

In one corner glass: Tin Roof Brewing's Blonde Ale, hailing from Baton Rouge, 5% abv and 15 IBU.  In the other corner glass: Flying Tiger Brewery's Burma Blonde, a blonde lager from Monroe, 5.1% abv and 19 IBU.  Now there's no way I (or anyone) is going to notice the .1% abv difference, and I probably won't even be able to notice the slight difference in IBU especially considering both of these beers rely on Glacier hops, but I figured that I could probably pick up the differences in flavor imparted by the yeast strains.  No promises though, that's for sure.  

Two mystery beers... at this point I didn't know which was which.

After receiving the two beers, both in New Belgium glasses (which are my favorite) it became obvious that there was no was to really tell them apart based on appearance.  Both beers had about the same exact golden tint and fairly equal levels of opaqueness.  On the aroma, the beer on the left had a very clean crisp aroma with just a hint of grainy sweetness, while the right had a similar crispness with just a hint of sulfuric flavor.  Both beers tasted quite refreshing, with the only difference again being a slight sulfuric flavor on the right beer that caused me to give the edge, slightly, to the beer on the left.  With that in mind I cast my vote to the beer on the left and Mandi revealed that that one was the Tin Roof Blonde.

The contestants.

Honestly these two beers are extremely comparable, and I had no problem crushing both and could easily see myself drinking plenty of either of them as the weather heats up in South Louisiana.  While I did lean toward the Tin Roof Blonde, if someone asks me which one to pick, I'd say to support your local brewery.  You can't go wrong either way. 

Jay D's Bites: Chargrilled Oysters with Blanc Du Bois Butter

by Chef Aimee Tortorich

The Gulf of Mexico produces some of the world’s best oysters, so it was a no-brainer for this round of recipe development. I picked out a dozen beautiful oysters from a local seafood market, Tony’s Seafood and made a simple wine butter featuring Jay D’s Blanc du Bois that complemented the natural flavor of the oysters. Simple, delicious, and quite the treat!

Chargrilled Oysters in Blanc Du Bois Butter

1 dozen(12) Gulf oysters, shucked and on the halfshell
1 stick butter, unsalted
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs chives, minced
½ cup Jay D’s Blanc du Bois
1 Tbs fresh garlic, minced

For the Blanc du Bois Butter:
Allow butter to soften and combine with parmesan, chives, Jay D’s Blanc du Bois and garlic. Mix very well then put in fridge to harden.

Shuck oysters and leave on half shell. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each oyster and grill or broil until butter is bubbly and slightly browned.

Burgers with Chuck: The Burger Pizza at Rotolo's Craft & Crust

by Chuck P

Ok everyone settle down. I know what you’re saying after reading that title. A hamburger pizza doesn’t qualify as a “burger” Chuck. You’re probably thinking I’ve lost my damn mind. Well folks, let me tell you about the Burger Pizza at the new Rotolo’s Craft & Crust.

First off let’s make it very clear. This is not your standard hamburger pizza by any means. This incredible concoction created by Mitch Rotolo Jr. is a pie straight out of my dreams. A perfect vision of combining two of my favorite foods into one gloriously delicious meal. Like, seriously. Looking at that picture has me craving one right now!

Let’s talk toppings. It’s pretty much everything you’d throw onto a standard burger. It’s got a mustard base, ground beef, grilled onions, mozzarella and is topped off with pickles and french fries-- French fries, people! I mean come on man! If that’s not a straight up burger pizza then I don’t know what is.

Taste-wise, it is completely spot on. Imagine it as if you’d taken the top bun off of your burger and ate it that way. Granted, no one really does that, I’m just trying to make a comparison. If I had one recommendation I would do like a Thousand Island dressing drizzle on it which would give it almost a Big Mac kinda feel or maybe even a garlic aioli or any type of sauce you’d normally add to your burger. And also bacon... LOTS OF BACON.

This was a trial run that our Bite & Booze team got to try , so it’s not available to the masses just yet. We were told that it would either be added to the menu full time soon or served as a special once they were completely satisfied with their final recipe.

Make sure you’re following Rotolo’s Craft & Crust on Facebook and Instagram to find out when the Burger Pizza will be available as well all future specialty pies to come.