Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival 2012

The Atlantic City Beer Festival will take place March 30th and 31st, 2012. There will be 3 sessions.
Friday March 30: 7-11pm
Saturday March 31: 12-4pm
Saturday March 31: 6-10pm

This year's convention features over 70 different breweries both locally and across the US. The focus is on craft beers and will feature also feature brewing demonstrations.
Tickets are :
$55 at the door (if available)
$50 per session in advance online Ticket Master
Designated driver Tickets $10 and available at the door only
Group Ticket Available on Ticketmaster 10 to 15 Tickets $47 per person

Follow this link for more information Celebration of the Suds
The Atlantic City Convention Center
1 Miss America Way
Atlantic City NJ 08401

Coffee and Tea Festival NYC- February 25 & 26, 2012

This year's 7th Annual Coffee & Tea Festival will be held on Saturday 2/25 & Sunday 2/26 at
7 W 34th Street
New York, NY 10001

You can sample gourmet teas and coffee and take classes at various workshops.
To purchase tickets follow this link http://www.coffeeandteafestival.com/nyc/coffee-tea-tickets.html

Happy National Tortilla Chip Day - February 24, 2012

National Tortilla Chip Day

Rebecca Webb Carranza invented tortilla chips in the 1950s. Carranza and her husband owned the El Zarape Tortilla Factory in Los Angeles and were among the first to automate the production of tortillas. The machine often produced misshapen tortillas, and Carranza decided to try and use them instead of throwing them away. She cut the rejected tortillas into triangles, fried them, and sold them for a dime a bag.Tortilla chips soon became a nationwide sensation.

To celebrate why not try a drink made from corn. Chicha is a term used in some regions of Latin American for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, often derived from maize. It sometimes referred to as Corn Beer. While brewing real corn beer may be to difficult and time consuming. Here is a non-alcoholic version.

Peruvian Chicha Morada Drink Recipe

• 1 gallon water
• 1 (15 ounce) package dried purple corn (maiz morado)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 5 large lemons, juiced
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
• 1/2 apple, chopped

Directions

1. Bring the water to a boil with the corn, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in a large pot. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a mesh strainer to remove the corn and spices. Stir the lemon juice and sugar into the chicha until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until cold.
2. Stir in the chopped pineapple and apple before serving over ice.

Happy Margarita Day - February 22

February 22 is National Margarita Day. What will you do to celebrate? Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" Restaurants will be hosting celebrations at stores across the U.S. They will feature:

• - Margarita specials all day long!
• - Gift certificates given to those with February 22nd birthdays, and get a bonus if you were born on February 22, 1922! (With valid ID)
• - Enter to win a Frozen Concoction Maker!
• - 22% off margarita-themed merchandise in our retail store.

"Cheeseburger in Paradise" will feature the Margaritaville Gold Rita for $3.95 for the whole month to celebrate.

Recipe - Mardi Gras Cocktails

Hurricane

1 oz. dark rum
1 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. Galliano
2 oz. fresh orange juice
2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
1 oz. passion fruit nectar
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. simple syrup
Dash of Angostura bitters
Ice cubes
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: Hurricane
Garnish: pineapple wedge, orange slice, or any other fresh fruit

Combine all ingredients with ice and shake. Strain into an ice-filled glass and garnish.

Sazerac
2 oz. rye whiskey
1/2 oz. simple syrup
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Absinthe or Herbsaint
Ice cubes
Tools: mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass: cocktail or rocks
Garnish: lemon twist

Give chilled glass an absinthe or Herbsaint rinse and set aside. Stir other ingredients in a mixing glass, strain into the chilled glass and garnish.


Ramos Gin Fizz

1 1/2 oz. gin
1 Tbsp. simple syrup (1:1)
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 fresh egg white (pasteurized if you like)
1 oz. heavy cream
3 drops orange flower water

1 oz. club soda, chilled
Ice cubes
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: highball

Combine first seven ingredients in a shaker without ice and shake vigorously to combine. Add ice to the shaker and shake again for at least a couple of minutes (more if you have it in you). Strain into a glass, top with club soda and stir.

Vieux Carre

3/4 oz. rye whiskey
3/4 oz. Cognac

3/4 oz. sweet vermouth

1 barspoon Bénédictine
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Ice cubes

Tools:mixing glass, barspoon, strainer

Glass: Old Fashioned

Garnish: cherry

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir well, strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass and garnish.

Cajun Bloody Mary

1 ½ oz. vodka
4 oz. Cochon Bloody Mary Mix

3 dashes red Tabasco

½ lemon, cut into wedges

Ice cubes
Tools: muddler, shaker
Glass: highball (optional salted rim)

Garnish: pickled okra and lemon and lime wedges
Muddle the lemon wedges in a shaker tin/glass. Add vodka, Mary mix, hot sauce and ice cubes. Shake vigorously and pour, unstrained, into a glass. Garnish.

Happy Presidents' Day

It is no surprise that many of the nations founder fathers were wine & beer enthusiasts. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, amongst others, brewed their own. Obama is the first president to brew his own beer at the White House.

One of my favorite wine quotes comes from, Jefferson "Good wine is a necessity of life for me."
Jefferson was considered a wine expert by many. Jefferson had vineyards at his property Monticello in Charlottesville, Virgina. He owned a large cellar in Monticello and installed dumbwaiters so that bottles could be brought up from the cellar to the dinning room, many credit him as the inventor of dumbwaiters.

John Hailman recently wrote a book called "Tomas Jefferson on Wine," which explores Jefferson's relationship with wine. He spent 5 years as American Minister in Paris, where he learned about fine wines from fine restaurants, elegant dinners, and travels to European vineyards. Jefferson also served as wine adviser to George Washington.

To purchase "Thomas Jefferson on Wine" follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Wine-John-Hailman/dp/157806841X

Review - Crafty Carton

This is a new product any bar owner should consider carrying. These cartons allow patrons to purchase draft beer to take home. This is exciting news, since some of my favorite bars sell craft beers I can not find in stores.

For more information visit their website http://craftycarton.com/

Review - Banana Bread Beer

I had the pleasure of trying Well's Banana Bread Beer. It is surprisingly rich in flavor, I would not recommend having this with you meal. The flavor is somewhat over powering. It tastes like bananas, cake, and beer; I loved it!

I would consider it a dessert beer, it would go great with dessert or chocolates. However this is categorized as a fruit beer. Fruit beers are any beers that use fruit or fruit extracts in any of the primary or secondary fermentation. This got me thinking of trying other "fruit beers."

The U.S. Open Beer Championship has ranked the top 10:
1. Samuel Smith’s Organic Raspberry – Samuel Smith Brewing
2. Sweetwater Blue – Sweetwater Brewing
3. St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale- McAuslan Brewing
4. Raspberry Imperial Stout - Weyerbacher Brewing
5. #9 - Magic Hat Brewing
6. Black & Blue - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
7. Frambozen Raspberry Brown Ale - New Belgium
8. Wild Raspberry Ale - Great Divide Brewing
9. UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen - Harpoon Brewery
10. Samuel Smiths Organic Strawberry Ale, Samuel Smith Brewery
Happy Sampling!!

Charity Chili Cook- Off J.J. Bitting Brewing Co

On Sunday March 4, 2012 J.J. Bitting Brewing Co. will host it's 5th Annual Charity Chili Cook - Off.
There is a $20 entry fee if you would like to be part of the competition, or $8 to sample the Chili.

The Prizes are
FIRST PLACE- $300
SECOND PLACE- $200
THIRD PLACE- $100

Please come down to support a good cause, and try some great beer/food. For more information check out this flyer.

J.J. Bitting Brewing Co
33 Main St.
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
732.634.2929