Friday, April 20, 2012

Modern Day Moonshine - Piedmont Distillers

Going to school in Alabama, I was exposed to Moonshine on several occasions. I only tried it once. While bartending, a fellow bartender brought in some of his family’s “shine” which they produced in the woods of Northern Alabama.

“It’s my granddaddy’s recipe,” he started. “He got it from his pappy. They use to run shine through the woods.”

I didn’t really know what Moonshine was, but as usual, I had to try it and find out. We poured a few drops of the shine from a mason jar into a couple of rocks glasses. I held it to the light and caught a light blue hue before taking a sip. The hooch burned my lips, rattled my teeth and scorched my throat. I coughed a little as my eyes watered. I have never tasted gasoline, but I can only imagine that this is what it was supposed to taste like.

“Oooo, weee! That’s some damn good shine,” my fellow bartender shouted. “Let me know when you’re ready for more.”

The truth was, I didn’t want anymore, but I did want to learn more about moonshine.

“Moonshine” is a term for an illegally-produced, distilled whiskey. The word is believed to come from the fact that distillers produced and distributed this homemade spirit by the light of the moon to avoid the law. Moonshiners produced their spirits in unlicensed stills and without paying state taxes for distribution. Moonshine was usually extremely strong and is commonly associated with the Appalachia and Atlantic Canada regions. Other terms for Moonshine are “mountain dew”, “white lightning”, “hooch”, "Tennessee white whiskey", and many others.

Piedmont Distillers is one distillery that is making Moonshine today (legally). In 2005, owner Joe Michalek opened the distillery in Madison, North Carolina, and created the company’s first spirit called “Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine.” Junior Johnson, of NASCAR fame (see below), became a part owner in 2007 and shared his family recipe for corn whiskey which was bottled as “Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon.”

Every batch of “Midnight Moon is handcrafted in very small production and continues to follow the Johnson family’s Moonshine recipe.  “Midnight Moon” is produced in a copper still, made from corn, and is triple distilled for a smooth and clean spirit.

Piedmont Distillers recently released the handcrafted line “Midnight Moon Aged with Fruit” which includes Moon Cranberry, Moon Strawberry, Moon Apple Pie, Moon Cherry, and Moon Blueberry. Packaged in mason jars (just like moonshiners have done for generations), the line joins together the “Midnight Moon” recipe and real fruit. To ensure each jar reaches the peak of all-natural fruit flavor, the spirits are aged in the jar for several weeks at the distillery before shipment.

Who is Junior Johnson?:

Junior Johnson (Robert Glen Johnson, Jr.) was born in 1931 in North Carolina. His family owned a corn farm and soon realized that the corn was worth more distilled than it was as grain. With high taxes, most families could not afford to make a living off their moonshine so they began to bootleg the product across the East Coast. The Johnsons followed suit as their moonshine was considered to be the best.

At age 14, Junior began bootlegging Moonshine by tending to the family’s stills and quickly became a moonshining and bootlegging legend as he was never caught while running moonshine.

In 1955, Johnson decided to use his “moonshiner” driving skills and became a NASCAR driver on dirt tracks. One year later, Johnson was caught working the family still and was convicted of moonshining. He was sent to the federal prison for 11 months – a conviction later pardoned by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Johnson returned to the NASCAR racing in 1958 and retired in 1966. He claimed 50 victories over his career – 11 of which were on major speedways.

In 1965, author Tom Wolfe published an article about Johnson in Esquire magazine which was the basis for the 1973 movie titled ‘The Last American Hero’.  The movie stared Jeff Bridges as Junior Johnson and featured the Jim Croce hit song, “I Got A Name.”

There is something romantic about running from the law while holding illegal contraband – the modern day outlaw. Pedal to the floor, kicking up dust along country roads all by the light of the moon. Today, Moonshine is smooth and flavored – a long way away from the blue stuff I tried once in college.

Now, I must ask: Where is your favorite “shine” from?

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Friday, April 6, 2012

MLB Opening Day 2012: Craft Beers by MLB Teams

30 teams + 30 beers = 1 Great 2012 Major League Baseball Season!
It’s that time of the year again. We’ve waited through several weeks of spring training just to hear the crack of the bat and the home team crowd cheering on the boys of summer once again.
What goes better with baseball than a fist full of golden brew? Beer has been a part of baseball just as crackerjacks and hotdogs. It even makes the game go by quicker. Opening Day is a tradition that began in 1869 and continues to this day.
Below, you will find all 30 Major League Baseball teams paired with local beers which I tried to keep to low production Microbrews. Take a look below at your team and see what your pairing is.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Burning Bird Pale Ale (4.8% ABV), Sonoran Brewing Company (Phoenix, AZ)
Atlanta Braves
Laughing Skull Amber Ale (5.7% ABV), Red Brick Brewing Company (Atlanta, GA)
Baltimore Orioles
The Raven Special Lager (5.5% ABV), Baltimore – Washington Beer Works (Baltimore, MD)
Boston Red Sox
Rich & Dan’s Rye IPA (6.9% ABV), Harpoon Brewery (Boston, MA)
Chicago White Sox
Cutthroat IPA (5.5% ABV), Finch's Beer Company (Chicago, IL)
Chicago Cubs
Daisy Cutter Pale Ale (5.2% ABV), Half Acre Beer Company (Chicago, IL)
Cincinnati Reds
Nut Brown Ale (6% ABV), Mt. Carmel Brewing Company (Cincinnati, OH)
Cleveland Indians
Elliot Ness Amber Lager (6.2% ABV), Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, OH)
Colorado Rockies
“Hoss” Rye Lager (6.2% ABV), Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver, CO)
Detroit Tigers
Cherry Stout (6% ABV), Atwater Brewery (Detroit, MI)
Houston Astros
“Santo” Black Kolsch (4.7% ABV), Saint Arnold Brewing Company (Houston, TX)
Kansas City Royals
Unfiltered Wheat Beer (4.4% ABV), Boulevard Brewing Co. (Kansas City, MO)
Los Angeles Angels
Anaheim 1888 (5.5% ABV), Anaheim Brewery (Anaheim, CA)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Hollywood Red Carpet Ale (5.9&% ABV), So Cal Beer Company (Modesto, CA)
Miami Marlins
Big River Pilsner (5.2% ABV), The Florida Beer Company (Melbourne, FL)
Milwaukee Brewers
Rendezvous French Style Ale (7.2% ABV), Lakefront Brewing, Inc. (Milwaukee, WI)
Minnesota Twins
“Lonely Blonde” American Blonde (4.8% ABV), Fulton, (Minneapolis, MN)
New York Mets
Resin (9.1% ABV), Sixpoint Brewery (Brooklyn, NY)
New York Yankees
The Bronx Pale Ale (6.3% ABV), Bronx Brewing (Bronx, NY)
Oakland Athletics
Old Oakland Ale (7.2% ABV), Pacific Coast Brewing Co. (Oakland, CA)
Philadelphia Phillies
Rowhouse Red (5.75% ABV), Philadelphia Brewing Co. (Philadelphia, PA)
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pious Monk Dunkel (4.3% ABV), Church Brew Works (Pittsburgh, PA)
San Diego Padres
Calico Amber Ale (5.5% ABV), Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits (San Diego, CA)
San Francisco Giants
“Inception” Belgian Styled Ale (8% ABV), Triple Voodoo Brewing (San Francisco, CA)
Seattle Mariners
Kilt Lifter Ruby Ale (6.5% ABV), The Pike Brewing Company (Seattle, WA)
St. Louis Cardinals
Kolsch Styled Ale (4.8% ABV), The Saint Louis Brewery (Schlafly Brand) (St. Louis, MO)
Tampa Bay Rays
Cuban-Styled Espresso Brown Ale (5.5% ABV), Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL)
Texas Rangers
Texas Red Amber Lager (4.5% ABV), Rahr & Sons Brewing (Fort Worth, TX)
Toronto Blue Jays
Nut Brown Ale (5% ABV), Black Oak Brewing Company (Toronto, Canada)
Washington Nationals
The Public Pale Ale (6% ABV), DC Brau Brewing Company (Washington, DC)

Now, who’s going to win the pennant this year and what brew will you be drinking when they do?