Jeff Mayor ad I visited with Nita Bariekman for a while last week. She was great! You would never guess her age after visiting with her. She still get's to her shop at 7:30 a.m. every weekday to make soups ad pies for the lunch crowd. I tried the lemon meringue pie and it was fantastic.
You can read Jeff's story here and I have added the video to this post.
Enjoy,
Joe

This audio slide show goes with a story that'll appear in tomorrow's News Tribune. Here's a sneak for Ed's Diner readers. Read tomorrow's story for a list of South Sound farms within easy driving distance.

This song is fictional, but universally true. I wrote the lyrics and the tune. I asked Dave Barfield to sing it. He asked Bill Leach to play guitar. It's called "My Lady of Tamales." It's about tamales, and a lot more. Which is what tamales are really all about.

=> Read more!

VIDEO Peter Twigg talks about Come Hither Cream Ale. VIDEO Janice Twigg talks about Come Hither Cream Ale. VIDEO Janice and Peter Twigg talk about Come Hither Cream Ale.

The winners of the Puget Sound Pro-Am home-brew competition flow this week.

Das Barley Wine, by Mark Emiley of Federal Way, recently went on tap at The Ram in Lakewood.

Keoki's Pale Ale 2, by George Hamasaki of Lake Stevens, gets tapped at 6 p.m. today at The Harmon in downtown Tacoma, where Hamasaki assisted Harmon brewer Mike Davis in the making of the beer.

"I am real happy with the way the beer turned out, though George has not tasted it yet,” Davis said.

Come Hither Cream Ale, co-brewed by Peter and Janice Twigg of Federal Way, is still lagering at Diamond Knot in Mukilteo.

The beers will be available as seasonals at their sponsor pubs while supplies last. Ten kegs of Das Barley Wine and Come Hither Cream Ale were brewed. Twenty kegs of Keoki's Pale Ale 2 were brewed.

Bottles of each beer will be judged in the Great American Beer Festival pro-am next month in Denver.

Kegs of each beer will be tapped for attendees of the largest beer festival in the United States.

"I've got my tickets all lined up for the GABF and am eagerly awaiting hearing the winners called out," Emiley said. "It is going to be a heart-stopper waiting for the announcement. When Bill Smith invited me in to work on scaling up the recipe, I knew that the Ram was as interested as I was in going for the gold. Even on the brew day, Bill allowed me to tailor processes and make decisions to keep the beer as true as possible.

"We both poured a lot of effort and sweat into making that beer and we couldn't be happier with the results. It was the most fun I've had brewing and I'm proud of the product."

If you want to taste Das Barley Wine, Come Hither Cream Ale and Keoki's Pale Ale 2 all in one place, the American Homebrewer's Association is hosting a membership drive at Elysian Brewing in Seattle on Sept. 22.

I wrote the local story last week. The New York Times wrote the national version yesterday, in two pieces: epicurean jerky and jerky's renaissance.

Here's what the Times said about Seattle's Oberto:

Oberto original-style jerky had "classic truck stop beef jerky nose," not surprising since it’s a mass-market stalwart. But it had fans, one of whom called it "chewy, smoky and not too sweet or too salty.” Detractors commented that it went spongy with extended chewing.

Here's what I say to Oberto: Thanks for those free bags of jerky.

They arrived unsolicited after I blogged that I was researching jerky.

As Oberto's national-brand products didn't quite fit into the artisan jerky story, they went straight into the newsroom swag heap, where they await an auction whose proceeds will benefit charity.

Marketing mavens, you done good this time.

And because I've finally learned to use some of the nifty features of the TNT's blog software, here's a replay of the video I produced on artisan jerky:

Judging of the 2006 World Beer Cup was held behind closed, and presumably locked, doors on Monday and Tuesday this week. In 16 hours of judging, each judge judged 52 beers. The winner of the bi-annual World Beer Cup will be announced Friday at the Craft Brewers dinner at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

Today, a mock judging was held for the media. The six judges who sniffed, snipped and described six American IPAs in terms such as "diesel" and "nail polish" included:

Chuck Hahn of Australia's Hahn Brewery

Sean Franklin of Rooster's Brewery in North Yorkshire, England

Carl Kins, a Belgian "beer fanatic, judge and writer, zythologue"

Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Brewing in Colorado

Denise Jones of Albion Castle Brewery & Caves in San Francisco

Vinny Cilurzo of Northern California's Russian River Brewing

Here are some MP3 audio excerpts of the mock judging:

"A medium-bodied category" (0:17)


"Reduce six down to three" (0:33)


"Like sour cheesiness" (0:50)


"I just can't get past the nail polish" (2:09)

"It just kind of lingered there and sat on your tongue" (1:48)

"That was an easy one" (0:26)

Ed Murrieta/The News Tribune

Lauren Salazar of Colorado's New Belgium Brewing (home of Fat Tire beer and the Tour de Fat) considers an IPA in a mock blind judging held for the media at the Craft Brewers conference in Seattle on Wednesday.

Ed Murrieta/The News Tribune

Real beer and a real judge's tasting notes. Note sheets ask judges to rate things like color and appearance; aroma; bitterness; alcohol; style; flavor and aftertaste.; balance and drinkability; technical quality; and carbonation.

Ed Murrieta/The News Tribune

Six judges were each served small shots of beer. "You need only two sniffs and two sips," said Lauren Salazar of New Belgium.

Ed Murrieta/The News Tribune

Pouring out the dregs.