For Octoberfest lets focus on beer
For Octoberfest, let’s focus on beer
As published in The Naperville Sun, The Beacon News, The Courier News and The Herald News – September 2, 2009
You meet the coolest people in the foodservice business. People with passion for what they do and the generosity to pitch in on good causes. I’d like to share a story about some folks who have this passion for both their product and people in need.
Foodservice Facts
Last October, we chaired The Rotary Club of Naperville’s Soup’s On! fundraiser. This event was designed to build community awareness and financial support for our local food pantries and shelters. The beneficiaries for this fundraiser were Loaves & Fishes in Naperville, DuPage PADS in Wheaton and Hesed House in Aurora. To maximize dollars for this fundraiser, the following were completely donated: the facility (Tellabs), food from 24 area restaurants, beer, wine and volunteers from the Rotary Club and the community. At the end of six hours, we cleared over $70,000 that was rushed to the three charities before the holidays.
We needed a beer sponsor. Melanie Keller, the GM of Rock Bottom Brewery (located on Diehl Road in Warrenville) quickly agreed to help, supplying barrels of beer and bartenders at no charge. Rock Bottom and the other 23 area restaurants and merchants that participated, are a shining example of the generosity that is common in the foodservice industry.
Since the mid 1990’s, local handcrafted beers have gained broad appeal, as they offer an upscale beverage at an affordable price. These complex and versatile beverages are now featured at food and beer tastings. I recently sat down with Rock Bottom Brewmaster Greg Matthews, a man who is passionate about the product he creates. Rock Bottom offers 8 different beers at all times, 4 standard beers (light lager, pale ale, red ale, brown ale) and 4 rotating beers. The rotating beers reflect the seasons, with lighter styles in the summer and heavier beers in the winter months. You’ll find beer that ranges from light to full-bodied, varies in color from light straw-colored to red to brown to dark. The Pale Ales are the most hoppy and have a citrus aroma, toffee sweetness and pairs well with spicy food. In contrast, the Brown Ale is rich and the most malty style beer and offers caramel, chocolate and fruity notes that pair well with steaks, ribs and chocolate cheesecake.
Brewmaster Greg’s mantra is the fresher the beer, the better. His batches are served within 30 days, ensuring a fresh, clean beer experience. Greg also shared that his product is in keeping with the movement towards locally grown produce, as he sources 80% of his barley and hops from the Midwest and the remaining 20% is imported. No beer is bottled, eliminating the use of hundreds of thousands of bottles per year.
Greg enjoys that he has the creative license to craft each beer to taste, and is not forced to follow corporate recipes. This gives each Rock Bottom location its own character. Rock Bottom Brewery features a monthly tapping of a new beer and celebrates the occasion with a party. I can attest that these are fun and popular!
Beer/ Food Pairing
Rock Bottom Executive Chef Abednego (Abed) Mejia shared that he incorporates a number of beers into his cuisine. He likes to add the Mud In Your Eye Light into the beer batter for the Salmon Fish & Chips. Pizza is king in Chicago and Chef Abed adds Brown Ale to his pizza dough to give it a caramel character. When asked about his philosophy of pairing food with beer, he believes you drink what you like. The Rock Bottom service staff is very knowledgeable and can make recommendations as to suggested pairings. A fun way to expand your palate is to order your favorite dish along with the beer sampler, which is a flight of 6 different 4 oz. pours. This way, you can decide what works best for you.
Rock Bottom Brewery will again be supporting Soup’s On! Sunday, October 18 (visit www.soupsonrotary.com for details) and will brew a special beer to complement some of the wide variety of outstanding food that will be served during the event. After it’s unveiling at Soup’s On!, this special brew will be introduced to the public at Rock Bottom Brewery.
Bill & Karen Garlough are the founders and owners of My Chef Catering in Naperville, the 2007 U.S. Chamber’s Small Business of the Year. Bill is a Master Sommelier and pairs food and wine for My Chef Catering customers.
Beer of the Month
By Bill Garlough
Oktoberfest Lager
16 oz. Pint – $4.79
Rock Bottom Brewery Brewmaster Greg Matthews plans to unveil his Oktoberfest Lager on September 17. He describes this beer as reddish in color, with approximately a 6.5% alcohol level and will be typical of a Southern German style of Lager. Lagers pair well with traditional Bavarian fare and also works well with autumn dishes. Prost!
The Perfect Present
We’ve all have that moment of frustration when you need to bring a gift somewhere and you just don’t know what to get. You’re getting ready to head to someone’s house for dinner. It’s the first time and you don’t know them well. You’d like to bring something, but what?
Maybe it’s a birthday party, one of those big bashes for someone you haven’t seen in ages, and you don’t really know what they like anymore. How about those holiday gift exchanges and you have the name of the person who works down the hall that you’ve only ever said hi to?
The solution to practically any gift-giving dilemma is wine. If you are looking for a great holiday gift for someone you know or even someone you don’t, pick up a rich bottle of Merlot or Cabernet-Sauvignon. It’ll be a hit at any event. If it’s a celebratory event like the birth of a baby, a milestone birthday, an anniversary or anything worth toasting, a bottle of champagne is ideal.
If you are heading to dinner and would like to present the host or hostess with a nice gift, wine is always a sure winner. You have several options in this type of situation. If you know what is being served, you may want to bring something that is complementary. If it’s an outdoor light dinner, you may want to bring along a fruity white or blush wine. If you know that a hearty steak is the main course, maybe a robust red would work well.
The other option is to bring along a dessert wine or something unusual like an ice wine that would make a good conversation piece also. Just remember the host may or may not open it that evening. It is his or her prerogative.
If you are thinking that just a bottle of wine is not enough to offer as a present, wine accessories are also a great addition to your gift. Unusual or decorative wine corks are fun to receive.
A good wine opener is always a welcome gift. A decorative wine rack already holding a bottle is a fantastic housewarming gift, as are a set of wineglasses. A decanter and a bottle that greatly benefits from decanting make a perfect gift for anyone who loves to play host. If you know that the person you are buying for is a true wine lover, there is nothing better than a book on wines or even the latest edition of a great wine magazine, tied artfully around a bottle that is featured in the same magazine.
So no matter what the occasion or what time of the year it is, wine makes the absolutely best gift for any occasion. Be sure to keep several bottles on hand, along with some attractive gift bags or boxes, so that you are ready the next time you need a gift quickly. You can always get some wines that you’d like to try too, so in case you don’t need them or you have guests in unexpectedly, you’ll be able to enjoy them also. The next time you visit your favorite wine seller, get your stock of handy presents so you’ll be ready for any occasion.
Why printing on canvas is so special and popular?
First of all it is worth saying that any digital image printed on canvas is much higher grade than a usual photo. Actually canvas printing represents the highest possible quality. Due to up-to-date technology high quality canvas, vivid and lifelike ink colours any photo transformed onto canvas can look as much real as a lively description of the image. In addition paper photographs size is limited, with canvas it is extremely wide range of size possibilities. On top of everything, life expectancy of a canvas picture print is several times higher in comparison with a photo and moreover you can afford it. The result you get is worth the effort. It only takes one’s desire to do it. There are many areas of our life where canvas picture prints can play a significant role.
Home gallery
That is the only salvation for people who dream about home gallery but possessing genuine paintings is more than they can afford. Framed canvas is just great and they look almost the same with genuine art unless you don’t compare the prices. You can create a little art gallery at your home and the money you pay for it would be still reasonable. Nowadays canvas pictures are even widely seen in art galleries and in many museums, because putting art photos on canvas makes great impression on viewers.
In case you don’t dream about personal home gallery, you can convert some of your best photos onto canvas just to obtain a perfect atmosphere.
For gifting people
Sometimes people beat their brains out trying to solve the problem of gifting. A lovely canvas print will meet everybody’s wishes, because it is beautiful, romantic and practical, judging by its longevity. The only thing which is up to you is to pick the right image for it. Also it can become a desired gift for you.
A good way to advertise
Advertisement plays a major role and your production needs sales promotion. Using outdoor advertising enables to draw attention of public at large. Canvas print allows playing with colours, images, and you can choose your own way of sending messages through the artifact. It is rather affordable; cost of the canvas photos depends on the size of the image.
But remember the process of printing a photo on a canvas can be made simple only if you work with an experienced and helpful service provider. To climb success
If you are a professional photographer and like interesting new techniques, you would probably put your photos on canvas and would not regret it. Also it is a good idea to expand your business. You can offer two great services instead of one: photographers and photos on canvas conversion. Just stuff your workshop with the professional device and start transforming photos to canvas. If you offer phenomenal canvas photo prints with simply outstanding quality you will make great strides, because plenty artists, businessmen and ordinary people are amazed by canvas. Go ahead and make your choice. Good luck!