I saw a picture of President Obama swigging a pint of Guinness in his ancenstral town of Moneygall, Ireland, and it reminded me I had to check on my alegar.al·egar (al′ə gər, ā′lə-)How simple! Ferment some beer until it turns sour, and you get alegar, which is sort of like "vinegar," but made from ale. And, I'll bet you've already figured out that the "vine-" in vinegar comes from vine, i.e., grapes, or more precisely, vin, as in wine.
noun
a vinegar resulting from the fermentation of ale; sour ale
Origin: ME alegre < ale (see ale) + egre, sour < OFr aigre: see vinegar al·e·gar (ălˈĭ-gər, āˈlĭ-) noun Vinegar produced by the fermentation of ale. Origin: Middle English, blend of ale, ale; see ale, and vinegar, vinegar; see vinegar.
from YourDictionary.com
You wanna know what else is simple, besides etymology? Making alegar. I just took a bottle of Guinness, flipped off the cap, and made a loose helmet from aluminum foil (it needs air, but not dust or spores). The bottle has been sitting on a dark windowsill (oxymoron?) for several weeks.
You can do it too. Just don't touch the opening of the bottle with your fingers or your lips. No contamination. When you want to taste to see how it's developing, lift off the foil and slide a clean knife into the bottle. Taste the alegar from the knife.
It will be exciting. Deep and malty, with what I felt were two jolts of sour: a sweet one at first taste, and a sharp one at the finish.
I've decided it's not as ready as it could get, but even so, I'd use it in a minute right now. That good.
Thanks for reminding me, O'Bama.
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12 comments:
I love the reception O'Bama has gotten in the Emerald Isle. They clearly see him as a native son, just as they did with Kennedy and Reagan. For my money, he's a better Prez than either of those guys - the Irish are right to welcome him.
HOLY TORNADO. WHAT HELL.
Zoomie: Well, I hated Reagan. Phony.
It was very nice to see the glee in Eire today.
I'd have thought you'd have disliked Kennedy, too, for his womanizing. I would have voted for him had I been old enough and I was agonized by his assassination, but I think Obama is a better man (at least, as far as we know now...)
Zoomie: Kennedy's womanizing was known, but not publicized. And I was ten years old. I liked Democrats! Reagan, OTO, I had to actually live through as an adult.
Nothing to say about my malt vinegar? ;)
You made vinegar? ;-)
Zoomie: I am a pedant and a boor. But I have a great pantry. :o)
I think I may just take your word for this one. Ms. Goofy may accidently start drinking the flat, stale beer. Not a big fan of Malt vinegar. Don't you need to add some Mother?
Hey, Chilebrown: I did add some mother. No more than a half teaspoon of really active vinegar from a different bottle. But there's so much yeast in there it will likely take off on its own. I never add mother to apple cider, for instance, and its our main vinegar for utility jobs.
When it's ready, will you make some fish & chips? (Or at least just the chips?) yum...
Cheryl: You know I would, especially just the chips! But I really want you to think about trying some of your own. It's so special, additive-free and all. You probably should try by adding a spoonful of live vinegar to the ale. Don't make me describe live vinegar, it's unpasteurized. Oh, I described it.
:)
Greg said...
I think I would like the flavor. I was traumatized years ago when I tried to ferment some wine and it exploded leaving quite the mess.
And Cookiecrumb said...
Horrors! I didn't know vinegar could explode. Try a little natural apple cider from the farmers market next time. Just loosen the lid, and wait a few weeks.
(Your comment has a hinky link... I could not get it to publish. Sorry.)
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