Pearl Jam + Dogfish Head = WTF!

Blimey o'crikey. As if it wasn't already exciting enough this week.

My favourite band have had a beer brewed in their name by one of my favourite breweries.

Faithfull Ale, named after the shit-kickingly great Pearl Jam track from Yield, is billed by Dogfish Head as being delicately hopped and fruit-forward. Currants being the fruit in question.

It's a damn shame that Dogfish don't send beer eastwards anymore. But I'm already asking around and I'm confident that I can wrestle a bottle or two from Stateside.

After all:

"We're faithful, we all believe.."

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Flavour Thesaurus: Oily Fish and Cumin

As I've spent gawd knows how long pouring over it, it's about time to actually make something either directly from or inspired by The Flavour Thesaurus. 

If you haven't come across the book yet, it's a stupendously great idea. Author Niki Segnit takes ninety-nine  popular ingredients and mixes them in both traditional and left-field ways. There are recipes but really it's a guider; more of a heads-up to the potential of bringing two ingredients together. 

It's Friday, so I went looking for fishy inspiration. Oily Fish and Cumin (page 84) takes tuna steak with ground cumin, cooked quickly, with shredded lettuce tossed in lime. The book has it stuffed into a taco with mango chutney; I plated it up with some pencil fries. Fish & chips with an Indian twist!

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Beer: an incomplete A-Z

My beery stuff at Reluctant Scooper continues, but I wanted to play around with the A-Z idea in a different space. So, here it is.

The idea is to define random brewing and beer terms succinctly and support that definition with links, pics and vids from the best source material on the web.

It will be incomplete, arbitrary, biased and flawed. Just like my beer knowledge.

I'd like people to suggest topics I can squirrel away and research. I'd like to know your opinions on the definitions I dredge up.

And I'd really like to know what to start with. At this rate, it's going to be either ale or attenuation. I was hoping for something easier to start with.

We'll see. Any suggestions?

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Salami club?

I love salami. Which means I love to buy the best I can get my hands on. Here in Derby, the Krakus deli on the Guildhall market has some superb salami (and mortadella to die for).

But if I run out during the week, the best I can manage is a trip to Sainsbury's or Asda. It's quite literally not the same.

What I'd really love to do is find someone who runs a 'salami of the month' club - like you'd get with wine. Maybe three different salami each month. Different producers, made to different recipes, experiment with them in different dishes.

Another kooky idea? Or is someone already doing this and I haven't heard? Can I persuade a deli to set up such a scheme? I'm all too willing to be a guinea pig and charcuterie consultant.

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St Paul's from the Millennium Bridge

Just starting to go through a ton of photos I took early-ish one morning when I was in London last month. The City and South Bank were almost deserted at 7am; most of the people I bumped into were photographers, funnily enough.

I'm a bit narked that I didn't manage to get a shot that placed the cathedral slap bang in the middle of the bridge. But it was an unexpected opportunity to get a few people-less pics on what must be a heavily-photographed spot.

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Mosler Raptor prototype up for auction

OK, so the steering's on the wrong side and it's orange. But, come on, this is automotive history.

Up for auction, the prototype Mosler Raptor GTR. 1,200 horsepower. One gear change for 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. An interior billed as being "a cross between a luxury car and jet fighter".

If I'd won the lottery this week, I'd be bidding for it. Hell, I'd even learn to drive.

And paint it yellow, naturally.

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Pearl Jam: Twenty

I don't do cinema. Until this year, the last time was The Bourne Ultimatum back in 2007. In 2011, I've been twice.

First was for Senna. There was no way I was going to miss out on seeing that. It was the first time I've heard grown men cry in a cinema since Bambi (yes, I did go to see it and all I remember is some bloke bawling).

This week - Pearl Jam Twenty. Been a massive fan since my student grunge days: Ten is etched on my heart. It's a great fan film, shit-tons of old footage and some revealing moments. Truth be told, the first half-hour or so has its difficult moments, especially when Chris Cornell is talking about the death of Andy Wood. But the shit that Stone Gossard - the man who doesn't stash band keepsakes - finds in his cellar had everyone in the place rolling.

Watching the film, two things struck me.

Both films use archive footage and talking heads.

Both films are about flawed genius.

And so both go onto my DVD wishlist for Chrimble.

As for the music - it made me realise that, for some unbelievable reason, I don't own a copy of Eddie Vedder's Ukulele Songs. Given that's the instrument I'm murdering at the moment, it's a huge oversight. Time to go put that right and start practising.

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