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In anticipation of the upcoming release of St. Arnold’s Divine Reserve number seven, I participated in a vertical tasting of the six previous St. Arnold’s Divine Reserves yesterday. And what a wild ride it was. These quirky beers were manufactured as a creative outlet for St. Arnold’s brewers without much regard for marketing. They are brewed once and then the recipe is retired.

Only 325 cases of Divine Reserve number one, a hazy unfiltered barleywine with remarkable chocolate-like aromas, were released in 2005. Spec’s Warehouse went through its entire inventory in 20 minutes. The beer settled during aging and is now crystal clear, drinking beautifully.

In the August 14th Stirred and Shaken column, I referred to "thyme syrup" and "grapefruit dust" used in the Thyme After Lime cocktail at Reef. In case you were curious, here are the recipes and instructions for those two rather novel ingredients, straight from Reef's head barman, J.M. Erben.

Thyme syrup: Bring one cup of water and one cup of sugar to a boil. Remove it from heat and add four ounces of fresh thyme. Let cool and strain.

Grapefruit dust: Peel a grapefruit and remove all the pith from the fruit. Bring the peelings to a boil in water three times. On the fourth time, add one part sugar and three parts water. Strain, then place the peelings on a sheet pan and dry them until brittle in a 200 degree oven. Grind to make powder. – W. Healy

Brock Wagner, the founder of Saint Arnold Brewing Company, was looking over the blueprints of the brewery’s new downtown headquarters when I stopped by to visit last week.

Saint Arnold’s bought the former HISD food service headquarters at 2000 Lyons Avenue, just north of I-10. The renovation of the three-story brick building is expected to cost around six million dollars. Saint Arnold’s will celebrate its 15th anniversary and the grand opening of the building next year. The best part of the deal is that the new tour area and tasting room will be air-conditioned!

In preparation for tomorrow’s arrival of Edouard, you might want to stock up with some special supplies, in keeping with the special day. The Hurricane, in all its many variations, is described as a not too sweet drink with a lot of fortitude to it.

Here are some versions:

From wikipedia:

Ingredients

• 1 oz vodka
• 1/4 oz grenadine syrup
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz light rum
• 1/2 oz Bacardi® 151 rum
• 1 oz amaretto almond liqueur
• 1 oz triple sec
• grapefruit juice
• pineapple juice

Preparation

Pour all but the juices, in order listed, into a hurricane glass three-quarters filled with ice. Fill with equal parts of grapefruit and pineapple juice, and serve.

Man, there are some times I wonder how I can get out of bed and face my working days. One such was yesterday. When our feared Web editor Keith Plocek sent out a call for “volunteers” to go taste the new-in-America draft Modelo beers, I gritted my teeth and took it for the team. As one of the older and more senior scribes here at the Press, it was the least I could do. I figured I would let the kids live a little while they still can.

But seriously, folks…The tasting took place at Escalante’s in Meyerland. I have always been a fan of Modelo, especially the dark Negra style, and all I can say about it on tap is “wow.” On tap, the amber-colored Munich-style lager comes equipped with a beautiful creamy head you don’t get from its bottled counterpart. And the flavor of draft Negra Modelo is to bottled Negra Modelo as hi-def TV is to regular, a drawing out and sharpening of the crisp malty goodness. I drank two, and they went well with the appetizers – chips with salsa, guacamole, and Escalante’s famous queso blanco. (The brewery recommends you try it with steak, pork, poultry and chocolate. That’s right, chocolate. Come to think of it, it does seem just the right brew to wash down mole enchiladas.)

Texas is getting a bit of respect for its micro-distilleries in the Hill Country. Dripping Springs Vodka just won Best in Class and the Purity Vodka Trophy at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London.

All right. Okay. So not everyone has a 20-inch French rolling pin just lying around the kitchen. Or a baseball bat. (Thanks, Robb!)

Well, here's a combination lime masher/bottle opener from Reyes Produce (2426 Airline).

My Dutch friend, Adrie, got me hooked on mojitos. When we go out, he has one as an aperitif and then switches to red wine for the meal.

The way to make a mojito great, instead of just squeezing lime juice, is to mash the complete cut lime and release the skin's citrus oils. I’ve found the easiest way to do this at home is with a standard British pint glass and a wooden rolling pin (the solid wood kind, not the one with handles and rollers on the end).