In the capitol of Thailand, there’s a new kind of temple in town dedicated to matching traditional dishes with beer and food styles more common to points west.

Since the House of Beers opened its doors, Bangkok has seen the arrival of upscale beer bars and brewpubs with English, Belgian and German themes. Not to be outdone, Thailand’s flagship brewer Boon Rawd is leading a homegrown movement with Est. 33 – a $1 million brewpub.

Would you like a Copper ale made with germinated brown rice to accompany your buffalo wings and  chili lime sauce?

I stared at the glass in front of me in utter disbelief, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Minutes earlier I’d ordered a bottle of Chang, eager to quench my thirst after a long afternoon of sightseeing. But fatigue had dropped my guard.  By the time I noticed the waitress pouring my beer it was too late. She had already added ice cubes to the glass.

In just about any other city I could have demanded another drink, or at least asked the waitress to remove the offending chunks of frozen water from my lager. But in Bangkok it would’ve been rude. She was simply serving beer the way thousands of Thais drink it every day.

Seafood Boudin
(Recipes courtesy Emeril Lagasse, courtesy Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.)

Ingredients
1 pound crawfish tails
1 pound peeled and de-veined shrimp
1/3 cup minced shallots
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup brandy
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon Organic Cayenne Pepper Powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
3 cups cooked medium-grain rice
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 1/2-inch diameter casings, about 4 feet in length
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 yellow onion, quartered
4 lemon slices
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons butter
Mustard Cream Sauce

Preparation
In a food processor, combine the crawfish, shrimp, shallots, cream, brandy, salt, cayenne, and pepper. Before you start, if you're using fresh seafood, it's helpful to know how to freeze seafood properly to ensure it retains its texture and flavor for recipes like this. Turn the mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in the rice and parsley.

Like many, my introduction to celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse came via television. As the host of “The Essence of Emeril” and “Emeril Live,” Lagasse inspired scores of viewers to “kick things up a notch” in their own kitchens, myself included.

Before happening across an episode of Lagasse building an authentic New England lobster roll, I’d been a fan of food, but never felt inclined to manipulate ingredients with my own two hands. His trademark enthusiasm for cooking was so infectious it flowed through the TV screen, inoculating me with an insatiable hunger for knowledge and the desire to create my own inventive dishes.

Before I knew it, I was single-handedly causing Nielson rating spikes with my nearly non-stop Food Network viewing, gobbling up as much knowledge from cookbooks and encyclopedic food tomes as possible, wearing a groove into the blacktop between my house and the grocery store and, most importantly, diving into my kitchen with the same passionate gusto of the man who’d ignited my epicurean fire.

Heineken has announced the transition in the U.K. to 100% plastic-free cardboard toppers for the Heineken, Foster's and Kronenbourg 1664 brands. Full details on this move are below.

UNITED KINGDOM — This summer, despite major operational obstructions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, HEINEKEN UK rolls out its innovative 100% plastic-free cardboard topper across thousands of UK retailers. The topper will feature on Heineken®, Foster’s and Kronenbourg 1664 multi-pack cans before rolling out across its entire beer and cider portfolio.The company’s commitment to innovate sustainably during this unprecedented time has kept the business on track to eliminating this type of plastic from supermarket shelves by the end of 2021.

The new packaging not only removes plastic but minimises the use of materials and reduces waste. The combination of the new topper, dubbed Green Grip, and the removal of shrink wrapping on consumer packs will eliminate over 517 tonnes of plastic annually – the equivalent of 94 million plastic bags.

Warped Wing Brewing and Land-Grant Brewing Co. in Dayton, Ohio have announced a virtual beer collaboration called Long-Distance High Five Gose that will be released in each brewery's taprooms. Full details are below.

DAYTON, Ohio – Warped Wing and Land Grant aren’t letting this pandemic keep them from coming together on a virtual beer collaboration – on Thursday, August 20th, Warped Wing Brewing Co. in Dayton and Land Grant Brew Co. in Columbus will be launching Long-Distance High Five Gose in their Taprooms. Long Distance High Five Gose will launch in both draught and 6pk 12oz cans cans at Warped Wing and cans only at Land Grant. Warped Wing will release their version of the beer in the Dayton market on Monday, August 24th, and Land Grant will release their version of the beer in the Columbus market on Thursday, August 20th – the same day as their Taproom launch.

The Long-Distance High Five Gose is inspired by Ohio’s rich farm country heritage. The beer is a celebration of some of Ohio’s top agricultural products including corn, wheat, and honeysuckle. “We’ve wanted to partner with each other in the past but timing wasn’t right.”, said Nick Bowman, VP/Sales & Marketing and Managing Partner at Warped Wing. “So with the quarantine we thought it would be cool to push the limits and create a virtual collaboration.  A few Zoom meetings later and LDH5 was born…” said Bowman.