RhoMania's Blog

     Beer, glourious beer.  Just like we did with bourbon, we at RhoMania are here to give you a very brief 101 on the most highly consumed alcoholic beverage on planet Earth, and the third most popular drink worldwide (tea and water get the first and second place trophies).  So, without further ado, let's delve into a bit of useful and practical information on the ingredients and overall character that make beer the loveable, highly quaffable, and deliciously foamy beverage that we all know and love!

     Beer, whose history stretches far back to primitive examples from 9500 BC, is composed of 4 major ingredients: water, malted barley, hops, and yeast.  Each of these basic ingredients provides its own very special and important role in what we finally get as the finished product.  In no way is the production of beer a simple procedure, but rather an art form perfected and expanded over thousands of years.

     

     Our first ingredient is water.  Since beer is mostly water, just like coffee, this is really the backbone for the entire beverage.  Hard water is suitable for certain styles, while soft water is geared more towards others.  For example, the water that is used in English pale ales (also called bitters) brewed in Burton, England, is high in calcium sulfate, making that type of water instrumental to this specific type of beer.

     Our second ingredient is barley.  Barley is the starch that undergoes a process known as saccharification, which then produces the resulting sugar which is used for fermentation by the yeast.  Barley undergoes a process known as malting, wherein the barley is steeped in water to begin the process of germination, then is dried in a kiln.  

     Malt, apart from adding to a beer's lucious flavor and character, lends color to a beer; the darker the malted barley, the darker the beer.  The dispels the common myth that the darker the beer, the higher the alcohol content.  In no way is this true, and a great example is Guinness and a Belgian powerhouse of a beer known as Beelzebub.  Guinness, since it uses darker malts, has a brooding, dark ruby color (not black) but only clocks in at 5% abv, while Beelzebub uses a pilsner malt to give it its rich, golden-amber color, but rockets upwards on the abv scale to 15%.  Of course, there are many dark beers with high alcohol contents like Russian Imperial Stouts or American Double Stouts, and many pale ales or lagers with low abv's.

     Our third ingredient is yeast.  Yeast is what takes the sugars produced by the saccharification of malted barley and converts them into CO2 and alcohol.  Early brewing methods, and those still used today to ferment beers such as lambics and wild ales, involve exposing the wort (unfermented beer) to airborne yeast strains, or Brettanomyces.  

     Yeast also gifts the beer with particular flavors and aromas, thereby enhancing the overall character of the finished product.  A particular German yeast strain, known as Torulaspora delbrueckii, is used in the production of German weissbier (or wheat beer).  Judicious amounts of wheat can be added to the brewing process in addition to malted barley to craft this popular style.  Fans of a category of weissbier known as hefeweizen will be all too familiar with the lip-smacking banana and clovey nuances that this yeast strain gives to the style.

     Our fourth and final ingredient is hops (or humulus lupulus).  The cones cultivated for the brewing process are the flower of the plant and are used to provide a balancing bitter flavoring to a beer, as well as acting as a preservative.  Hops are the seasoning, giving beer the zip and zest that can come in varying degrees and intensity, depending on the amount used and the variety of hop chosen.  

     Examples of European hops would be the Hallertau mittelfrüh and Saaz, while two popular English varieties are the Fuggle and Kent Golding hops.  American varieties include the Cascade, Warrior, Tomahawk, Columbus, and Simcoe varieties, just to name a few.  Fans of the Cascade hop will recognize the sharp, citrusey, and piney-floral character it lends to such beers as Anchor Liberty Ale.

     So, whether you're gleefully cracking open a frosty 'Ahrn City to watch the Stillers' or the Pens, or swirling a double stout around in a footed tulip glass,  don't forget all the great ingredients that worked together to bring you this fantastic beverage.

By Max Stein

 

     iPads, smartphones, tablets of all shapes and colors: efficient gadgetry like this is becoming more popular with each passing day, in addition to its applications in different areas of business, food service, and much more.  One specific arena, the bar and restaurant scene, is benefiting greatly from these devices and has already begun to incorporate them in a variety of creative and effective ways to attract more customers and increase revenue.

     From creative apps for your touch-screen phone to iPad kiosks and menus, the restaurant and bar industries are adopting these technologies for a variety of purposes.  The popular app NoWait, which is iPad-based, lets restaurants take a guests phone number and then send a text notification to the patron when their table is ready.  Guests are also able to view the wait list and even add other guests to their party if they desire.  As we discussed in an earlier blog post, the apps DrinkyPal, OpenTable, and On the Bar are making drinking and dining more interactive, fun, and in the case of DrinkyPal, safe and responsible.

     In other instances, the iPad is even being used at the table in the form of menus for food, beverage, and even POS systems.  The iPad can allow guests to pay directly from the device, build a food order right from the screen which is then sent directly to the kitchen, or browse a bar or restaurant's list of wine, tequila, and beer, complete with pricing and detailed, expert reviews by reputable sources and even other patrons.

     So, as the restaurants begin to fulfill their claims about investing more in technology this year, iPads, tablets, and smartphones are carving out an indelible niche in this ever-growing and always changing industry.

By Max Stein

     In this era of technology, such as smartphone apps that allow you to take your networking with you on the go, social media has become one of the most important fixtures in our day-to-day activities.  Networks such as Facebook and microblogs like twitter allow us to share our thoughts, feelings, opinions, ideas, and even locations with a large group of people on a regular basis.  With the help of apps like Foursquare, you can even let people know where you are and what you are doing if it's connected to your feeds.  As a result, one of the most popular and useful outlets for social media integration is the bar and restaurant scene.

     When frequenting restaurants with cool backlit bars, retro-designed speakeasys, or cozy local watering holes, going out on the town has developed the greatest propensity for social media use.  The idea of being able to share which restaurant or bar you're currently visiting on social media adds an extra level of enjoyment to the social experience.  Sharing where you are, who you're with, what you're doing, and even what you're drinking through social media feeds gives bars and restaurants more exposure overall, especially in terms of the experience they're offering and which services customers seem to be enjoying the most.

     Restaurants and bars themselves can easily incorporate social media into their marketing strategy to draw more customers and maintain a more interactive relationship with their patrons.  The bottom line is, the overall experience of dining out and/or grabbing a drink is one of the most popular social acts we engage in, so the ability to improve the experience through social media interaction makes sense on many different levels, on the part of both the customer and the establishment.  The use of smartphones in bars and restaurants for networking is becoming more and more popular, and the opportunities and obvious benefits are multiplying everyday.

By Max Stein

"We're all about delivering pertinent content to consumers. If you're a restaurant owner or manager, contact us about our digital iPad menu here. If you are an avid restaurant-goer and have a favorite spot you think could benefit from our iPad menu, please let them know! They can always find us here at rhomania.com."

     Inventive and infinitely useful mobile apps for the restaurant and bar scene are becoming commonplace, with so many genius services now at your beck and call and just a download away.  The famous and sensible admonition "Don't drink and drive" has never been made easier (not to do so) with a mobile app called DrinkyPal.  Keeping track of your favorite bartenders and when-and-where they're working is a cinch with an app called On the Bar.  Booking a table at your favorite eatery is now just a few fingertaps away with an app called OpenTable.  We're here to give you a little background on these apps and how they are completely changing the control you have over visiting your favorite restaurants and enjoying your favorite beverages and bartenders, responsibly that is.

     This mobile app from Premier Innovations Group also owns the spirit labels Clique Vodka and Don Pantaleon Tequila.  As a free download from the Apple App Store, responsible drinkers can now whip out their smartphones if they feel they've reached that point when they're definitely 'over the limit', and get a list of taxi companies that are nearest to their current location.  You can get in touch with the company and book a cab right from the app, and presto, your cab driver is whisking you off to the nearest pillow to sleep it off, or keep the party going if you just haven't had your fill.  The other great feature about this app, and another creative deterrent to drunk driving, is the ability to also access a list of the closest hotels, allowing you to then conveniently book a room straight from DrinkyPal.  Getting home safely from a night out - there's now an app for that!.. Thank God.

This great bartender and cocktail enthusiast application was developed by TJ Connelly and Ian Stanczyk, and initially started off as just a summer project (believe it or not).  What it does specifically is let users of the app know where and when their favorite bartender is working, which, if you're quite the barfly and have developed some great relationships with the people who are slinging your drinks, can be immensely helpful.  All participating bartenders have to do is notify users of when and where they're working, and then said users can even check in and visit their favorite bartender at their chosen bar.  This can also all be shared on social media feeds with the integration of Facebook and Twitter.  Bartenders can even add their own drinks and recipes to be 'enjoyed' by users through the app - it's all just a touchscreen tap away!

     OpenTable has quickly become the easiest and most interactive way to make and manage a reservation at your restaurant of choice.  OpenTable, as you probably already know given its tremendous popularity and ease of use, offers users a plethora of features to make booking a table as fun and interactive as possible.  Users of OpenTable can search restaurants based on price range, type of cuisine, and times for reservation (to name a few).  Restaurant-goers and foodies can also find participating restaurants closest to their current location and view table availability in real-time.  One of the other great features about this app is the ability to earn points every time you make a reservation through OpenTable.  These points can be received for discounts at restaurants, also called dining cheques, which vary in monetary value depending on the amount of points being cashed in.  Diners can even receive 10 times the normal amount of points for checking in if it's at a special time or restaurant.

     So, with so many apps available to help us manage practically every facet of our daily lives, it's good to know that there are some fantastic applications out there designed specifically to enhance your drinking and dining experiences.

By Max Stein 

      What do J.P. Brennan, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, a 62 year old caretaker and the owner of a converted B&B have in common?  They are all pieces to a ghastly puzzle involving theft, deception, intrigue, and coveted, antique booze.  So, without further ado, we would like to paint you a picture:

     It was a dark and stormy night (kitsch intended).  Cracked flashes of lightning illuminated the cavernous interior of an old Pennsylvania mansion, casting eerie shadows across the floor.  A fire roared and crackled away in one of the ornate fireplaces upstairs, and little knew that a dastardly crime was about to take place, a crime involving the theft of none other than...9 cases of pre-Prohibition hooch!  The stage has been set, but this is well out of the league of The Hardy Boys..better to leave this to Scottdale's finest.

     The mansion in question is located in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and was built by titan of industry J.P. Brennan, who made his bucks in the coal and coke industry.  His love of whiskey was legendary, as it was common knowledge that he was always greeted on his return home from a hard day's work with a shot of rye right at the doorstep (undoubtedly before hanging up his hat and coat.)  Brennan had procured himself ten cases of Old Farm Pure Rye Whiskey in 1917, which were distilled and bottled at none other than the West Overton Distillery, which was owned and operated by fellow robber barons Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick.

 

     Our first character in the mystery is a one Patricia Hill of New York, who took it upon herself to purchase Brennan's antique estate from his daughter in 1986 and transform it into a stately B&B called the South Broadway Manor Bed and Breakfast (opening in December of last year).  Renovating this old mansion was quite a task, and cost Mrs. Hill a staggering $800,000 to make it what it is today.  Additionally, Hill put her trust in an innocent 62 year old caretaker named John Saunders, who himself lived on the premises and helped with the day-to-day upkeep, maintenance, and chores associated with running the establishment.

     During the renovation of the mansion, workers found 9 cases of this historic PA treasure hiding safely within the walls and underneath the staircase, where Brennan himself undoubtedly stashed them in haste during the scare of Prohibition.  Mr. Saunders helped Hill to move the whiskey about and clean it up a bit, and for all intents and purposes these cases were intended only to be preserved since the bottles were sealed and in very decent condition.  After awhile, when Hill returned to clean up the bottles and cases once more, she found a horrible crime had occurred: 52 bottles had been drained of their precious contents, but that wasn't all.  After the theft occurred, the bottles were appraised by famous New York auction house Bonhams, and their value was beyond anything anyone had expected.  $102,400 worth of whiskey was missing!

     Old Mr. Saunders, despite adamantly denying the theft, was the first suspect for guzzling this pre-Prohibition treasure.  After failing to show up for a cheek swab to obtain a DNA sample, his culpability became more apparent and he began sealing his own fate.  Police finally tracked him down and got the sample they needed to put the pieces together.  As it turns out, it was Saunders after all, as his DNA matched that found on the lips of three of the whiskey bottles in question.

     So, as we close the case on this epic whiskey caper, always remember that when it comes to missing bottles of pre-Prohibition rye whiskey, trust no-one..but suspect everyone!

By Max Stein