Been busy, with beer!

So quick update on where things are, I've been busy with Ghost Rabbit work. It looks like the sales candidate I chose and interviewed is going to be a huge winner for us. Gotta wait for things to get rolling before I can out his name though. I have to say, I'm pretty happy that we found him and he's going to take GRE to some great places. We also have a project coming up that's going to be the debut of one of the interal IPs we're working on. I'm excited to see it come out, and I hope it's well received!

I like it when things work out after all.

In other news, back on Easter I tried my first all grain batch of beer. It was an all day affair, literally. 13 hours of work, and all I have to show is about 9.5 gallons of beer! (That's "all" right?) In the next few days here I need to get them into secondary. 5.5 gallons of it is Carla's Amber and will be spending a couple weeks in secondary with Amarillo hops. The remaining bit is a small beer from the grains, hopped with Hallertau and will probably be used for experimentation. I'm curious to see what a slice of bacon, sprig of rosemary, or a piece of habanero do to a bottle of beer.

I'm expecting the Amber to be about 4.5%, and the small to be about 3.6%. I'm aiming for a pair of beers that are easy to drink, clean, crisp, slightly malty and easily paired with a torchon of pig's head.

I've got another experiment going on right now, I have about a pound of lamb's liver curing. I'm going to dry it until it's stiff and see if it tastes better than the fresh liver. I hope so, as I wasn't too fond of the flavor of the fresh liver.

Twitter Speakerboxes vs. Socialistas

Are you or your company a Speakerbox, or an engaged Socialista within a community? When you show up on a follower’s feed, do they get value from what you are saying? Do you come across as more than just a marketing mission statement?

The Speakerbox

When I first started using Twitter, I was amazed at the amount of people that would turn every posting into a complicated version of, “Hey, I’m cool, look at my blog!” They were usually businesses, and came across as not understanding or embracing the concept behind Twitter. They also presented as very self centered – littering my feed space with a never changing torrent of, “Look at me-isms” with tag-along links to their blogs.

What I find interesting about the Speakerbox, is they take all shapes. In my twitter community I have had Speakerboxes ranging from marketing companies (?!?) to fitness “gurus” selling the latest get thin quick scheme. One of the first things that come to mind about these feed killers is, “why take yourself out of the conversation?” It comes across as lazy, and lacking interest in the two way conversation that twitter makes simple and quick. It could be a product of automation, a lack of understanding of twitter, or a poor strategy – either way it’s not a competent use of the technology.

How do you identify a Speakerbox?

• Soon after following them there is a high quantity of tweets directing you to their blog
• You don’t see them participating in conversations
• When they do participate, any statement is usually topped off with a link to their most recent blog post
• They provide little value – their message is basically the equivalent of a TV ad, easy to ignore
• The often lack personality or voice in their mass of tweets

The Socialista

This person could tell you how to be a rockstar in 3 tweets or less. They are engaged, and provide (sometimes interesting) insight or entertainment with every tweet. They go out of their way to be interesting, and they make themselves a valuable addition to your twitter feed. Very few twitter users are or ever will be Socialistas, it takes a high level of dedication as well as a directed strategy. An effective Socialista will promote their message, but will make their message part of the conversation. They are not afraid to jump in and provide suggestions or ideas within a subject they know well.

In time a Socialista will become a person (or company) that a twitter user will go to as an authority, or a trusted source of opinion. If trust is a currency, these people have it in great abundance. Often these Twitter rockstars, the Socialistas will become the first stop for many people when they are looking for related information. The Socialista eventually gains the position of trusted voice, and with it the ability to persuade viewers into trying new products, services, ideas, or food.

The characteristics of a Socialista:

• They share knowledge first, promote their product/ service second
• They have active back and forth relationships with other twitter users
• There is a defined character, a personality behind the tweets
• They are accessible, and someone that people want to talk to

Which works?

It comes down to your goals. What are your success metrics? At one time Twitter success was counted by number of followers. Today, our understanding of the space has matured, and many have realized that active and engaged followers have more value than simple numbers. The Socialista will find that their followers are active, engaged, and interested in what they have to say. When the Socialista suggests a product or idea, people will listen.

At its core, Twitter is a tool for engaging people quickly and concisely, the Speakerbox approach works counter to that model. It also sends an underlying signal that your company is holding themselves back from what is a cordial, inviting, and active social meeting place. I would hope that fewer people are joining Twitter with the goal of becoming the digital equivalent of a carnival barker. The Speakerbox undermines the message they preach, and reduce their value with every posting. The Speakerbox quickly becomes an unwelcome guest and will find that with time their message will fall upon fewer and fewer ears as they become little more than white noise in the feed.

Twitter offers an opportunity to present your brand (personal or corporate) in an approachable manner, don’t ruin that chance by forgetting to listen, and neglecting the conversations around you.

Some of the people and companies doing it right are:

@ruhlman , @jetblue , @brewcrewtv , @stonebrewingco

(I do like beer, food and travel…)

Consumer tracking a la iPhone games.

I recently picked up MyTown, a tracking app masquerading as a game. Now, I have a very distinct idea of what a game is, based on my lifetime as a gamer, and my time spent working in the games industry.

My definition of a game is:

• Has a call to action
• Has a defined challenge
• Has a defined benefit vs. challenge (eg. scoring)
• If Multi-player, provides a distinct mechanism for player vs. player
• Is fun (Although that is taste)

Outside of that, it's not a game. It might be a toy, but it's not a game.

Now back to MyTown, a free iPhone app where the whole call to action is to "Check-In" at businesses you frequent in order to get points and money. The app engages the GPS built -in to the phone to push advertising, and to give a bonus to points and money based on proximity to the business you are checking-in to. You level up through checking-in, you can buy businesses to collect rent, to make more money. Properties also collect rent, but it's based on a timer.

What this app lacks is the challenge necessary to make it a game, unless of course you are an agoraphobic and can't go to different businesses.

What this app is, is a tracking application with a cute GUI. Under the guise of a game, a player will build a list of frequented businesses, and in some cases, provide significant amounts of frequency/ use data. On top of that, there is a "What are you doing" comment box that provides extra points for giving a description of what you are doing there. Inexpensive consumer habit tracking - already working based on a new H&M partnership that has been penned for the game.

Go within 200 feet of an H&M, and get the ability to buy H&M branded items in game. Add on top of the partnership possibilities the ability to push advertising based on location, and this type of app can become a strong money maker - with potential research related revenue streams as well.

What doesn't sit well with me is that this "game" isn't up front with people regarding the data that they're donating, and that there really isn't a benefit for the player. If this app were a game, it would at least be a trade off, fun for data - even then I think the player loses out. There would at least be a benefit for the player.

While this product isn't very notable in any respect, it comes across as rather awkward and unfinished. What it could be used for, a framework for future apps/ games of this type is rather interesting. A game that could actively call a player to locations to meet new competitors, receive deals/discounts, or receive in game benefits... those could be powerful tools to make for a more immersive, rewarding game experience as well as a more effective advertising spend for certain types of advertisers.

It will be interesting to see if more apps like this show up.

Best of: Dave's Camera's SD Card, Culinary Edition!

Time to catch up... haven't had a lot of time to sit and write lately. I've been very active with the projects though, just not good at keeping up with the picture taking. So in that respect, I'm utilizing a new tool - Adobe Bridge. It keeps multimedia files in an "easy to use, visual space".

It works surprisingly well. So well, I was inspired to post a "Best of Dave's SD Card."

Enjoy.

Sam and Steve come to dinner-

30th Birthday Dinner-

Biggest Mexican in Maine (I will post the story behind that title.)-

That's a meaty handshake-

Christmas Eve Cioppino-

First attempt making Chocolate Fondant-

First attempt at making Pate` Campagne-

First time making and trying Foie Gras-

Valentine's Dinner, Grilled Shrimp on Broccolini-

Braised Pork Belly with Oyster Stout-

(This was last night's dinner!)

Twitter Feed...

Been looking around the web for different tools to consolidate all these social networks I'm on... didn't find the panacea I was looking for, however I did find Twitter Feed. It's supposed to aid in advertising your blog on different social networks.

Interesting. I'm curious to see how they will condense each post, if it is a matter of using labels, the title, or if there is a random snippet of text given.

Either way, I think I might play with it a bit, to see how to most effectively get the idea of my posts out to the world.

This just in...

6" of snow forecasted for Weds. Snow Emergency has already been declared. Woohoo!

Review: Sel de la Terre

Guess who brings an almost dead camera to a nice dinner? This guy, right here. I even get bonus points for forgetting we had it.

We went to dinner at a great place located near Copley Square on the green light. Sel de la Terre, the name in no way reflects the clientele.* We sat down at 8pm in a moderately filled upstairs dining room. Our server was immediately available, and patient with us as we made our initial conversations and choices. (Found out later at dinner that he was from Utah, and was familiar with the best kitchen I ever worked in Le Moulin.)

Drinks: The wine choices were vast, and rather tasty, even though I can't really drink them. The observation was made that the glasses seemed smaller than customary. I opted for a maker's mark manhattan - rocks (The bourbon selection was really lacking.), when it came it was good, but the glass was filled with shaved ice. Shaved ice is a big no-no, made my drink smaller than it should have been, and it diluted very quickly, with a $13 price tag it's not a mistake I'll make again.

First course: We ordered two charcuterie plates, and one pureed eggplant "dip" with spiced walnuts. The eggplant was good, as it was mixed with a good creamy cheese, it was a touch forgettable once the charcuterie came. Now the charcuterie plate was truly inspired. It offered tastes of a well made lardo, a great basic sausage, an amazing duck liver mousse, and bresaola. The bresaola seemed merely an after thought, an "also-ran" if you will. It was good, but not very inspired. The amazing bit in the plate was the duck liver mousse. Covered in a light aspic, it came in a shallow square bowl. Light, creamy, ducky, and well spiced. Touches of a little cinnamon, pepper, and high quality duck liver. (I will make this at home!)

Entree: Our entrees came, and the table was split, two of us ordered Seared Duck Breast with Pommes Robuchon, and braised Brussels Sprouts with a red wine glaze. The other half of the table ordered Veal Paillard with a chorizo risotto.

The duck was perfectly cooked, but tasted reminiscent of five spice duck... I lost the idea I was eating french, and thought I might have wandered into china town. The pommes Robuchon were gritty, which ruined the experience for me. The brussels sprouts and sauce were perfectly done, and when paired with the duck - a true treat. I have to admit though, I wasn't completely turned off by the gritty potatoes, I ate them all. I also ordered a foie gras bread pudding, it was very tasty, although a little too sweet to be served as a main dish accompaniment, and there was no foie gras flavor to speak of. It was a well made bread pudding though, soft, crunchy, dry and moist all at the same time.

The veal was very tasty but hardly a paillard. It was easily a full 3/4in. thick in some places. It was nicely breaded, still crispy, and the meat still wonderfully juicy. The risotto was a bit of a miss though, it was ultra salty compared to the rest of the meal, and each piece of chorizo was a salt bomb waiting to go off. Salty risotto and salty chorizo make it hard to really love the dish. The risotto was perfectly al dente though, just the way I like it.

Dessert: This part of the meal made me wonder if we were still at Sel De La Terre. While everything we've had up until that moment had been very well made (even barring my critique above), the desserts seemed merely as overpriced afterthoughts. They lacked the polish and quality the rest of the meal had up until this point.

We ordered the cupcake plate, and the chocolate fondant with graham cracker ice cream and house made marshmallows. I'll say this about the cupcake, dry, insipid - we sent it back. There was to be some passion fruit flavor in one, and gingerbread flavor in another, but it just wasn't there. These cupcakes were disappointing. At 2 cupcakes for $10, I would expect a high quality, moist, tasty cupcake with a light and well made frosting. The passion fruit one was overly dense, tough, and dry. The gingerbread one had a cloyingly overly sweet frosting, although that same frosting had a wonderful texture.

The chocolate fondant was a little better, it seemed undercooked, as it completely fell in upon itself once pierced. It was definitely molten in the middle, but the lack of structural integrity turned it into a chocolate puddle on the plate. I'm a stickler for chocolate, and found it way too sweet, and it tasted like Callebaut chocolate, which is one of my least favorite. However, Carla loved the chocolate, and nary a word was murmured until the fondant was gone. The graham cracker ice cream was wonderfully made, as was the marshmallow. My only wish regarding the mashmallow was for it to be roasted a little more. It had a nice light brown coloring to it. I prefer them a little darker.

The service: Impeccable. Our server was perfection. He was attentive, knowledgeable, and great to talk to. He timed our meal out well, and even indulged my more esoteric questions about the charcuterie.

Bonus: After our meal, our server brought us a little sausage to taste. A sweetbread and foie gras sausage. This single taste has inspired me to make this item at home. The foie couldn't really be tasted, the flavors were too pronounced. However, the sweetbreads were in a large chunk, and very well flavored. Perfectly soft, not gristly, or fatty.

Final word: This was the best meal I've had in New England. Even with the challenges I outlined above, I would happily go here again, and again, and again. I wouldn't order dessert here again, not with the current pastry chef at least. It was apparent that the desserts were an after thought. They lacked the general care and polish that the rest of the meal had.

Beautiful place, beautiful meal, I'll be back.

(*In fact, I felt underfunded as I spied a very large, ancient and well accessoried eastern Euro man, with his 20 year old blonde "date".)

Da BEERS!

So this post is about beer, why not, right? While runs counter to the working out I'm doing... I have no problem saying, "I work out, so I can drink."

Two beers worth mentioning today. Back on November 8th I decided to take my Cole Porter recipe, and make a MA version. Prospect Hill Stout was born. In a fit of inspiration, and because I had extra materials I made a small beer, long since dubbed Pumpkin Smalls. (Which I'm pouring in the above shot.)

The stout (I still refer to it as a porter, but it's much darker and toastier due to the brew shop lacking some really common barleys.) has been successfully bottled after 88 days in secondary, and upon tasting, it has a slight coffee note, some good darkness from the toasted barleys, and just a touch of bitter from the hops, but nothing too ostentatious. The added oats also give a nice slightly viscous feel in the mouth. I think this is the best version of this recipe I've made to date. In about 3 weeks I'll be able to see it in its carbonated glory. I think this one is only going to get better with bubbles.

The small beer, Pumpkin Smalls was really an after thought, and an experiment. On brewing day I threw a roasted pumpkin into the pot with the leftover materials from the stout. After 5 days in primary fermentation it had finished, so I gave it a week in secondary, tasted and bottled it. On the bottling day it was very "floral" tasting almost like it was a pumpkin essence tea. It tasted less of beer, and more of the smell of a good pumpkin. I promptly forgot about it, having written it off as a failure. Until a couple days ago.

I gave it a taste a couple days ago, and somehow, it grew character! Slight toastiness from the barleys, a touch of grassiness from the hops, mild bitterness, and it tastes like a mouth full of pumpkin. No sign of the cinnamon stick I put in the kettle as well, which is great - pumpkin beer should taste of pumpkin, not pumpkin pie.

It pours well, dark, and with a relatively stable head. (I have little luck keeping a stable foam on a beer.) It looks great, tastes great, and is about 2% alcohol if my brew software is to be believed.

The Prospect Hill Stout will be ready to drink in about 3 weeks, 21 days, or on Friday the 26th. It comes in at 5.24% abv, and should be a great elixir to scare off the cold of winter!

If someone is interested in making either of these, I have recipes in ProMash format available.