Puffed kelp chips, anyone? New snack chips are crunchy, sustainable and weird

Puffed kelp chips, anyone? New snack chips are crunchy, sustainable and weird

puffed kelp chips

12 Tides makes organic kelp chips using kelp grown by ocean farmers in Maine. Pam LeBlanc photo

Puffed kelp chips, anyone?

I’m an avid scuba diver and ocean lover, so when I heard about a new organic chip made with kelp, I wanted to try it.

I’m munching on a bag of 12 Tides chili pepper flavor puffed kelp chips right now, and, well, they’re not bad. They’re not warm-tortilla-chips-from-your-favorite-TexMex-restaurant good, either, but they’re growing on me.

They look like giant Fritos, have the consistency of Styrofoam, only crunchier and more flavorful (at least I think so, I’ve never actually eaten Styrofoam), and taste salty and spicy, with an underlying hint of seaweed. You’ve eaten seaweed, surely.

puffed kelp chips

12 Tides makes puffed kelp chips in three flavors, including the chili pepper flavor shown here. Pam LeBlanc photo

I’m not hooked on them, but I want to be, for several reasons.

Kelp is a type of large brown algae that grows in cool coastal waters. It absorbs carbon from the ocean and is low maintenance to farm.

The maker describes the puffed kelp chips as “ocean positive snacking.” They’re not made with wild kelp, which provides a food source and protection for marine life. A warming climate has contributed to a decline in kelp forests in recent decades.

Related: Farm to Summit makes deydrated meals using ‘cosmetically challenged’ veggies

These snacks are made with kelp grown at small, regenerative ocean farms in Maine. Kelp farmers don’t use pesticides, fertilizers, fresh water, or arable land, so it’s a lot more sustainable than crops grown on land. The bags they’re sold in is compostable, too, which means they don’t have to end up in landfills.

The chips come in three flavors – sea salt, chili pepper, and “everything.” Unlike Fritos and other processed snack chips, they’re organic, gluten free and have no added sugar. A 1-ounce serving has 100 calories and 2 grams of protein.

The chips are sold in stores in California, Oregon, Arizona, Idaho and more, but (so far) not in Texas. You can order them online at www.12tides.com. A four-pack costs $19.99 and 1 percent of sales from each bag helps fund kelp forest restoration projects in California.

The more I nibble on them, the better they taste. And knowing they’re more sustainable than other snacks makes me like them more.

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What’s biltong? A less sweet, higher protein type of beef jerky

What’s biltong? A less sweet, higher protein type of beef jerky

biltong

Apex Protein Snacks makes biltong and meat sticks. Pam LeBlanc photo

Sunday’s trip to Inks Lake State Park provided the perfect opportunity to test out an array of meat snacks made by Apex Protein Snacks.

The company makes meat sticks and “biltong,” a drier, more shredded and less sweet version of beef jerky.

My initial reaction to the biltong, a type of dried, cured meat that originated in South Africa? Not enough flavor. Too cardboardy. But the snacks might make good fuel on a long-distance backpacking trip, when you need protein, but sweet stuff might sour your stomach.

Looking for craft-style non-alcoholic beer? Try Athletic Brewing Company’s lineup

Apex bills its products as “Food Fit for Adventure.” I tried two flavors of biltong – spicy peri peri and mesquite BBQ. Per 1 ounce serving, the biltong had 90 calories, 2 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.

By comparison, Jack Link’s beef jerky has 80 calories, 1 gram of fat and 11 grams of protein. But the ingredient panel for Jack Link’s jerky included sugar and brown sugar – two ingredients that don’t make an appearance on the Apex product.

In a nutshell, the Apex biltong had more protein and less sugar.

I also sampled a few meat sticks, which I liked better, although they still didn’t have enough punch for my taste buds. The original flavor had 90 calories, 11 grams of protein and 0 grams of sugar. The 1.5-ounce stick felt less greasy than some of the other brands I’ve tried, too.

The meat sticks sell online for $29.99 for a box of 12, although they’re running a $24.99 special right now. A 2.25-ounce bag of biltong costs $7.99.

A portion of proceeds goes to the company’s non-profit Kids in the Outdoors organization, which helps bring outdoor experiences to underprivileged youth.

 

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Texas-made Sotol, perfect for sipping around the campfire

Texas-made Sotol, perfect for sipping around the campfire

Desert Door Distillery in Driftwood is the only producer of sotol in the United States. You can buy it in a bottle or a special flask. Pam LeBlanc photo

I sat around a backyard campfire a few weeks ago – well before Dry January set in, during which I’ve given up booze – sipping something new with a few friends.

Desert Door Distillery in Driftwood had sent over a bottle of sotol, and we poured out a few shots. I expected the amber-colored liquid, made from the sotol plant, a distant relative of asparagus, to taste like its cousin tequila, which is made from the agave. Both plants are spiky and native to Mexico, after all, and in my mind I assumed any liquor distilled from either would taste roughly the same.

Not so. The sotol tasted more like smoky bourbon than something I’d mix into a margarita. (I also wondered if it would make my pee smell funny, the same way asparagus does, after I drank it. The answer is no.)

It seemed to pair well with the log burning in my fire pit.

Eager to learn more, I read an article in a 2017 issue of Esquire about a group of entrepreneurs in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua who were working to popularize the spirit around Mexico and beyond. Which explains, sort of, why suddenly it’s popping up in bars and backyards all around Texas.

Three entrepreneurs here in Austin, who met at the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business, founded Desert Door that same year. Today the distillery, at 211 Darden Hill Road in Driftwood, has a large outdoor patio and a desert-themed tasting room where you can sample the stuff.

The company uses sotol plants harvested in West Texas to make its spirit, which the company describes as having a sweet citrusy and herbal flavor, like a desert gin crossed with smooth sipping tequila. “Versatile as vodka!” they said, suggesting it as a substitute for tequila in a ranch water, paloma or margarita.

I don’t have a sophisticated palate, but I know what I like. I didn’t taste the citrus, but I did catch a breath of that bourbon-esque combo of toffee, vanilla and spice, with a smoky overtone. (Or maybe that was the firepit?)

I like the idea that it tastes a little like earth, too, since the distillery, the only producer of sotol in the United States, just introduced Back Burn, the first offering in its new “conservation” series. The variant is made with Texas sotol plants charred during prescribed burns at the sprawling 7 Oaks Ranch in West Texas.

Back Burn is the first in Desert Door’s “conservation” series of stools. Photo courtesy Desert Door

According to a press release, Back Burn features hints of mint and eucalyptus, plus an undertone of wet earth and smoke. It sells for a suggested retail price of $49.99, and a portion of proceeds will fund the distillery’s next conservation project – and sotol variant.

“When we started Desert Door, we fell in love with how the sotol plant represents West Texas and the land itself. Whether through our harvesting techniques, conservation efforts, or educational content, we look at all of these components as opportunities to increase the conservation of the plant and the land it thrives on,” partner Ryan Campbell said.

Also worth noting: When the pandemic first hit, the company added hand sanitizer to its regular operations and donated more than 70,000 8-ounce bottles to first responders, police departments and restaurants, and contributed 3,000 gallons to supply hand-sanitizing stations at the University of Texas in Austin.

All of which makes me want a little more, perhaps to go. And just my luck. Besides more traditional containers, you can get a 200-ml container of Desert Door sotol packaged in a special metal flask, making it perfect for that next Big Bend camping trip.

 

 

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My assignment: Taste test a dozen Utah craft beers

My assignment: Taste test a dozen Utah craft beers

Since I can’t travel to Utah right now, I sampled 12 Utah-brewed beers. Pam LeBlanc photo

I’m been making good use of my pandemic-induced time at home by educating myself through online classes here at home.
So far I’ve studied chocolate, whiskey and cheese. Most recently, I dug into beer.
Besides learning that beer is best tasted in tulip-shaped glasses, because the tapered shape traps the aroma, and hence some of the flavor, I discovered that a lot of the fruit flavors that you taste in beer actually come from the hops or other non-fruity ingredients. Also, it turns out that I like hoppy beer more than I thought I did.
I eagerly ripped into my class materials – a carton containing 12 different craft-made beers brewed in Utah. I found a giant gold can, some big glass bottles, a pink can decorated with a volcano and a flamingo, and lots more.
Per the instructions in my class prospectus, I prepared for the evening session by chilling my beer, setting out some palate-cleansing snacks, and gathering a collection of tapered glasses. (Pint glasses trace their roots to England, and became popular because they’re durable, cheap and stack well.)
Beer professor Rio Connelly, who helped open Epic Brewery in Utah and then built up the Proper brand, guided us through a sampling of five of the beers. The others we’d try on our own, later.
Tasting, he told us via a Zoom call, is all about appreciation. It should also be done, generally, from least impact (like a lager or light beer) to most impact (like a stout.)
More than 8,000 breweries now operate in Utah.
With that, in mind we set out to pour and appreciate some of our stash.

FISHER: The big gold can with a red label reminded me of the Schlitz my dad drank when I was a kid. A label on the back read “Sparkle brewed to the altitude.” When I poured it into a glass, it looked like champagne. Think of Fisher as the craft beer version of a domestic lager, with an extra poof of flavor. It’s crisp, clean and somewhat boring – but also something of a religion in Utah, where you’re likely to spot folks walking around in Fisher hats and Tshirts.
“It makes me want to mow the grass,” my husband Chris said. (Yes, I shared.)

UINTA CUT THROAT PALE ALE: Uinta is the largest brewery in Utah, and this pale ale is packaged in an amber-colored glass bottle. (The stigma of cans is largely gone; today you can buy most craft beer in cans.) When I poured it into a clear glass, I discovered it’s the color of the grass in my front lawn in August. It tastes vaguely like caramel and toasted bread, with a slap of pine trees and herbs. Nice. Locals call it simply “Cutty,” and subscribe to the motto “Forget the map, pack the Uinta.” It gets its name from the Bonneville cutthroat trout, the state fish of Utah. I’d definitely drink this while fishing.

UTAH SAGE SAISON: Now we’re talking. I love Belgian-style beer, and this 7.3-percent alcohol version from Epic Brewing wowed my taste buds with hints of mint and eucalyptus. I liked the cooling effect. “Saison” refers to a subset of yeast pioneered in Belgium and northern France. It’s more rustic and flavorful than other yeasts, with herbs like sage, thyme and rosemary. I could sit in a barn all afternoon and sip the stuff.

LEI EFFECT BY PROPER: A wayward flamingo nicknamed Pink Floyd that lived for a decade near Salt Lake City inspired the design on the pink can. When we opened it, Chris noted that it “smells like a fart.” That’s from the Sulphur, and don’t worry, it fades pretty quickly. What’s left is a slightly tropical-flavored gose ale (a wheat beer that’s high in salinity) made with real passionfruit and guava, plus pink salt mined locally in Utah. Let’s go bird watching!

FEELIN’ HAZY BY 2 ROW BREWERY: I generally steer clear of double India pale ales, which tend to taste harsh to me, but this one was delicious! The not-at-all bitter brew went down smooth and citrusy, with a waft of (weirdly) bananas. It tastes juicy, but there’s no fruit in it, just grain and hops. Pour me another, please. This was my favorite.

That’s instructor Rio Connelly, who led an online class on Utah craft beer. Pam LeBlanc photo

That’s all we tasted in class, but for homework over the next week or two, Chris and I sampled the others. Here are some thoughts:

FROLICH PILSNER FROM RED ROCK BREWERY: Hoppy but balanced; inspired by German pilsners.

HELLES BOCK FROM BOHEMIAN BREWERY: Stronger and malt-forward; a traditional, full-bodied, lightly sweet beer.

PROPER BEER FROM PROPER BREWING CO.: This is Proper’s flagship brew. Easy drinking and middle of the road – not too malty, not to hoppy, not too sweet, not too bitter.

ROCKET BIKE LAGER FROM MOAB BREWERY: An example of a “steam” beer, an American style that started during the California gold rush because the refrigeration required to brew traditional lager beer was readily available.

COFFEE CREAM ALE FROM KITOS BREWING: Made with local coffee blended into a light cream ale. Not as heavy as it sounds.

ESCAPE TO COLORADO IPA FROM EPIC: The name pokes fun at the brewery’s decision to open another brewery in Denver to escape some of Utah’s regulations. Fresh, with hints of citrus, pine and stone fruit.

DELMAR FROM TEMPLIN FAMILY BREWING: This Imperial stout gets super high marks from Connelly, who describes it as “one of the best stouts he’s ever tasted. At 11.5 percent alcohol, it packs a punch.

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Can a non-alcoholic beer stand up to regular craft brew?

Can a non-alcoholic beer stand up to regular craft brew?

Athletic Brewing Co. makes craft-style non-alcoholic beer. Pam LeBlanc photo

At the time Jeff Wueste quit drinking booze more than three decades ago, beer lovers didn’t have a ton of options from which to choose.
Beer was basically beer until the rise of microbreweries in the 1990s, and by that time, Wueste had switched to non-alcoholic brews. He decided O’Doul’s worked for him, and that’s what he drank.
So when a shipment of beer from Athletic Brewing Company showed up on my doorstep, I figured Wueste could serve as my guinea pig. I gave him some of the beer to test, and asked him to share his thoughts.
But before we get to that, some background.
Bill Shufelt used to drink beer, but decided he could live without the side effects the alcohol gave him – dehydration, sleeplessness and hangovers. And while the beer scene had exploded with an array of offerings from hoppy IPAs to fruit-spiked wheats and sours, he noticed that the non-alcoholic market had stagnated for years. Shufelt saw a void, and teamed with Santa Fe craft brewer John Walker. Their mission? To take an artisanal approach to whipping up non-boozy brews, and put more variety in the NA beer world.
Athletic Brewing Co. was born.
“Athletic beers are for weeknights when you want to be ready for work the next morning, for the athlete who is training for the 10k, the half or more; for the parent who has children in tow; or when you want to have good times with friends and family but feel good doing so and the next day,” he says in a press release that arrived with two six-packs.
If you live in Stratford, Conn., you can drop by the brewery to pick up containers of any of the brewery’s current lineup of nine types of non-alcoholic beer. The menu includes Free Way Double Hop IPA, All Out Stout, Graham Cracker Brown Ale, Summer Splash IPA, Closer by the Mile NEIPA, and Coconut Brown. The mail-order offerings are limited to three – Run Wild IPA, Upside Dawn Golden Ale, and Cerveza Atletica.

Jeff Wueste and Sheila Reiter taste tested the beer the company sent me. Pam LeBlanc photo


The company shipped me the Run Wild and the Upside Dawn. I was curious what Wueste would think.
Wueste, an endurance paddler, liked both varieties he tasted. So did his girlfriend, Sheila Reiter, an endurance cyclist and paddler who usually prefers wine or margaritas over beer.
“This one’s a little lighter,” Wueste said of the Upside Dawn, packaged in a bright yellow can. “It tastes grapefruity. I like it.”
Those are exciting words, compared to his description of his usual O’Doul’s, which goes like this: “A very standard, basic beer. There’s really no flavor to O’Doul’s.”
The Run Wild was hoppier and slightly bitter, without the hint of citrus. It had just 70 calories per can.
Wueste says that Athletic’s beer provides a way for him to socialize with his friends, and get a little taste of the changes that have taken place in the beer world since he cut alcohol out of his diet. He plans to buy some.
“Mainly I like to sit with my peeps, and when everybody else is going to have a drink, it makes me feel like I’m having a drink with them,” he says.
Athletic Brewing Co.’s beer is available at Austin retailers including Specs Wine, Liquor & Beer, Total Wine & More, Trader Joe’s, Wiggy’s, Quickie Pickie, Whole Foods and Twin Liquors. You can also buy it online for $12.99 a six-pack, plus shipping.
Through the company’s Two for the Trails program, 2 percent of overall sales is donated to an Athletic cause, on a rotating basis. Right now, the proceeds benefit the Appalachian Trail.

About Pam

I’m Pam LeBlanc. Follow my blog to keep up with the best in outdoor travel and adventure. Thanks for visiting my site.

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