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The History Behind Cold Beer Cheese

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A local author illuminates the delicious past and present of Central Kentucky’s chilled appetizers

By: Alison Baxter
Jan 30, 2018 11 AM

Not all beer cheese is created equal — or served at the same temperature. In Central Kentucky, the way they make their decadent app is a bit different than the process we use in the Queen City, but a local author says: If it’s not cold, it’s not traditional.

When the term “beer cheese” comes to mind, most people think of a hot dip paired with some type of salty chip, bread or soft pretzel — a gooey spread that combines and melts two of humanity’s favorite vices. But Central Kentucky beer cheese is served chilled and made with just four ingredients: cheddar cheese, garlic, cayenne pepper and, of course, beer.

Writer (and CityBeat freelancer) Garin Pirnia tells a story of authentic cold beer cheese in her recently published The Beer Cheese Book, which details the history of the cold dip, where it came from and why it’s so appetizing.

Pirnia, a Covington resident, fell in love with beer cheese while at Party Town in Florence, Ky. Confused yet intrigued by the cold spread, she had to try it.

“It was a pre-packaged spread made by Kentucky Beer Cheese, which is based near Lexington. I tried it and loved it,” she says.

Immediately impressed, she researched the decadent snack. Following the first taste of cold beer cheese, she attended The Beer Cheese Festival in Winchester, Ky., in 2014. Held each June, this festival is the only one in the world dedicated to the food.

Read the full article below:

https://www.citybeat.com/food-drink/the-dish/article/20990661/the-history-behind-cold-beer-cheese

Why Restaurants Are Obsessing Over This 91-Year-Old Kentucky Soda

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Ale-8-One, a gingery Prohibition-era soft drink, is making a strange comeback: in sauces, braises and even deviled eggs

JENN RICE

January 12, 2018

If you don’t live in the South, chances are Ale-8-One (pronounced “ale eight one”), a craft soda hailing from Winchester, Kentucky, may be news to you. Developed during prohibition in 1926, the gingery, citrusy soda has become a staple in the South, going way beyond a refreshing drink of choice. Chefs throughout Kentucky are now using the beverage to cook. “I’ve been drinking Ale-8-One for 46 years and I love it because it combines two of my favorite flavors: citrus and ginger,” says Kentucky chef Ouita Michel, of Ouita Michel Family of Restaurants.

So, what’s all the hype? It’s like ginger ale but with a citrus kick, containing a little less carbonation and fewer calories than typical soda. “I love the unapologetic, slight burn of ginger that Ale-8-One starts and finishes with on the palate,” says chef Jeremy Ashby, AZUR Restaurant. “Its effervescent qualities are thirst quenching but not too dry or sweet. The flavor balance on the palate mirrors my style of cooking.”

The company, run by fourth-generation family owner, Fielding Rogers, still uses the original handwritten, secret recipe. Plus, if you’ve ever tasted a Moscow Mule with Ale-8-One, you know it’s a solid cocktail mixer that can be used in place of ginger beer. “I like its soft spiciness and tang, making it especially good with your favorite bourbon—down here we call that a Kentucky Gentleman,” says Michel.

Read the full article here:

http://www.foodandwine.com/drinks/ale-8-one-southern-soda

Beer Cheese Trail made the top 12…in the world!

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12 of the world’s most enticing food and drink trails

Laura Kiniry, CNN • Updated 30th October 2017
(CNN) — Culinary trails pull together the best of a region’s food and drink offerings, whether it’s to showcase a specific food item or cuisine or to highlight the diversity of local producers.
Around the world, these self-guided touring routes (and in one case, an actual foot trail) give visitors and residents alike an alternative — and flavor-filled — way to experience an area, while discovering something about its culinary heritage.
From the delicious dumplings of Canada’s Richmond to France’s Camembert cheese, these food and drink trails will help satisfy both your travel aspirations and your appetite.

http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/best-food-drink-trails/index.html

 

Innovations Branding House Road Trip to KY- ALE 8-ONE

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ROADTRIP KY

Experience the Heart and Soul of Kentucky’s Best Brands

EPISODE FIVE // ALE 8-ONE

The overarching goal of the Road Trip Kentucky project is to, ultimately, tell some of the great stories of successful, meaningful, and impactful businesses throughout the history of our state. The beauty, and also the tragedy, of this effort is those stories aren’t too difficult to find. The problem is, we can’t tell them ALL.

But when it comes to brands born in the Commonwealth, there is one story that HAS to be told. It’s that of one of Kentucky’s oldest and boldest brands: Ale-8-One.

G.L. Wainscott began making and bottling soda water and other flavored drinks in Winchester, Ky., back in 1902. A couple of decades (and one lawsuit) later, he developed what would be his, and in time Kentucky’s, signature soft drink.

To continue you reading this article click on the link below:

https://innovationsbrandinghouse.com/roadtripky/ale-8-one/

Ale-8: The Official Soda of the Red River Gorge

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Ale-8: The Official Soda of the Red River Gorge

The classic ginger drink will soon be available to more climbers.

For climbers, the ginger drink, Ale-8-One, has always been a place-specific indulgence, something synonymous with climbing in Eastern Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, like Miguel’s Pizza is, or the terms pulling pockets and getting pumped. Often perched on top of a gear-covered picnic table out front of this pizzeria-turned-climber-haunt, Ale-8 (we often drop the “One”) is as crucial an ingredient as flour, water or yeast is to Miguel Ventura’s world-renowned pizza crust. There’s even a route named after it, which the late “Flyin” Brian McCray established in 1995 at the Motherlode. Ale-8-One, 5.12b, became an instant classic.

When Miguel’s opened in the mid-80s, it pulled in the local product of Ale-8, which had been around since the early 1900s gaining its name from an ingenious 14-year-old-girl’s contest-winning slogan (“a late one”) for this new addition to the soda world. Here, just as nearly everything (and everyone) that spends enough time around Miguel’s Pizza, Ale-8 found a home.

To read the complete article please click below:

https://www.climbing.com/places/the-only-soda-a-climber-will-drink/ 

 

Kentucky’s Favorite Mixer Goes Big

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DRINKS

Kentucky’s Favorite Mixer Goes Big

Ale-8-One, the soft drink born in Winchester, Kentucky, is now available across the South

by CAROLINE SANDERS

October 5, 2017

The Bluegrass State is known for its bourbon, its horses, and the music that originated from its rolling hills. And while you might have to travel there to fully experience those cultural highlights, you can now find one taste of Kentucky closer to home. Ale-8-One, a small craft soda company based out of Winchester, has expanded its distribution; the crisp, clean, ginger ale with a twist of citrus is now available in Harris Teeter, Kroger, and Fresh Market grocery stores throughout the South.

COURTESY OF ALE-8-ONE

G.L. Wainscott created Ale-8-One in 1926, and although its unique taste was a major hit, the product remained available only in Kentucky during the twentieth century. In 2002, the company expanded—but only to a few counties over the state line in Ohio and Indiana. “If we were going to expand, we wanted to do it right,” says fourth-generation Ale-8-One president Fielding Rogers. So the company took its time. In 2016, it partnered with Cracker Barrel to make the soda available in all 645 of the restaurant chain’s country stores in 44 states. Finally, this year, Ale-8-One decided to take a bigger leap, selling its product in grocery stores from Maryland to Texas.

To read the entire article please click below:

Kentucky’s Favorite Mixer Goes Big

The Best Little Bakeshop In America Is Right Here In Kentucky

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Posted in Kentucky                                                    May 29, 2017                                                                  by Andrea Limke                   

When you think of a good bakeshop, there are a few necessary criteria. Of course, delicious sweet treats top the list, but it’s also crucial to provide a friendly atmosphere, have outstanding customer service—and a good cup of coffee doesn’t hurt, either. Well, in Winchester, just outside of Lexington, a rather new bakery passes this test with flying colors. The Banery is now in the running for the best little bakeshop in America, and you’ll soon see why.

The 99 Days of Summer Countdown Begins

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Angela Blank

angelag.blank@ky.gov

502-892-4001

*Note to Broadcasters –video file related to this link can be found at: https://youtu.be/4QtZQl4CAnw

The 99 Days of Summer Countdown Begins

Dept. of Tourism Offers Fun Ideas for Kentucky travelers

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 24, 2017) – The Kentucky Department of Tourism today announced the launch of 99 Days of Summer, an interactive section of the kentuckytourism.com website with 99 travel suggestions for the 2017 summer season, starting Memorial Day, May 29 and lasting through Labor Day weekend, September 4.

“There are so many great things to do in Kentucky that it can sometimes be overwhelming to make those summer travel plans,” Tourism Commissioner Kristen Branscum said. “99 Days of Summer was created to give you trip and activity suggestions whether you are leaving for a week or looking for something to do the next day. We want everyone to enjoy the summer and these daily ideas can help you do just that.”

The 99 Days of Summer website, kentuckytourism.com/99days is an interactive calendar with pictures, events, maps and further information to help plan your Kentucky summer travel. Travelers are encouraged to share their Kentucky travel adventures with #kysummer. 

Each day has a different suggestion including traditional summer fun such as cooling off at a Kentucky State Park beach, finding the perfect fishing hole, or touring a horse farm. This year the list also includes one-of-a-kind summer activities only found in Kentucky such as rappelling into a cave 75 feet under the city of Horse Cave; sampling beer cheese all day long at the “Only Beer Cheese Festival in the World” in Winchester; learning about the 100th birthday of the great racehorse Man o War at the Kentucky Horse Park; or standing in the path of totality during the Great American Eclipse on August 21.

For additional information visit http://www.kentuckytourism.com.

 

 

 

A Great One

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Kentucky Monthly                                                             by DEBORAH KOHL KREMER

 

Kentucky’s other famous drink—aside from bourbon, of course—is Winchester’s Ale-8-One. Although some tell stories of it being served in their baby bottles, others in the state are not as familiar with the soft drink.

This gingery, citrusy, caffeine-infused carbonated beverage possesses a flavor that is unforgettable and apparently, not easily copied.

Ale-8-One dates back to 1926, when Winchester resident G.L. Wainscott, who already was bottling soda water and flavored drinks, came up with his signature drink. Not sure what to name it, he held a contest at the Clark County Fair and Ale-8-One, a twist on “A Late One” was the winner.

Wainscott’s original drink, developed in 1906, was a local success called Roxa-Kola. He was sued by a large cola company of a similar name—you know the one—and, much to everyone’s surprise, Wainscott won.

To read the complete article click below:

http://www.kentuckymonthly.com/lifestyle/featured/a-great-one/

Sriracha Lovers Unite!

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By: Full Circle Market- Health Foods

 

There’s a New Beer Cheese In Town-

Sriracha Beer Cheese from Full Circle Market!  We’ve worked on this recipe all winter long, and now it’s out of the gate and ready to go!  Grab a container to take to your favorite Derby Party~ it will not disappoint!  We are very excited to be collaborating with Rooster Brewing, in Paris, KY.  We are using their best-selling Sleepy Puppy Ale in the Sriracha Beer Cheese!

 

Daniel Boone blazed this trail in 1775. Hikers, bikers may rediscover it.

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Lexington Herald Leader                                                  April 30, 2017 7:05 am                                                     By: Tom Eblen

Kentucky’s first trail project is now its newest.

The National Park Service has agreed to help a non-profit organization working with state and local officials develop a driving tour and shared-use recreation trail along the route Daniel Boone blazed into the Kentucky wilderness in 1775.

The park service will facilitate five public meetings over the next three months to brainstorm ideas and gather comments to help develop a master plan for the proposed 200-mile Boone Trace trail between Cumberland Gap near Middlesboro and Fort Boonesborough State Park on the Madison-Clark county line at the Kentucky River.