I know a few ex-Pat Russians, they bottle everything in Vodka. Flavored Vodka is something every family have their own
‘secret’ Recipe for.
I made some with wild Pacific Blackberry (Rubus ursinus) that looked awful but tasted great.
Made very ugly cocktails.
But what good Russian drinks cocktails?
I drink cold shots from the freezer.
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That’s what I’ve found with mead making. Sometimes the ugly brews are the tastiest.
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You’re a victim of the invention of cheap clear glass*, before then your mead would be served in a metal or ceramic, maybe bone, vessel, you’d get mostly nose and flavor, can’t infer much from just the top of the container.
*lager was invented to sell more clear beer glasses.
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Lager wasn’t so much invented, as it slowly developed from the Bavarian habit of storing and fermenting beer in low temperature caves. The term existed by the middle ages and recognizable lager styles by the 16th century.
If you’re thinking maybe of Pilsner, which is 19th century. Even that was developed to compete with Bavarian beer, to the point where what would become Pilsner Urquell hired a Bavarian brewer. Bavarians would push back by developing Helles.
There’s a connection with clear class vessels. But it’s in how clear, well made glasses first became available around the same period. Serving in clear glass was a good way to push the clarity, lightness and “purity” of these beers. On the glassware side the aesthetic of a pretty beer in a pretty glass, combined with the same purity concerns helped popularize them. Seeing your beer let you see it was well made, actually the beer you bought, and hadn’t been adulterated or switch out. So it’s a marketing thing.
It’s hardly just in lagers and pilsners either. Guinness was big and early on glassware in marketing, and glass bottom pewter tankards had become popular in the UK and Ireland earlier than that. Seem to have a similar reason for existing, and I have seen very old German mugs with similar glass bottoms.
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I can see the guiness angle on clear glass for sure. Thanks for the pilsner correction, I can usualy pass for someone aware that lagered beer is older than manufactured glass. I remember someone being paid to develop a beer that was able to show off how clear the glass was, and bottom fermented stuff is always a good start for a clearer brew.
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That probably happened some where. I know once pilsner kicked off a whole Central European light lager fight, that clearer and clearer beer became more and more of a thing. Driving a lot of our modern filtering techniques, and colder and longer conditioning.
Before the mid 19th century most lagers were still darker. Ambers, reds, and dunkels and shit. Many of which still aren’t particularly clear. Pilsner kinda hit the European beer market like a bomb, and everyone had to respond.
So I could definitely see that being a part of somebody’s approach. Either with helles, or any of the other areas that started producing their own pilsners and responses.
IIRC correctly the train went from England where pale ales were becoming the main thing at the end of the 18th and early 19th. The Austrians developed Vienna lager based on English style pale malts. That became so popular that it began to outsell styles in other areas. Which killed Czech beer exports. So they one upped it with Pilsner.
Which caused the Germans to respond with helles and Dortmunder.
Along the way a lot just went lighter following the trend. Including marzen/oktoberfest, which had originally been something like a dunkel.
ETA: It also seems to be where maibock comes from.
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I wouldn’t call myself a victim. Some of my brews are crystal clear; it just has no bearing on whether it’s tasty or not.
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Oregon State University has a grocery store on campus called “EBiGBies,” short for “Every Bean is a Good Bean.” 
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Did some breakfast baking ‘cause of guests; oatmeal blackberry cake via taste cooking .com and the cocoa brioche buns from epicurios. The cake needs one change-I ground some of the oats into flour so it didn’t just crumble apart when eaten-but is otherwise nice, and the brioche buns were using up the dough from a previous batch. They got too warm when proofing and the butter started to melt out. They taste good but the texture is off. I’m thinking repurposing them into a bread pudding. Also a vast pot of beef stew with dumplings that may feed us for another week or so.
Next up is applesauce with apples picked by a friend.
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Making this classic (the hot version) for dinner tonight:
It’s SO good, and this time I get to use leeks from my very own garden! (They’re the only things the groundhogs didn’t chomp in the new hugelkulture. Guess I know what I’ll be planting there next year!)
I’m making croutons, but also going to fry up some sage leaves in butter for an extra decadent garnish.
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Don’t forget to brown the butter!
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I made some extra sage-infused brown butter to drizzle on top. Can you hear my stomach grumbling from there?!?
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Mr.Linkey has always wanted one of those ‘spring lamb’ cake molds. I want to get him one for Christmas, but can’t figure out what’s the best version…there are a bunch of inexpensive versions (aluminum, I guess?), then heavier cast aluminum, then vintage cast iron models.
It seems none of them are dishwasher safe, so that’s not an issue.
Any tips, my fellow food lovers?
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The vast majority of people have made their Easter lamb cakes in the cheap aluminum molds, so there’s no reason to spend an arm and a leg unless you have a personal preference for a ‘nicer’ version.
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I forget where you’re located, but for the US/Canada Nordic Ware.
They’re also the go-to on Bundt pans and other shaped bakeware and molds. Though they’re best known for cast aluminum bakeware, they’re also one of the few quality manufacturers making stamped 3d cake pans. They’re Midwest based and there’s a pretty good chance they introduced the damn things in the US.
Judging by the entire suitcase of Bundt pans my cousin brought back to Ireland a few years ago, Nordic Ware is not hugely available outside North America. The lamb cakes supposedly originate in Germany though.
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They seem to be fairly easily available in the UK through online retailers, didn’t see any lamb pans tho. Very nice looking bakeware.
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And @Ryuthrowsstuff thanks for the tips!
I’m not much of a baker (carrot cake notwithstanding) so wasn’t sure if there was a difference in cook quality based on the different weights and materials. I’m going with the lightweight version.
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Her complaint might have been the pricing. Most of them can be had for less than $50 in the US, and the lower tier or less limited designs tend to be below $30.
And like I said it was a couple of years ago, when classy Bundt cakes had taken Instagram by storm.
I don’t bake much. But my sister and several other people around me are entirely too into it, and Nordic Ware baking pans make good go to gifts. A lot of people collect them.
From what I gather the light weight aluminum is desirable because it heats very evenly, heats up quickly, and releases well if prepped right.
I’m told the very thin lamb molds work better with cooking a 3d cake in one piece. Because it needs to heat up and set very quickly to not be terrifying.
Their other 3d cake pans are either Bundts, with a big hollow in the center. Or bake 2 halves that you glue together. Apparently that is not great for traditional kitschy lamb cakes.
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