BBQ stands for barbecue, and is at once a method and an object. The method is how food is cooked, as in, “I’m going to barbecue these ribs.” The object (originally describing wood resting on sticks) is what is used to cook the meat on, as in, “Go and toss these ribs on the barbecue.” The word itself likely comes from barabicu, which means sacred fire pit in the language of the Taino culture of the Caribbean, where barbecue is thought to have originated. That said, some scholars believe they can trace the practice of barbecuing meat all the way back to King Midas’ Tomb all the way back in 700 BC.

Attempting to pinpoint the exact origin of BBQ sauce is tricky business, as it seems to be obscured in the fog of history and no one can agree on a time and date, or even a location. Although the precise origin of BBQ sauce is not known, some believe that Christopher Columbus brought it from the Caribbean. In 1926 (1923 according to other sources), the Lewis Maull company, a family business from St. Louis founded in 1897, was the first entity to sell BBQ sauce commercially. It was called Maull’s BBQ sauce, and has become a staple of St. Louis BBQ. They’re motto was, “Don’t baste your BBQ, Maull it!” Before it began selling its famous sauce, the Lewis Maull company sold a variety of condiments, but Maull’s BBQ sauce became so popular that the company quickly decided to disregard their other condiments in favor of focusing solely on the BBQ sauce. Thankfully, Maull’s BBQ sauce is alive and well today, and Maulls offers their classic original recipe as well as eight new flavors, including Sweet N Mild and Beer flavored.

Although the Lewis Maull company was the first to sell the sauce commercially, the first entity to distribute BBQ sauce across the United States was none other than Heinz in 1951, followed closely by Kraft. Today, as we all know, Heinz is still in the BBQ sauce business, offering up a handful of varieties, including garlic and sweet and smokey.

Back in the good old days, there was no standard method used to refrigerate meat, so United States Southerners would cure the meat with peppers, vinegar, salt, and water. The addition of tomato sauce gives us a more modern idea of how BBQ sauce came to be, provided you’re not inclined to believe the Christopher Columbus story. It makes sense, as the south is renowned for their barbecues and sauces to this day. However it was accomplished, the general consensus is that it was a very good thing, and it’s difficult to imagine a world without BBQ sauce. Today many different companies make and distribute BBQ sauce, including the wonderful K.C. Masterpiece, and BBQ sauce of all brands and flavors is sure to remain a staple of the world’s diet for centuries to come.

Matching up hot food and cold brews is beyond a simple matter of killing the “hot” reaction. Indeed, that’s more facilitated with a nice big glass of milk, which binds to capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot peppers. Alcohol dissolves capsaicin, but adding beer to a hot food is more than the fulfillment of a buffalo restaurateur’s tricky goal, or the pursuit of a chemical reaction. You are adding to your food the character of the beer you choose. Your pairing depends on how well the beer fits with the flavors – other than “OW HOT!” – in your apocalyptic appetizer or infernal entree.

Beers can complement or emphasize various aspects of dishes: the bitterness of hops and the flavor of roasted malt balance fat in a rich dish, as do carbonation and alcohol content. Sweetness and maltiness balance spiciness in food, whereas hop bitterness emphasizes it. Again, alcohol dissolves capsaicin, so a stronger beer may make an ideal “cooler.”

If barbeque is on your mind, look into an Abbey Dubbel, a Porter, or a Sweet or Oatmeal Stout. These big flavorful beers are perfect for a food that’s both rich and spicy, whereas something lighter might feel like an afterthought.

With a range of spicy foods, but especially curries, try an India Pale Ale. These crisp, medium-bodied ales are perfect for strong, bold, spicy foods, adding a flavorful counterpoint without weighing down most dishes. An amber or red ale adds a slightly sweeter, more hoppy option that’s great with a range of spicy foods, especially chicken and fish.

I know what you’re thinking: what about Mexican food? Spicy foods with lots of substance – loaded nachos, tacos, chili – can all be approached, though perhaps not optimally, with the typical domestic light lagers. But try Mexican food with an Oktoberfest, Marzen, or Vienna-style beer, and find out what you’re missing. The only way to explain the difference is to imagine one day trying hot fudge on a sundae, after being told for a lifetime that condensed milk is the right topping. After you try this pairing you may never go back.

If your tastes run to Asian or Cajun foods, a Helles or a Dortmunder is your best bet. They’re beautiful pairings with lighter foods as well, like chicken, fish, and salads. The delicate mixes of just plain hot and other complex spice flavors found in Asian and Cajun cuisine won’t be overpowered by these beers’ character. A clean-tasting lager like Thailand’s Singha is ideal for Thai food.

You don’t have to remember all these precise pairings to successfully match beers with spicy foods. Although mass-produced light lagers might not be ideal in a pairing, a light crisp lager is a good default for spicy foods of all sorts – so it is hard to go wrong, even with a “default beer.”

But bear in mind that there are principles to beer pairing: if you have strong, rich flavors in your food, it will stand up to a bold, flavorful beer, and vice versa. If there are delicate interplays in the food, stay with something lighter and less imposing. Alcohol content is a good gauge for the quenching quality of a beer, and the interplays of hoppiness, maltiness, sweetness, alcohol content, and carbonation can be great predictors of how a beer will taste with a particular food. If you know the flavor of the beer you’re contemplating, and of the fire you’re fixing, imagine the pairing – or try the same dish with a variety of brews then settle on one or two before that big barbeque or dinner party.

Make note of the pairings that work best, and build a mental inventory. Fire and ice are as well combined in a meal as in a poem, and Frost, after all, belongs on a mug.

For example, the home brewer who is just starting out will not require a hydrometer. They will not require the false bottom brew pot with a spigot, unless they wish to brew using the all grain method. Additionally, a newcomer will not need soda kegs, carbonation tanks, or even half of the supplies that a local homebrew supply store would sell on a daily basis.

One thing that is vital, however, are glass carboys with airlocks. These protect batches of brew from evil spirits such as rogue yeasts or bacterial infection. Make sure not to skimp on the cost by buying plastic, because they can harbor microbes within tiny scratches embedded in the inner walls of the plastic carboy. Additionally, they can provide an undesirable flavor to the ale. Glass, on the other hand, is more fragile, heavier, though it is safer for beer to develop. They can be cleaned meticulously, where plastic carboys are far more difficult to properly clean.

It is also important to have a decent large spoon and a large brew kettle, as no set of equipment will be complete otherwise. If possible, get a stainless steel brew pot of five gallons, though if necessary, one could get by with enameled steel pots until it chips. The spoon should also be of stainless steel and should be long enough to stir the wort as far as the bottom of the bot. Otherwise, the malt is prone to burning at the bottom of the cauldron, which could take hours of scrubbing to remove.

Instead of bench cappers, consider hand cappers for bottling beer. Also, if one is the recycling type, consider finding some Grolsche style bottles with built in caps that can be cleaned and sanitized in order to reuse it. These style of bottles are especially useful as they are very durable. In order to ensure proper cleaning and sanitation occurs, think about purchasing a high pressure beer bottle spray attachment. Once the brew has been drunk, a simple rinse with the nozzle will be very useful in cleaning and sanitizing the bottles.

Another useful piece of equipment to invest in is something to keg the beer in, such as soda kegs. This will make the brew easily accessible, in addition to helping with saving time. Some soda kegs come with ball lock systems that are generally of easiest usage. Purchasing a few extra fittings can enable one to make one’s air pump out of a tire pump. Additionally, having a CO2 system for the purposes of carbonation will make this process far more convenient.

There is a simple reason why there exists such a wide variety of different bits of equipment available on the market, and this is because home brewing is quite multifaceted. In order to make a different kind of homebrew, one would need to have a different set of equipment. For example, wine makers would require wine bottles as well as different tools to shove corks into place, where beer brewers require caps for their bottles. Those who make hard cider require utilizing a cider press in order to brew from fresh apples. Beer brewers who work on specialty Belgian ales require yeast which is carefully temperature controlled.

Lastly, one would require a variety of different tools for different levels of production. For instance, one who is only beginning with homebrew will need to have one set of equipment than that of one who has been brewing at home for several years. At that point, word will travel, requiring a person to increase production to meet with consumer demand, and at that point, the majority of brewers will shift to all grain brewing, unless they already have. This would require a whole new list of equipment. In the end, however, as with most homebrew equipment, the investment ends up paying off rapidly.

Dry rubs can be applied to any type of protein including chicken, beef or pork. They can also be applied to other meats such as lamb or fish to help produce a nice crusty texture on the outside of the meat as well as add a great deal of flavor. In addition to the dry rub, a mop sauce is also often used. Mop sauces, also known as sop or bastes are a liquid sauce applied to the meat while cooking. Mops sauces, while most commonly made with a vinegar base, can incorporate any type of flavoring from spirits to beer or soda. Mops add moisture while cooking and help produce a tender product.

Dry rub flavors can vary from region to region. Barbecue in the American South such as that found in Memphis often exclusively rely solely on a dry rub and mop sauce to produce the regional signature taste. BBQ flavors commonly found in the Caribbean include jerk flavors. Jamaican jerk spices are well known for their spicy kick. Jamaican jerk rubs often combine the sweet flavors of cinnamon and allspice with the savory flavors of various peppers such as cracked black pepper and cayenne, as well as salt and dried herbs. Cajun flavors are often influenced by the spiciness found in the Caribbean but usually emphasize commonly found ingredients such as onions, celery and carrots rather than exotic ones such as allspice and cinnamon. Other variations include the ever popular sugar based rubs which are found throughout all of the United States. Sugar based rubs combine the contrasting flavors of sweet and savory. Sugar based rubs can either be smoky or spicy, depending on the desired flavors. In these types of rubs, brown sugar is utilized in addition to the typical peppers, salt and dried herbs. The addition of brown sugar results in the creation of a caramelized crust when cooking.

While dry rubs can be applied and used for any cooking method. Quick grilling or blackening utilizes the dry rub to create a quick crust over high heat. Another method, also known as the low and slow method, utilizes lower temperature in combination with smoke to cook the meat over an extended period of time. This long cooking process allows time for the connective tissue in the meat to break down to produce a tender final product. Here the dry rub, which is used in combination with the mop sauce, creates a dark and hard outer layer known as the bark or smoke ring.

Larger cuts of meat such as pork butt, brisket or back ribs are commonly cooked using the low and slow method while more expensive cuts such as prime rib and steak are done rather quickly. Mop sauces used to baste meat during the cooking process can consist of almost any flavors which compliment those in the dry rub. One of the most common ingredients in a mop sauce is the tangy and pungent vinegar. The acidity in vinegar gives a distinct flavor while adding moisture to help tenderize the meat while cooking. White distilled or apple cider vinegar can be used and combined with other mop ingredients such as sugar, salt, pepper or the original dry rub recipe. Other liquids that are commonly used in mop sauces include beer or spirits such as bourbon or whiskey. If using alcohol in a mop sauce, use caution when applying over and open flame as the liquid may instantly catch fire and cause burns. If possible, cook your mop sauce first before using. Heat will cause the alcohol to evaporate, thus preventing dangerous flare ups.

Winemaking is not very difficult. With the right equipment and ingredient kits and with a little bit of direction and advice, you can make your own six gallon batch producing up to thirty bottles.

Before starting the wine making process, you’ll need to decide which wine variety you want. There are four types of wine: red, white, rosé and champagne. Rosé wine is slightly red but usually has a flavor similar to white wine. Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France. Most homemade wine is either red or white.

What’s the main difference between red wine and white wine? Other than color, the biggest difference is that the juice used to make red wine contains skins, seeds, and stems. These components cause the wine to contain tannin, which is what adds more flavor and body. And, of course, color. Flavor is a very good reason for choosing which wine variety to try. If you are new to wine, you may decide to start with a white wine. It’s sweeter and lighter than red wine and will be a bit more palatable. If you are wine drinker and are used to tasting different wines, you may enjoy red wine which is heavier and has more complex and interesting flavors.

When selecting a wine to go with a meal, some wine connoisseurs follow specific guidelines. If the meal is delicate and light, they will avoid a red wine which has a stronger flavor which may overpower the meal. Richer and heavier red wines are reserved for meals with stronger flavors. Of course, this can make wine selection intimidating and too much work for some. There is an easier rule to follow… white wine with white food (fish, chicken) and red wine with red food (red meat).

Though you may consider the proven health benefits of red wine. Because red wine is made with the grape skins and seeds, it is a rich source of antioxidants, including resveratrol, which increases HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and protects against heart disease.

However, the rule I follow is the easiest rule yet. Decide what you like and drink that.

Beyond the color, there are several types of white wine and several types of red wine. If you don’t already have a favorite, you can buy and taste different kinds until you settle on one you like. A knowledgable wine merchant will be able to give you some good direction on choosing a wine you’ll enjoy.

Of course, the best resource for wine making is a beer and wine making hobby shop in your area. They will provide you with the equipment, the ingredients, instructions and the answers to your questions. The equipment you’ll need includes a fermenting bucket, a six-gallon glass carboy, thermometer, bottles and various tubes and hoses. You can buy an ingredient kit which contains everything you’ll need to make 30 bottles, including concentrated grape juice and yeast.

One of the biggest challenges some find when making their first batch of wine is how long you need to wait for the wine to age. Wine making takes patience. After mixing and fermentation, and after the wine is bottled, it sits in the bottles to age for up to two years depending on the variety and quality you choose. Different ingredient kits will have different aging expectations. But a rule of thumb is that the longer the wine ages, the richer and better it gets. Some home wine makers like to have multiple staggered batches aging at the same time to ensure that there is a constant supply.

Wine making is a very fun and rewarding hobby that produces a quality product that you’ll love to share with your friends.