More than 700 hopefuls entered their beers in the annual Samuel Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest. The main contest is not open to employees of Samuel Adams’ maker, The Boston Beer Company. Instead, they compete in a separate, in-house competition, with equal prizes.

The prize is the experience of brewing their beer at the Samuel Adams brewery in Boston, alongside the professional brewers. Their beer is then distributed in a Limited Edition—with the winners’ photo on the bottle. And there’s some cash: a $5,000 royalty for their recipe.

Given how many different brews Samuel Adams already makes (more than 40), entrants are encouraged to incorporate unusual ingredients into their recipes.

The winning beers are now available nationally in the 2011 LongShot Category 23* Variety 6-Pack, two bottles of each of the winning recipes, at a suggested retail price of $9.99:

 
*Category 23 is a judging category for beers whose ingredients are so unusual that they don’t fit into the other categories.

THE SCOOP ON THE SUDS

Friar Hop Ale
Richard Roper created a hybrid of two styles: a big hoppy IPA and a fruity Belgian ale. The caramel sweetness of a Belgian ale is enhanced with big, citrussy hop reminiscent of an IPA. The beer has universal appeal; but rather than have a second, we tried a different style.

Honey Bee’s Lavender Wheat Beer
We loved the idea created by Caitlin DeClercq, a member of the Samuel Adams sales team. She brewed a wheat beer with dried lavender petals, honey and vanilla. We’re a flavor-forward fan: While a delicious wheat beer, the lavender, honey and vanilla were too subtle for us. (“Flavor forward” is the opposite of subtle and delicate. It means that the flavors assert themselves to the point where they are easily recognized. It’s a style preference, a positive term not to be confused with “heavy-handed” or “overdone,” which are negative terms.)

And now for our favorite among the winning trio:

Blackened Hops Beer
Blackened Hops Beer made by Rodney Kibzey is one we’d buy again and again. With deep roasted malt character and both citrusy and piney American hops, this dark beer is both profound and refreshing. Its black color hints at roasted malt and coffee flavors. We love hops, but this beer will appeal to the non hop-heads in the crowd. This is Rodney’s second LongShot American Homebrew Contest win. His Weizenbock was included in the 2008 LongShot Variety Pack. Rodney, we’ll gladly stop by any time for a taste of what’s brewing.

Bravo to to the winners and to all of America’s homebrewers.

That’s how we feel about the handmade Italian salami (or salame, as it is properly called in Italy) from Creminelli Fine Meat of Seattle.

The Creminelli family has been producing artisan meat products in Italy since the 1600. More recently, in 2007, master artisan Cristiano Creminelli brought the family’s recipes and techniques to America.

The pork-based salami will be a revelation to Americans for whom Old World artisan traditions have long since disappeared. From the first bite, you know you are eating recipes made with skills passed down from generation to generation.

If Dad/Hubby/Grandpa enjoys a good piece of salami, treat him to some from Creminelli salami for Father’s Day. There are two scrumptious selections in handsome wooden gift crates:

 
Read our full review of Creminelli salami, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

Favoloso!

You can also brush up on the different types of salami.
  

Fresh fruit, filtered water and a pinch of sugar. Photo courtesy The Soft Serve Fruit Co.

Made with fresh fruit, filtered water and a small amount of organic cane sugar, Soft Serve Fruit is a healthier alternative to soft-serve (or conventional) ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Summer flavors include banana, mango, pear and strawberry. Apple, cranberry and pumpkin will appear in the fall. Soft Serve Fruit is available with or without toppings and in shakes.

Think of Soft Serve Fruit as a very low-sugar, soft-serve sorbet. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll probably prefer conventional sorbet. If you want a frozen dessert with less sugar, go for Soft Serve Fruit.

The store was packed with health-oriented moms and their pre-school and grade-school kids. The kids were very happy.

There’s only one hitch:

There are only three retail outlets: one in Manhattan and two in The Hamptons. The company plans to expand and to franchise. Learn more at SoftServeFruitCo.com.

But there is a solution:

The Yonanas frozen dessert maker, “As Seen On TV.” Frozen fruit goes in, soft-serve fruit comes out.

We actually saw the Yonanas machine at a recent healthy food press event and met the inventors. However, no samples were available for tasting.

But a friend who bought a Yonanas machine after seeing the infomercial says the machine actually does produce something similar to Soft Serve Fruit. (She said it took three bananas to make one large serving. She hasn’t tried other fruits because she doesn’t like most fruits—and in fact ordered only the banana flavor at The Soft Serve Fruit Co.) We’re on a waiting list to try her machine.

The infomercial producers have convinced the inventors to claim that the Yonanas machine is a “$150 value for $49.95.” Don’t believe it.

You can get an ice cream maker from Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach for $49.95, which includes recipes and the versatility to make ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet. So there’s no justification for the Yonanas claim of a $150 value (unless that’s how they value the inexpensive plastic storage container that is thrown in). It’s a little plastic machine—you can see it at GetYonanas.com.

You don’t even need a separate machine. Just throw frozen fruit into your blender or food processor, the way the Yonanas inventors likely began. Depending on your food religion, you may wish to add a bit of sugar, agave nectar or noncaloric sweetener.

With all the luscious fruit coming into season, it’s time to make easy fruit sorbet.

You don’t even need an ice cream maker. You can make granita in a plastic container or the bottom of a metal ice cube tray.

Unlike ice cream and frozen yogurt, sorbet is dairy-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free, vegan and free of the eight major food allergens (eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat). If you limit your sugar intake, when you make your own sorbet you can substitute low-glycemic agave nectar or the non-caloric sweetener of your choice.

SORBET RECIPE
Use this template to make any fruit sorbet recipe: apple, berry (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry), citrus (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange), melon (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), pear, tropical fruit (kiwi, mango, pineapple) and stone fruit (apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum).

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING the water and sugar to boil, then lower heat and simmer for five minutes.

2. REMOVE from heat and cool completely. Combine with the fruit purée.

3. PLACE in an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions.

4. FOR GRANITA: If you don’t have an ice cream maker, make a granita. Put the mixture in a plastic container and place in the freezer. When it begins to freeze, stir every 10 minutes to break up the ice crystals, until completely frozen, for approximately one hour.

A global cookie ambassador. Photo courtesy
DoubleTree by Hilton.

DoubleTree by Hilton launched its Cookie CAREavan in New York City by giving away 50,000 free cookies. It’s the first leg of a national 50-city road tour.

So if there’s a DoubleTree in your town, there’s a delicious free cookie coming to you soon.

The cookies are packed with chocolate chips, walnuts and rolled oats, and are nicely flavored with lemon juice and cinnamon.

Since 1986, the cookies have welcomed guests to the hotel. Today, at each of the more than 200 DoubleTree hotels and resorts on five continents, the cookies are baked fresh every day—to the tune of 30,000 chocolate chip cookies every month and more than 10,950,000 each year. The company is on its way to giving out its 300 millionth cookie.

One might say that the cookies are goodwill ambassadors to countries that aren’t familiar with them—from China and Costa Rica to Tanzania and Zanzibar.

DoubleTree has also donated more than one million cookies to deserving people (doctors, nurses, police and firefighters) and special groups (orphanages, food banks and shelters).

Hotel guests like the cookies so much that they are available online. You can treat yourself or send a tin for Father’s Day, at DoubleTreeCookies.com (or telephone 1.888.916.0097).

The cookies are certified kosher (dairy) by Star-D.

Follow the cross-country tour to find out when the Cookie CAREavan may be coming to your city.