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Posted By: JOConnell
Jennifer O’Connell lives in Decatur, GA and is a co-founder of Georgia Ale & Lager Sirens (GALS). A long time lover & friend of craft beer she is also known by some as Hoptrollop. A trained chef she currently cooks only for family and friends, but still gets her kicks creating dishes. If beer is involved in anyway, all the better.
Originally posted 2010-10-15 08:20:00.
Posted By: Theresa Carpine
My sister Lisa suggested that we get together with our mom to bake and decorate Christmas cookies this weekend. Her timing couldn’t have been better, as I had recently received a delivery from South Durham Confection Company with samples of their cookies to pair with craft beer. So while we waited for our own sugar cookies to cool, we enjoyed baked treats from North Carolina with a variety of craft beers from across the nation.
South Durham Confection Company is a new venture of Alison Collins and Jimmy VerVaecke that combines their love of food and craft beer. Alison is a lifelong cook and began pursuing the culinary arts full-time in 2009. Jimmy describes himself as “an IT cubicle drone by day,” as well as an award-winning homebrewer and ranked BJCP beer judge.
“Together we seek to create savory snacks to pair with our favorite craft beers,” Jimmy explained in an email. “We’re starting our journey with a line of cookies infused with a variety of herbs, spices, fruit, and nuts. We wanted to get away from the traditional styles, like chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter.
“Not only do savory cookies make a tasty snack, we believe that this is an excellent way to introduce people to many of the flavors they would find in craft beer,” Jimmy added, noting that a freshly baked cookie served with beer is a friendly option for an unadventurous beer drinker.
Four types of cookie–Blue Cheese and Rosemary, Madras and Chili Powder, Cornmeal and Thyme, and Toasted Sesame–are currently listed on SDCC’s website, but it’s the just the beginning. Alison and Jimmy have plans to develop seasonal and collaboration cookies using ingredients that are fresh, local, or “just plain interesting.”
“Much like great beer, our cookies start with just a few basic ingredients. We can alter the ratios – as a brewer might with malt and hops – and the process to create several basic types of cookie,” Jimmy said. In keeping with the spirit of homebrewing, SDCC cookies are handmade in a kitchen, not a factory, and do not contain preservatives. That also means you should eat them soon, which isn’t a difficult task.
For the pairing, Alison and Jimmy sent two batches of cookies. Toasted Sesame is described as “the classic peanut butter cookie–minus the peanut butter,” with sesame seeds, tahini, and sesame oil giving these buttery cookies their nutty character. Blue Cheese and Rosemary infuses a classic shortbread cookie with tangy blue cheese, tart dried cranberries, and piney rosemary leaves.
At the pairing party, which my brother-in-law John also attended, I took the suggested pairings for the cookies into consideration and looked for nationally-available beers while paying tribute to SDCC’s home in North Carolina and my roots in the Northwest. I managed to get some great deals on a wide selection of craft beer at Rosauers Supermarket, a Northwest grocery chain, and Bottles, my local beer and wine shop.
We started with Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale (Bend, Oregon), a Gold Medal winner at 2010 Great American Beer Festival. Mirror Pond is a reliable beer that goes well with almost any kind of food, but John found that Toasted Sesame was a bit too sweet with this dry-hopped pale ale. We all agreed that the elements of Blue Cheese and Rosemary cookies, like tartness of the dried cranberries, suited its pairing with Mirror Pond.
Next in the line-up, we tried Flying Dog Dogtoberfest (Frederick, Maryland). I was very excited to find this style of beer (a suggested pairing for Toasted Sesame) in mid-December, as most märzens are fall seasonals. Following the Mirror Pond, Dogtoberfest offered a more balanced flavor of malt and hops, which went well with both types of cookies. My mother Joyce noted that Dogtoberfest really brought out the peanut flavor of Toasted Sesame.
We moved on to Victory HopDevil (Downingtown, Pennsylvania) and, although the piney, resiny hops of an India Pale Ale were suggested to highlight the herbal character of the Blue Cheese and Rosemary cookie, I was leery to serve it since none of my pairing partners are big fans of IPAs. Lisa didn’t really like either cookie with the HopDevil, but she surprised me by saying that the IPA was good on its own! Jimmy was right; serve beer with a cookie and your guests might enjoy a beer they wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
Our next beer was Abita Turbodog (Abita Springs, Louisiana), which was another exciting discovery at my local bottle shop. I asked the proprietor if he carried any Southeastern beers, as I wanted to serve at least one beer that might be more readily available for the Durham, NC market that SDCC serves, and he pointed me toward Turbodog. The nutty characteristics of this Brown Ale were well-matched for the Toasted Sesame. John also suggested trying this beer with a plain serving of blue cheese, rather than the shortbread cookie itself.
For our last beer, I wanted to serve something from Washington, so we enjoyed a 22 oz. of Pike XXXXX Stout (Seattle, Washington). I noted a smoky, bacon-like aroma right off the bat, and I wasn’t sure how well those flavors would suit either cookie. Lisa and John liked this dark extra stout with Toasted Sesame, and my mom thought the pairing mimicked chocolate and peanut butter, which are two flavors that always go well together. I, on the other hand, thought that richness of the stout brought out the creaminess of the blue cheese in the shortbread cookies.
After all was said and done (or drunk), our very unscientific findings (my notes towards the end of the tasting became slightly incoherent) were as follows:
- Lisa thought Toasted Sesame matched up better overall to the various styles of beer.
- Joyce thought the presentation of Blue Cheese and Rosemary was the prettiest, and perfect for the Christmas season too.
- If he was going to enjoy a cookie on its own, John would choose Toasted Sesame.
- John’s favorite pairings were Turbodog with Toasted Sesame and HopDevil with Blue Cheese and Rosemary.
- Favorite beers of the night: Lisa and I liked Dogtoberfest, John liked Turbodog, and Joyce liked Mirror Pond.
Visit South Durham Confection Company for more information and follow @durhamcookies for updates. Cheers!
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Originally posted 2010-12-15 09:05:05.
Posted By: Theresa Carpine
Unfortunately, a care package of gourmet cookies did not arrive on my doorstep this Christmas. Instead, I convinced my friends to bake cookies and bring them to my house. I told them to bring beer too and they actually did it! I am really good at manipulating people.
Okay, okay…it was actually a cookie exchange party, and I baked something too. And while my brother-in-law’s co-worker observed that a cookie exchange party sounded pretty lame, I revitalized the tradition by suggesting that we sample the cookies by pairing them with beer.
Kudos to my friends coming up with some creative and tasty cookie recipes and selecting some really excellent beer to drink! While some in the party chose to enjoy each cookie with its intended beer, I had almost every cookie on my plate at once so I could mix and match flavors.
Here’s a rundown of the parings…
After all the beer was drunk, we exchanged the cookies that remained. Cookie and beer pairing exchange parties might be a new annual tradition for my circle of friends. I just need to decide which cookie recipe and beer pairing to serve next year. Suggestions (and other comments) welcome!
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Posted By: Melissa Ward
A few weeks ago I dipped into a snifter full of Dogfish Head’s version of Saison du BUFF — a collaboration between DFH, Victory Brewing and Stone. After enjoying that beer (maybe a bit too much), I knew I had to hunt down Victory’s and Stone’s. And luck was with me.
Today I want to share Victory Brewing Co.’s Saison du BUFF. Like Dogfish Head, I’m able to get the majority of Victory’s beers right at my local liquor store, mainly due to the brewery’s closeness — about an hour away.
I had my husband Ray join me in the tasting because 1) that’s what we do, and 2) I’m still recovering from a rather unpleasant cold, which has my olfactory and taste senses a bit muddled. He was my tasting wingman.
Like DFH’s version, Victory’s SDB pours a pale gold with a thin, white head that dissipates fairly quick. The spice is very evident in the nose and a lot of the herbal notes of rosemary, sage and thyme come out—with rosemary taking the forefront. When giving the glass a few swirls to kick up aroma, a bit of barnyard funk comes out, which is a nice touch amidst the herbs and spice.
Ray noticed a light, fruity sweetness to the beer, something he associates with farmhouse ales. He also found the rosemary complimented the citrus in the beer. I had a difficult time recognizing the traditional saison attributes, unlike my first sampling of Dogfish’s SDB. When I looked up Victory’s version, I came across a review that claimed it was “more Prima Pils than saison.” While I agree that this beer is more of another style than a saison, I don’t agree with likening it to a base of Prima Pils. It’s just something … else. And that’s not a bad thing.
If I were to pair this beer with food, I would go for a nice whitefish, like haddock, topped with a not-too-spicy salsa with plenty of cilantro. Ray pointed out that the cilantro would go well with the bright bitterness of the herbs and hops. He also suggested pairing SDB with grilled veggies tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette. Even some bread and the right cheese would go well with this beer.
And finally, yes, I have a bottle of Stone’s Saison du BUFF thanks to a little help from my friends. Stay tuned!
Originally posted 2010-10-11 09:05:14.
Posted By: Kim Riemann
Certain beers are legend. Dogfish 120 IPA, Pliny the Younger, and Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout to name a few. When you have the opportunity to try them, you do and whether or not they live up to the hype or not, well, that’s up to each individual imbiber.
A few months ago only 27 cases of CBS were delivered to the entire state of NJ and my local beer store, Cranbury Buy Rite, snagged a few. Now this was some hard to find stuff and they could have hoarded it for themselves, their friends, or their loyal customers but instead they opted to do something special. They partnered with a local restaurant, Zinna’s Bistro, and created a Beer Tasting Dinner with a portion of the proceeds going to Elijah’s Promise, a soup kitchen, and much more.
For the 90 or so people who filled the restaurant (it was closed to other customers), we were treated to a nine course tasting of small plates, cooked with and accompanied by beer. Friends, family and strangers, all beer enthusiasts, shared tables and spent the night together talking about beer, favorites, places to drink, home brewing and more. We were even treated to a special surprise when half-way through the meal, we paused to enjoy another hard-to-find beer, a bit of Victory’s Dark Intrigue.
My favorites for the evening, the spicy mussels cooked in Allagash’s Dubbel, and Kane’s Head High IPA (accompanied with a little bacon cheeseburger slider). By the way, Kane’s a local NJ brewery, making some really good stuff. If you’re a hop-head and have an opportunity to try some of their brew, you should. Surprises for the evening? Well, never having had a scotch ale (that I can recall), I really enjoyed the Founders Backwoods Bastard and the Dark Intrigue was pretty tasty too.
When raising money for a good cause involves this much fun, who can say no? I’m looking forward to more beer dinners, hoping this trend continues.
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Posted By: Julia Taylor
Photo courtesy of CraftBeer.com and Randy Mosher
The kickoff to the holiday season has begun and, for many, this represents stress and spending copious amounts of money. For me, however, it is about spending time with family and friends enjoying good food: especially good drink. As the homebrewer and craft beer aficionado in the family, one of my responsibilities includes pairing the perfect beer with our Thanksgiving feast. Since beer is best paired with a single course like an artisan cheese or rich dessert, the hodge podge of flavors, textures, and sensations of this holiday dinner offers a challenge of what to brew. There’s not enough time to brew a Märzen, so maybe a Belgian Pale Ale or Dunkelweizen? After serious pondering on the subject, I decided to follow the great beer and food pairings advice of Randy Mosher, author of Tasting Beer: An Insiders Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink, to help guide my decision.
Match strength with strength. Basically, delicate dishes work best with delicate beers and strongly flavored foods demand assertive beers. In beer, the intensity of flavor involves alcoholic strength, malt character, hop bitterness, sweetness, richness, roastiness, and more. In food, the richness (or fat), sweetness, cooking methods (such as roasting, grilling, or frying), and spicing all play a role.
Roasted turkey, gravy, and stuffing, oh my! I’m going to need a beer with a high alcohol percentage and strong malt backbone to cut through the fats and starches of this massive spread. This feast, while rich, is more herbal than spicy (unless you’ve injected your bird with a Cajun marinade before tossing in the fryer), so I’ll want to avoid over-hopped beers, and aim for a touch of sweetness instead, to boost the diverse and complex flavors of the meal.
Find Harmonies. Combinations often work best when they share common flavor elements. The nutty flavors of an English-style brown ale and handmade cheddar cheese; the deep roasted flavors of an imperial stout and chocolate truffles; and the clean, rich, caramel flavors of an Oktoberfest lager and roasted pork are all examples.
Savory, sweet, rich, earthy/herbaceous, and nutty are flavors that I relate to Thanksgiving dinner. The soft malt and higher alcohol of Belgian Tripel with roasted turkey, caramel sweetness of a Biére de Garde with sweet potatoes, or smoky earthiness of a Scottish Ale and stuffing.
Consider the Contrast Elements. Certain qualities of food and beer interact with each other in specific, predictable ways, and taking advantage of these interactions ensures that food and beer will balance each other.
I have turned my brothers into hopheads, but do not think the chef du jour would appreciate us drinking a tongue numbing IPA, so better stick with alcohol and malt sweetness to counteract the rich cuisine.
Look to classic cuisines. The cuisines of beer-drinking countries offer many traditional beer and food combinations, like bratwurst with pale lager, and unusual pairing like stout and oysters. These classic matches are a great starting point for further exploration.
My favorite traditional beer and food combination? A bowl full of steamed moules, overflowing plate of frites with assortment of aïolis, and a Belgian ale… The spicy light-bodied beer is a great complement to the mild texture and brininess of the mussels. Hmmm… spicy and briny, I may be on to something.
Make use of familiar patterns. Re-create or evoke recognizable flavor pairs in the form of beer for broad acceptance.
Aside from turkey, there is nothing more Thanksgiving than pumpkin pie, so a pumpkin beer does seem fitting.
Practice makes perfect. Not every pairing will work as expected, and that is part of the fun. If it is not great, make a note and move on, and build on the things that work.
RDWHAHB-Relax, Don’t, Worry, Have a Homebrew
Picture courtesy of Foodista.com
Consider seasonality. Lighter fare and beers for the warmer months and heavier for the winter. The beers and foods of a given season pair naturally and suit the mood.
A Märzen is the perfect fall beer, but with only six weeks until Thanksgiving, an 8-week lagering period is out of the question.
Contrast and complement. All beer and food combinations should involve both of these principles. Some pairings will be more dependent on the contrast, others on the complementary flavors, but all should strive for some kind of balance.
My goal is to balance the briny with spicy, richness with alcohol, and earthy with malt.
When in doubt, go Belgian. A Belgian-style abbey Dubbel or Tripel have enough substance to stand up to just about anything but do not have an overly aggressive malt or hop flavors that will overwhelm most foods. Plus, the big bottles make a nice presentation.
And I did. After much deliberation, I decided my Thanksgiving brew would be a Belgian Tripel, a spicy beer that is high in alcohol, has a touch of malt sweetness, and hopefully a crowd pleaser.
Tripel Trouble
OG: 1.081
FG: 1.012
IBU: 34
Color: 4.5 SRM
Alcohol: 9.2% ABV
Boil: 90 minute
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Grains-Mash at 149º for 90 minutes
Pilsner Malt-14 lbs.
Belgian Aromatic-0.25lbs
Cane Sugar-2.5 lbs
Hops
Tetnang-2.3 oz @ 60 minutes
Saaz-.5 oz @ 10 minutes
Yeast
Wyeast-3787-Trappist High Gravity
Ferment
Pitch yeast at 64º F and slowly raise temperature to 70º over the course of a week. Lager the beer for one month at 45 to 50º.
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Posted By: Theresa Carpine
I hope this doesn’t make you insanely jealous (I really don’t), but I attended the official launch party of Sweet and Stout this weekend. What started with Chocolate Irish Stout cupcakes on St. Patrick’s Day and weekend hobby of baking experimentation turned into an Internet sensation and business venture of couple Jackie Mustard and Dylan Waidelich.
Sweet and Stout Cupcakes
A little background on my personal history with Jackie and Dylan. While updating twitter a few months ago, I noticed that a new LadiesOCB follower was also located in Spokane. Checking out her profile, I discovered that Jackie had a blog about baking cupcakes with beer. We exchanged a few tweets and emails and I worked up the courage to ask her out for “friend date.” See? Social media really does bring people together. Along with her fiancé Dylan, we met up for pints at the Steam Plant Grill to chat about beer, cupcakes, and life. Coincidentally, Dylan grew up in Bellingham, where I also lived for about eight years.
As cheesy as it sounds, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. It’s been so fun to watch their hobby grow into a business as they worked out a deal with Brews on Washington, applied for licenses and permits, launched a hugely successful Kickstarter, and anxiously waited for their official launch. We’re also Brews on Washington Trivia Night buddies and we make a pretty good team; I have two prize growlers to prove it.
Sweet and Stout Cupcake
Sweet and Stout debuted at Brews on Washington on Saturday, October 29, 2011 with seven cupcakes options. As singer/songwriter Liz Rognes serenaded the many friends and supporters who turned out for the launch, I sampled six of the seven cupcakes. Just so you don’t think I’m a horrible glutton, I shared them with my sister and her husband. I already knew that the seventh, the Coconut Pineapple Porter, was amazing because I made a batch at home after discovering their blog.
Jackie recommended that I try the Red Velvet, made with Scuttlebutt Porter, and pair it with Bitter Root Last Cast Black IPA. The richness of the red velvet and the creaminess of the frosting provided a satisfying balance with the bitter, hoppy notes of the beer. I doubt that there was a bad pairing to be found in the bar that night, whether drinking these perfectly moist and chewy cupcakes with a beer, coffee, or a tall glass of milk.
The other cupcakes on hand included:
Follow @SweetandStout and visit Sweet and Stout for updates on flavors and availability in the Spokane area.
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Posted By: Stevie Caldarola
For the first time ever, I was granted access to the Farm to Table Pavillion at the Great American Beer Festival this year. I decided to attend on during Thursday night’s session to make sure I got in while the going was still good. The F to T is available for anybody who purchased a ticket to the pavillion (you do need a special ticket, not just your entry into GABF,) and was open during the Thursday and Friday sessions from 5:30-9:00 PM.
This year, the pavillion featured twenty-four craft beers from breweries from twelve different states and was coordinated by Chef Adam Duyle of The Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco, California.
It took me a few minutes to not be overwhelmed by all of the great beer and food that was laid out throughout the room. In fact, I had immediately decided to stand in line for the first booth I saw when I entered the room and was surprised when I finally got to the front of the line. It was the Real Ale booth, which I was excited about, but both of their pairings were with seafood, which I do not eat. Unfortunately, I think I either confused or offended the Real Ale brewer, as he asked
me which food I wanted, between oysters or some sort of fish, as that would dictate which beer I wanted, and I tried to decline either politely. He looked a bit stunned, and then tried to apologize, stating that the food often dictates which beer to try at each table, and then he poured me a healthy glass of their 15th Anniversary Ale, which was absolutely delicious. Feeling a bit sheepish from that encounter, I took a better look around the room (the food pairings were not printed on the program, which was slightly annoying) and set off with more purpose and a better understanding of how to conduct myself.
The pairing were as such:
Josh Brewer of Mother Earth Brewing Company
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales from Ann Arbor, Michigan paired with The Pinyon from Boulder, Colorado
The stand out beer for me was Maui Mild Onion by Maui Brewing Company: Anita Lum of Maui Brewing Company was kind enough to explain to me that the brewers actually carmelized onions and then added them into the brewing process for this beer. The result was a sweet onion twinge, but not overwhelming to the palate. Fantastic!
Stand out pairings were:
cheese cake, cocoa nib drizzle, and caramel brewer’s malt pureeLuckily, I paced enough that I wasn’t a walking wreck after all of that fantastic and filling food. My advice for those going to future Farm to Table events? Pace properly, drink lots of water, and don’t expect to get filled up from the food samples in the tasting. Farm to Table is not a substitute for dinner, but meant as a sampling to show how well beer can pair with food…
…which I think they did, perfectly.
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Posted By: Melissa Ward
Luckily for me, Philadelphia and the surrounding areas are chock full of fantastic BYOB restaurants: Bibou, Cochon, Blackfish … you get the picture. From what I’ve heard, this is also the case in most metro areas. Most folks bring a nice bottle of vino and sit down to an excellent meal, however wine isn’t the only beverage you can bring along. Instead, bring a 22 oz or 375 mL bottle of your favorite craft beer (perhaps a bottle of Dogfish Head’s Red and White?) or even better, some homebrews.
In June 2009, my husband and I had the opportunity to do just that, at one of the best restaurants on the East Coast: Talula’s Table. We had been invited to share the farmhouse table with a collection of friends, and we knew we had some homebrews in 22 oz bottles that we could bring with us to share with the group.
To prepare for a BYOB evening, spend some time reviewing the restaurant’s menu and considering what you have cellared. A great resource on pairing beer and food is Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver’s book The Brewmaster’s Table. Finding an exact pairing will not always be cut and dry; however if know the beer’s flavor profile well enough, then go with your gut.
For that particular evening at Talula’s, I paired our Dry Humour Dry Irish Stout with the Wild King Salmon, Smokey New Potato Sauce and Red Trout Caviar, and it was a smashing success. I paired a total of four beers; if interested, read about the whole experience (and check out the food porn!)
Almost all BYOB restaurants should be able to accommodate your craft beer and/or homebrews, but be sure to give specific instructions as to temperature, glassware, and pouring (bottle conditioned vs. non). This will ensure the proper serving of your fermentable of choice, which is key to a great meal.
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Originally posted 2010-11-04 12:05:32.
Posted By: Theresa Carpine
After eight years in western Washington, I recently returned to my roots on the east side of the mountains. To celebrate my homecoming, my parents suggested that we visit one of their favorite local restaurants, Flamin’ Joe’s, for dinner. With a slogan like “Firey Wings & Cool Brews,†they didn’t have to try too hard to get me to agree.
Flamin’ Joe’s has a great, casual atmosphere, like a family-friendly sports bar. The décor of the establishment reflects two influences: the Oakland Raiders (unusual for the Northwest) and a firehouse. Fire extinguishers, turnout gear, and other firefighting paraphernalia adorn the walls of the restaurant, which now has two locations in the Spokane area.
The firefighting theme carries over into the food as well; the spice level for Joe’s Original Sauces are categorized like fire blazes. A Code 1, for example, is the most mild and a Code Red is…practically fatal. I don’t think I’m brave enough to eat even one Code Red wing, let alone try the Flamin’ Joe’s Code Red Challenge, a Man v. Food-esque exercise in spicy food endurance.
Thank goodness that among all these spicy wings there is also beer to be had! But I must admit that I was a little underwhelmed by Flamin’ Joe’s craft beer offerings on tap during my last visit. Maybe they were having a slow beer day, maybe I was just in a picky mood…I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I chose a seasonal offering, Deschutes Hop Trip, and, boy, was I glad I did! After a few Code 4 Wings with extra sauce, I could barely feel my lips. Cool and slightly bitter, this pale ale was the perfect antidote to the hot wings.
A pale ale, IPA, or pilsner would be my go-to beer when having a hot wing, but, along with pub fare like burgers and sandwiches, Flamin’ Joe’s also boasts 20 more types of sauces and rubs for their wings. With such a diversity of flavors on their menu, I’d love to see just a few more options for craft beer on tap that could complement the various spicy, sweet, and savory sauces.
Here are a few suggestions for some beer pairings with Flamin’ Joe’s wings that I’d like to try in the future:
Huckleberry BBQ Wings with Laughing Dog Brewing Huckleberry Cream Ale
Oil Patch BBQ Wings with Stone Smoked Porter (Flamin’ Joe’s did have Kona Brewing Pipeline Porter on tap, which would also match the rich flavor of these wings)
Mango Habanero Wings with Bent River Brewing Jalapeno Pepper Ale
What beer cools your fire when eating spicy food, like hot wings? Leave a comment and let us know!
Originally posted 2010-11-10 12:05:58.
