Category: Beer & Food

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Beer Syrup

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Craft beer cocktails is a side diversion (and a cool one) in some forward thinking bars and now with The Beer Syrup Company you can use their non-alcoholic beer syrups at home.  They are simple syrups with craft beer as the base with flavors like Mocha Porter, Vanilla Espresso Porter, Pecan Nut Brown and Bourbon Barrel Stout.

The Beer Syrup people recommend it for “creating cocktails behind the bar and as an ingredient for different foods in the kitchen.  Or if you like it straight, we recommend it as a sweetener in your coffee or tea and as a syrup for your waffles or pancakes.”

MMM.  Beer and pancakes.

 

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Beer Dinner Review – Simmzy’s + MacLeod Ales

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When I saw the phrase, “Five Course Beer Dinner”, I blanched a bit.  Being honest, I am not the stuff till you burst kind of eater.  But then I saw that the beer was from MacLeod’s and the food was from Simmzy’s Burbank outpost.  So my mood brightened and I RSVP’ed.

First good thing.  The food courses were right-sized.  By that I mean, you weren’t subject to Flinstone-ian portions of food.  Tapas like to an extent.

Second good thing.  My suspicion that MacLeod beers would pair wonderfully with food were confirmed.  Nothing against big and bold beers but those pairings can be epic battles.  The low ABV but high flavors of Andy Black’s British inspired ales add to food without becoming a battle royale.

My favorite of the night was the beef stew with Jackie Tar.  That was an easy choice but it was well done.  Meat and sunchokes and a delicious gravy were magic with the beer.  The curry shrimp with the Little Spree was delightful too and that is coming from a non-curry fan. The toasted barley was excellent as an sidekick.IMG_4180 The beer revelation was the Middling Spree a Belgian-esque pilsner type of hybrid that was all over the place but just might be my new favorite MacLeod beer.  And I have a lot of favorite MacLeod beers.  The only down note was the dessert.  Double Kings Taxes was a bit too syrupy and sweet for me, the cardamom in the whipped cream helped but the burnt note from the caramel sauce made everything taste tinny to me.  Four out of five ain’t bad though.

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More dinners may be on the horizon and at $48 a person, it is a steal.  You get 5 beers (we got a bonus beer for six) plus the food and the education from the brewer.  When more of these become scheduled, I will post it here.

 

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Ice Wort

It’s a Victory for ice cream. Yes, Belgian Brûlée and Strawberry Love would be great ice cream flavors not matter what, but add in the fact that it is made with Victory Brewing wort, then it sounds even better to me.

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The Victory website describes Belgian Brûlée as a melding of “the rich, silky flavors of crème brûlée with subtle, delicious notes of V Twelve wort paired with the sweetness of brown sugar and the salty crunch of almonds. Strawberry Love offers juicy strawberries with refreshingly tasty Summer Love Ale wort and moist angel food cake within a rich, smooth strawberry and vanilla base.”

There have other flavors as well from Hopped-Up Devil, Triple Monkey and Storm Drop.

As I have wondered aloud before, I wonder who in L.A. could/would add ice cream to their brands.

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Fishy Strategery

Now, I am all for craft beer tie-ins and promos. Game of Thrones beer? Sure. Beer Cheese? OK, fine. But it really does have to be tied to something equally craft driven. Which is why I can’t get behind this whole Carl’s Jr. Fish Sandwich collaboration with Redhook.
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“Now you can have your beer and eat it, too. Carl’s Jr.® and Hardee’s® today announced a partnership with Seattle craft brewery Redhook® to bring the gastropub flavors of beer-battered cod to their menus. Featuring the distinctive flavor of Redhook’s ESB (Extra Special Bitter) ale, the Redhook Beer-Battered Cod Fish Sandwich is now available at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants.”

Even though it might bring beer awareness to a larger/different audience, I just wish they had partnered with say Chipotle or another chain of a bit higher pedigree. I mean, Rubios is advertising Stone beer. Sounds snobby and I know that everyone (myself included) has our guilty pleasures of processed foods. I just wish Redhook had aimed higher. (especially considering the male-centric sexist advertising that Carl’s specializes in)

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Beer on Toast

Put that artisan bread baked with beer into the toaster but don’t put just any marmalade on it.

Not when you can slather IPA jelly on top. Or any of the other flavors like Porter, Black IPA or Oatmeal Stout from Nancy and Walter Warner’s preserves from their Potlicker Kitchen.

$7 will get you one jar and if you like it, you can buy sets. Breakfast just got beer-ier.

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This will make Thanksgiving Better

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There are people whose brains I would like to download. and thanks to the CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course a 60-page digital manual that you can download. You can get the combined food and beer wisdom of Co-authors chef Adam Dulye, Brewers Association culinary consultant and Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Brewers Association.

The download is “constructed as a five-day course that offers an introduction to the beverage of craft beer, pairing beer with food and how to pour and present beer at the table.” But don’t let that format or target market scare you off.  This document has got a lot of good info.  Especially once you get past the beer style and brewing 101 information.  Though that too is helpful if you haven’t run across it before.

My suggestion is to check out the sections like this, which I sort of knew, but hadn’t read in one spot before:

Palate Interactions Between Craft Beer and Food

• Hop bitterness is balanced and settled on the palate by the addition of fat.

• Roasted malt notes are matched on the palate by sweetness.

• Carbonation is intensified by increasing the umami of a dish.

• Alcohol is calmed on the palate by both sweetness and fat.

• Notable malt flavor profiles match well with acidity.

• Hop aromas are transferred to the palate when paired with sweet aromas.

• Sweet malt notes calm spice on the palate.

• Hop bitterness enhances notes of spice.

• Carbonation is an effective tool to cleanse lighter fats.

It is a quick read and has a good section on beer and cheese as well.  So check it out.

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Beer Salami

Charlito’s Cocina is combining the world of salami with beer and their CERVEZA SECA – Dry Cured Beer Salami which uses “beer in the curing process” can produce a flavor so enchantingly unique, that it eludes classification.  Cerveza Seca is “slowly dry-cured with a bottle fermented brown ale, pasture raised, heritage breed pork, and hand harvested fleur de sel..”

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Get this and some hop pickles and beer crackers and I am set.

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Review – Taps & Tapas Festival

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I like that more beer festivals are trending toward beer AND food festivals. With both on equal footing.  Not beer festivals with a lonely food vendor in the corner or a food festival with a nod to craft beer in the form of a tap or two. The first ever Taps and Tapas festival in Whittier accomplished this balancing act with tempting food and beer.

First time festivals can be hit or miss. The concept may be great but the space may not be. Or any other unforeseen problems may derail a passion project. That being said, there is a lot to like about where Taps & Tapas started and where this idea can go. There was a strong selection of beer available. And it thankfully featured some new breweries as well.

I will focus on the beers that I had:

Ironfire Nu Hell IPL – I have only had a few of the beers from this brewery so it was nice to see both an old favorite and new tap on hand.  I went for the lighter and new to me IPL that had a nice citrus taste but was first and foremost a lager.  Nice and zippy.
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Clown Shoes – 2014 Krunkle Sams – I probably shouldn’t have indulged in a high ABV barley wine in the heat but this was another winner.  Caramel notes mixed with citrus.  It wasn’t light but it didn’t overwhelm the palate either.

Polymath Premo Pilz had a lot of grain taste in the glass. Flaked corn being one addition. Polymath is one thirdof a co- op with Delicious Science and Seven Brothers Brewing in Riverside. Not a bad pils. Well done just not to my taste

Old School Gold Beer was the lowlight of the beers it was metallic with too much mineral taste. It poured a nice yellow color but this unforgiving style was not done quite right.

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Ohana Pacific Blonde Wow, this was really nice. You can really tell the difference between a brewer that has honed in on a flavor. And Ohana has.  This is nearly perfect for hot weather.

Alosta Brewing LOL Wit – Really lovely aroma. Big citrus notes here. Zippy. This was my fest favorite.  It was a surprise too, since my first Alosta beers were a bit underwhelming to me.  I want to go back now and try their new beers.

Twisted Manzanita – Imperial red. This red was solid but didn’t really sing.  Technically fine just not hitting my taste buds.

Congregation Praise On Saison was really tasty and a good choice for a last beer.  Good vanilla taste with just a touch of spice.  One of the better beers to try to pair food with.

The only downside to the event and one that may or may not be easily rectified was the location.  It was kinda weird to be in a community center gym drinking beer. The divided layout of upper and lower levels was not conducive to wandering.  The heat only exacerbated that divide as people came inside to avoid the sun which only made the gym hotter.  A bigger and indoor location would be the best improvement this event could make.  I would have also added a pairing suggestion list somewhere to give people an idea of what to pair with what.  The best advice I got was from the dessert caterer who paired a couple of nice items with my IPA.

 

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More food and beer

The food and beer pairings are coming too fast to keep up, almost.  Here is another one to add to the list….

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July 28th, “Executive Chef Adam Levoe has created a scrumptious seasonal menu. Four courses + four beers. Here’s a sneak peak of the third course paired with Golden Road’s Almond Milk Stout.”

For Example:

Grilled skirt steak with parmesan potatoes, yellow corn, bell peppers, demi glace  (non-vegan)
or
Summer vegetable polenta with summer squash, sweet peppers, heirloom cherry tomatoes and fine herb oil (vegan)

Check out the full menu, HERE.