Beer and Food

Not too long ago I had a chance to visit the city of Burlington, Vermont (USA) and the Vermont Pub & Brewery.

It was near the end of a day of Vermont brewery touring that started in Norwich, included a visit to Middlebury and ended in Burlington. This tour was followed by a road trip to Concord, New Hampshire.

The photo of the beer and cheese board below was enjoyed with the selection of "sample" beers on the board in the background of the picture. The combination of flavors and the presentation fit the place perfectly. Full appreciation of the experience can be enhanced by being a student at one of the nearby colleges or university. If students have not essentially changed their tastes in food and beverage since my student days, also in Vermont, this is the place where I would have "lived" when not going to classes.

You can find the Vermont Pub & Brewery at 144 College St., Burlington, Vermont 05401.
The telephone number is (802) 865-0500. And you can email them at vpb@pshift.com .

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( http://www.beerbasics.com )

Greetings,

The following picture was taken last August at a bistro in Brooklyn, NY (USA) called The Pit Stop.

The chef/owner is a son of Provance and his cooking is proof of that.

The picture can only let you see what a fine salad and a fine beer look like together.

Mine is the Hoegaarden with out the lemon.

The tang of the beer was a perfect complement to the flavors of both the fish and the rest of the salad. Note the slices of oranges.

Fond memories of summer!

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

(peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com )

This morning I am posting my favorite recipe from my book "Cooking & Eating with Beer."

Beef Short Ribs with Chipotle Peppers and Wheat Beer is the perfect dish for carnivores who are surviving the chill and snow of this season.

BEEF SHORT RIBS (BRAISED) WITH CHILPOTLE PEPPERS & WHEAT BEER

From the kitchen of  Mark Lewandowski of TIED HOUSE CAFE AND BREWERY, Mountain View, CA

(2 or three servings)

Comments: This dish goes well with any weissbier from the light, refreshing summer heffe-weizen to the rich dark dunkel-weizen.

INGREDIENTS:

2 to 3 lb. Short ribs of beef

1 cup onion - diced

1/2 cup celery - diced

1/2 cup carrots - diced

8 cloves whole garlic, peeled, but not chopped

1 or 2 Chipotle peppers - diced

1 red bell pepper - charred, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup flour

3 cups rich beef stock

1/2 cup Wheat beer

salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 250F.  Heat a heavy pot over medium high heat and add the short ribs and brown on all sides. Remove from the pan. Add the celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Let brown slightly, stirring to bring up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the Chipotle peppers, diced red bell pepper and sauté for five minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook until the "roux" takes on a bark brown color. Slowly add the beef stock. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer.

Add the beer and put the ribs back in the pan. Place in a preheated 250F oven for between 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is ready to fall off the bone. If the sauce begins to reduce too much, cover the pan.

            To serve, remove the ribs from the pan and keep warm. Remove any fat from the top of the sauce with a large spoon or shallow ladle. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce is too thin, place over a high heat to reduce to desired thickness. Serve the sauce and vegetables over the short ribs.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com )

Here is another recipe from my book Cooking & Eating with Beer.

I especially like this one because it uses beer in a cake recipe.

After braising, boiling and broiling I did enjoy baking.

IRISH STOUT CAKE

From the kitchen of Clark Nickerson

THE GRANITE BREWERY

Toronto, Ontario

CANADA

(1 cake)

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

3/4 cups Irish Stout

1/2 cup sultana raisins

1/2 cup currants

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. orange zest

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a large mixing bowl, sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix eggs and oil. Alternating in thirds, add egg/oil mixture, orange juice and stout. Add rest of the ingredients and mix well. Grease and flour a 10" springform pan (cheesecake pan). Spoon in batter. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a knife, inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean. Cool for three hours. Ice with cream cheese icing. Top with toasted, sliced almonds.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com )

Once upon a time, long, long ago… well maybe not that long ago but long ago nevertheless…

But did I care?

No…

A good friend of mine brought this little fellow over from the “old sod” in the late 1970’s…

Greetings,

So here it is... 

Cheers,

Peter LaFrance

( peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com )

Greetings,

The following photgraph is of a Cooper & Sons bottle from, I believe the late 1970's.

It was purchased for a tasting of Australian brews by four journalists.

Yours truly was the only non-Austrailian there.

It was my favorite then.

Let me know if you ever had one and what you thought of it.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com )

Hanami Ale

Appearance: Dark bronze/deep copper color with a rich, rocky linen colored head of foam.

Aroma: The first impression is of green, fresh herbaceous hops. Then there is an under hint of freshly crushed malt.

Mouth feel: A light to medium feel with surprisingly little sensation of carbonation.

Flavor: The sensation of a hoppy pallet drying sensation that lightly echo a sour cherry aroma that is hidden under the initial aroma.

Finish: The finish is as close to a to-style traditional British Bitter can be but haunted by the ethereal sensation of sour cherry.

Comments:

The good folks at Smuttynose Brewing Company sent me six 12-ounce bottles of Hanami Ale at my request.

After I received the standard email press release announcing an event to promote the introduction of the product, I replied that I was interested in scheduling an interview with the brewer and having a chance to sample the product. The full story appears in the latest issue of BeerBAsics.com - due out tomorrow, no later than 1400 EST.

A Slight Digression... I relate the preceding to put a context to the following questions. First, how important is it to know something about what you taste before you taste it? (My tasting notes, above and at the end of this piece, made amusing reading after I interviewed the executive brewer at Smuttynose, Dave Yarrington.) Second, does free beer taste any different than beer that is acquired via retail sale?

This is a matter of ethics to all who call themselves journalists. I am a firm believer in standards of professional conduct put in print. There are as many codes-of-conduct as there are organizations of journalists. All of them render down to one word "Truth." Ascertaining the truth is the essence of being a journalist. That is why I began this set of "Comment:" as I did. It was essential that the first sentence say what it did. To not mention it would not have been truthful to you, the reader. That noted...

Comments:

"If I didn't know that there were cherries in this beer I would attribute its flavor to the artful blending of hops. Knowing that some cherry juice has been added in the brewing process is helpful, but not necessary, for the enjoyment of the summer-time feel to this brew."

VITAL STATISTICS:

OG: 1052 ABV: 5.7%
Grain Bill: Pilsener, Carahell, Aromatic & Carafa malts
Hops: Styrian Golding, Sterling
Color/Number: Rosy-hued Amber

What others thought:

RateBeer:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/smuttynose-hanami-ale/69604/

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( http://www.beerbasics.com/ )

Magic Hat #9:

Appearance: Bright copper-gold brew with a rocky white head that laces quickly and falls apart only after numerous tastings.

Aroma: As soon as I opened the bottle and began pouring the beer the aroma of apricot was detected. It intensified as I took the first sip. Then, after sitting for three minutes, the apricot subsided, leaving a more hoppy aroma.

Flavor: The flavor of apricot is the first sensation that subsides and lets the grain accents grow and finally a touch of hop bitterness cleanses the pallet.

Mouth feel: Medium but very creamy.

Finish: After the initial apricot flavor diminishes the finish is not unsimilar to traditional light American ale.

ABV: 4.6%

Comments: This is not the first time I have tasted this brew. However, it is the first time I have had a chance to study it. What I found was a brew that will cause "beer geeks" to shudder and folks just discovering beer to ask why they haven't tried beer before.

            The folks at Magic Hat marketed this as a summer brew and had to revise their plans when there was a year-round demand. This says more about the United States beer consumer than most studies. They want their beers when they want their beers. Seasonal beers are not just "seasonals" for this crew. This is a crowd that will quaff Russian Imperial Stout in the summer and Wheat Beer in the winter. Go figure!

What others thought:

Beer Advocate:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/96/299

RateBeer:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/magic-hat-9/1314/

RateItAll:

http://www.rateitall.com/search2.aspx?WL=10&searchstring=Magic+Hat+%239

Until next Friday...

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( http://www.beerbasics.com/ )

60 Winks Ale from Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, VT (USA)

Appearance: A bright orange-copper brew topped with a good thick, rocky head that lasted and laced just right.

Aroma: First was a "fresh cut hedges" floral accent joined by an undercurrent of newly milled malt.

Flavor: Up-front hops don't have the expected grapefruit tang. The combination of hops brings more of a new mown hay character that then develops a more grassy impression.

Mouth feel: Medium

Finish: Very refreshing on aspiration. The final sensation is of a polite debate between the malt and hops.

ABV: 5.8%

Comments: At 50F, the traditional pint glass allowed the aromatics to show off and the color and head to show off.  The flavors would be a refreshing treat to be enjoyed on a warm spring afternoon while sitting at an outdoor café on a pleasant side-street of a historic section of a city known for its attractive pedestrian traffic.

            Or on a rainy afternoon in a beer bar in Brattleboro (it rhymes).

What others thought:

Beer Advocate:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/96/34967

RateBeer:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/magic-hat-60-winks-ale/67767/4011/

RateItAll:

http://www.rateitall.com/i-944201-magic-hats-60-winks-ale.aspx

Until next Friday...

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

( http://www.beerbasics.com/ )