April 2006

“News About Brews”

Lots of Events Coming as Summer Nears

Check out the calendar for info about the upcoming picnics, and the yearly bottling and brewing of the Barrel Beer.  With spring in the air and summer on it's way, be sure to mark your calendar and set aside these dates.  Also, don't forget about NERAX and the American Beer Fest - also worth your time.

The April meeting was well-attended and there were 3 potential new members there.  Thanks to Bill for providing the location, and thanks to Roger for an excellent presentation on hops, including 3 batches each brewed with a single variety of hops.

For anyone interested in the recipe for the Best of Show beer from the SSBC Brewoff 2006, scroll down to the De-T-Ales section.  It was an 80 Shilling Scottish Ale, brewed by yours truly.  The results of the Brewoff are also posted there.

Check out the pictures from the Brewoff in the Pitcher Gallery.

                                                                                          Brew On!

                                                                                          Jimmy B

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At A Glance…

Things You May Want To Know, Or Not

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Sip by Sip

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

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Date:  April 11^th, 2006

Location:  Airport

Number of Members Attending:  14 + 3 potential new members + special guest John S.

Business

Hop Varieties by Roger Warner

As a special surprise, a raffle ensued!  There were 3 banners supplied by Mike K, and this was most likely the biggest money ever brought in a by a raffle.  Hopefully that will help the treasury after the loss on the Brewoff.

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It’s All in the De-t-Ales…

Articles, Reviews and Information

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Contents:

South Shore Brewoff Results

South Shore Brewoff 2006 - Winners List

Category A: Stouts  

1^st place:           Frank Fermino
2^nd place:          Jeff McNally
3^rd place:          Brian Kurowski

Category B: Dark Lager, German Wheat, and Amber Hybrid

1^st place:           Anthony Becampis
2^nd place:          Frank Fermino
3^rd place:          Andrew Startiak

Category C: English Brown Ale

1^st place:           Benjamin Low
2^nd place:          Alastair Hewitt
3^rd place:          Benjamin Low

Category D: Pilsner, Light Hybrid

1^st place:           Fred Sterner
2^nd place:          Alastair Hewitt
3^rd place:          Jim Blanchette

Category E: Scottish and Irish Ale

 1^st place:           Jim Blanchette
2^nd place:          Steve Gravel
3^rd place:          Frank Fermino

Category F: India Pale Ale

1^st place:           Kevin Farrell
2^nd place:          Brian Kurowksi
3^rd place:          Glenn O'Connor

Category G: English and American Pale Ale

1^st place:           Kevin Farrell
2^nd place:          Frank Fermino
3^rd place:          Benjamin Low

Category H: Porter/Strong Ale

 1^st place:           Jim Blanchette
2^nd place:          Andrew Startiak
3^rd place:          Kevin Farrell
HM:                 Steve Gravel

Category I: Belgian Strong Ale

1^st place:           Jim Blanchette
2^nd place:          Kevin Farrell
3^rd place:          Jim Blanchette

Category J: Belgian, French, and Sour Ale

1^st place:           Frank Fermino
2^nd place:          Frank Fermino
3^rd place:          Steve Gravel

Category K: Fruit/Spice/Herb Beer

1^st place:           Robbie Robertson
2^nd place:          Bill Tredo
3^rd place:          Andrew Startiak

Category L: Ciders

1^st place:           Andrew Startiak
2^nd place:          Jeff McNally
3^rd place:          Dan Kahn

Category M: Mead

1^st place:           Jeff McNally
2^nd place:          Jeff McNally
3^rd place:          Jeff McNally

Best of Show

1^st place:           Jim Blanchette
2^nd place:          Frank Fermino
3^rd place:          Fred Sterner

Brewmaster Award:      Frank Fermino

Best of Show Recipe 

Here is the recipe for the Best of Show beer from the Brewoff's 2006 competition.  It was brewed by yours truly.  I can't take credit for the recipe itself.  It is from Beer Captured by Tess and Mark Szamatulski.  The recipe is a clone of Back Country Scottish Ale from Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. in Helena, Montana.  I had never tried that beer, but I liked the recipe so made it.

Malt:

9 lb. 2-row Pale Malt
13 oz Crystal 120
3 oz Roasted Barley
1 oz Peated Malt

Mash above in 13 quarts water for 90 minutes @ 154° (recipe calls for 152°, I overshot but left it alone).  Sparge with 4.75 gallons water (acidified down to pH = 5.2).

Boil 60 minutes.  I added all of the bittering hops (below) to the kettle during run-off as First Wort Hops (FWH).

Hop Additions:

.9 oz East Kent Goldings 5.5% AA (60 minutes or FWH)
.25 oz Willamette (15 minutes)
.25 oz East Kent Goldings (15 minutes)

Yeast:

Wyeast 1056 (Wyeast 1332 is another suggestion)

Specifics:

O.G. = 1.055
F.G. = 1.013
12 days in primary @ 68°, 15 days in secondary, then kegged.

For an extract version, replace the Pale Malt above with 5.75 lb. Extra Lite DME and 4 oz Malto Dextrin.  Soak the grains for 30 minutes and sparge/rinse into kettle.  Use 6 HBU of bittering hops if only doing a partial boil.

Cooking With Beer

Kevin Farrell

Beer can be a diverse ingredient for many recipes.  Different beers can bring out different taste sensations such as sweet, sour, bitter, malty, yeasty, spicy, roasty, smokey, etc., and can cover a much broader range of flavor attributes than other alcohols used in cooking, such as wine.  This allows beer to be used in a variety of food types ranging from sauces to marinades, baked goods, or a substitute for wine in soups and stews.  The food samples and recipes here are intended to show how beer can play a role in virtually every course of a menu.

Principles of cooking with beer

Here is a summary of some principles for cooking with beer²:

1)      Beer is an effective tenderizer.  Marinate food for a few hours or overnight.

2)      Keep the following points in mind regarding flavor attributes of the beer itself in order to select the appropriate beer for the dish:

a.      Bitterness – use bitter beers in foods that require the balance of acidity to counteract butter, oily, or cheesy flavors

b.      Malt – use malty beers to complement sweeter foods such as caramelized onions, carrots, shallots, or mushrooms

c.      Yeast – use yeasty beers, such as hefeweizen, in baked goods to enhance its flavor

d.      Fruit – use fruity beers to enhance sweet desserts or to complement dishes such as fish or chicken.

3)      Never boil beer.  This can overly intensify the bitterness of the food.

4)      Add only enough beer for seasoning and replenish as necessary (don’t “swim” food in beer).

5)      Never overcook food with beer.  This can lose any of the delicate flavors of a beer, such as maltiness.

6)      Do not use highly hopped beers in dishes that require long simmering periods.  This will overly intensify the bitterness.

7)      Not all beers go with all dishes.

8)      Acidic beers (such as lambics) can replace acidic food ingredients (such as vinegar, lemon juice, etc.).

9)      The beer used for cooking does not have to be same as the beer paired with dish.

Some additional tips for modifying recipes to use beer.³

Baking with Beer 

Beer can be used to replace a portion or all of the liquids used in bread baking.  If a recipe calls for 1 cup of water, this can be replaced by 1 cup of beer or a mixture of water and beer that total 1 cup.  If a recipe calls for 2 cups of whole milk, this can be substituted by 1 ¾ cup beer with 1 cup powdered milk.

Beer Dressings 

Fruit sauces and dressings can be made by substituting all or some of the liquid with a compatible beer such as lambic, fruit beer, mead, or cider.

Beer Soups 

When beer is being used in soups, for every 3 cups of stock – replace with 2 cups of stock plus 1 cup of the appropriate beer.

Beer Marinades 

For dark-meat poultry marinades, use 1 cup full-bodied beer (porter, stout, strong ale) mixed with ¼ cup fruit juice concentrate (such as orange).  For fish marinades, try 1 cup lighter-bodied beer (helles, pilsener, blonde ale) with 2-3 tablespoons of citrus juice, such as lime.

Beer Gravies 

A typical gravy is made with 2 TBS fat (oil, butter, margarine, etc.), 2 TBS flour, and 1 cup of hot liquid (stock, milk, etc.).  Beer can be used to replace all or part of the hot liquid combined with the fat and flour.

Beer Desserts 

When a recipe calls for a cup of water, beer can be used to replace all or part of this.  When a recipe calls for a cup of milk, this can be replaced by ¾ cup beer plus ½ cup dry milk powder.  If a recipe calls for 1 cup light cream or half and half, this can be replaced by ½ cup beer combined with ½ cup heavy cream.

Menu

Bread

Porter Pumpernickel with a Hefeweizen Artichoke DipPorter mustard 

Appetizers

Mussels in Belgian Strong Golden Ale

Soup

English Pale Ale and Onion Soup  

Salad

Tossed Salad with Peach Lambic Vinaigrette or Amber Ale Cream Dressing 

Main  

Chicken Drumsticks in Chocolate Stout Mole Sauce or ESB-Braised Short Ribs

Side

Zucchini, Cheddar, and Pilsner casserole  

Starch

Brown Ale Spanish Rice

Dessert

Pears Poached in Kriek over Belgian Beer Waffles

Porter Pumpernickel

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup porter – I used Fullers

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 ½ TBS molasses

1 TSP salt

1 ½ cups bread flour

½ cup wheat flour

1 cup rye flour

3 TBS powdered milk

1 TBS cocoa powder

½ TBS yeast

Preparation

- Add ingredients in above order to bread machine and set for 1.5 lb loaf with dark crust.

Hefeweizen Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

3 14oz cans artichoke hearts

4 oz cream cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup bread crumbs

1 TBS lemon juice

½ TBS black pepper

1 egg, beaten

½ cup hefeweizen – I used Erdinger

Preparation

- Mix above ingredients and bake for ½ hour at 350 degrees F.

Mussels in Belgian Strong Ale² (serves 10)

Ingredients

5 lbs mussels (scrubbed and beards removed)

2 TBS butter

2 onions finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1 bottle Belgian strong ale – I used Duvel

1 TSP corn flour

3 egg yolks, beaten

¾ cup light cream

Preparation

- Melt butter, and sauté onion, shallots, and celery until softened

- Add mussels, pour beer in, cover pot and cook until all have opened (5-6 minutes)

- Remove mussels, reserving the liquid and transfer liquid to a smaller saucepan

- Mix corn flour with a little water (making a paste), add to liquid, and heat (do not boil)

- Add egg yolks and cream to liquid and whisk until thickened

- Pour over mussels and serve

English Pale Ale and Onion⁴ (serves 6)

Ingredients

4 white onions, thinly sliced

2 red onions, thinly sliced

4 TBS butter

3 cups beef stock

3 cups pale ale - I used Whitbread Pale Ale

Preparation

- Melt butter and sauté red and white onions until golden brown

- Add beer and beef stock, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, and serve

Peach Lambic Vinaigrette⁴ (makes 12 ounces dressing)

Ingredients

2 TSP Dijon mustard

1 TSP sugar

½ TSP salt

6 oz olive oil

5 oz Peach Lambic - I used St. Louis

1 clove garlic, chopped

Juice from ½ lemon

Preparation

- Pour the Peach Lambic into the oil

- Add the Dijon mustard, sugar, salt, lemon juice, and garlic

- Blend with a fork and strain out the garlic

- Season with fresh ground pepper

Eureka Dressing³ (makes 20 ounces dressing)

Ingredients    

½ cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup raw sugar

½ cup amber ale – I used Geary’s HSA

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup balsamic vinegar

Preparation

- Melt butter on low-medium

- Add syrup and sugar and heat until dissolved

- Add beer and cream, bring to simmer and cook for 6 minutes

- Let cool down, add balsamic vinegar and let sit 10 minutes before serving

ESB-Braised Beef Short Ribs⁶ (serves 4)

Ingredients

3 lbs Beef short ribs

4 bay leaves

2 TBS juniper berries

1 cup brown sugar

3 cups apple cider

1 cup apple juice

1 cup maple syrup

2 TBS thyme

1 TBS cumin seeds

1 ½ TBS salt

1 TBS ground black pepper

1 cinnamon stick (broke in ½)

2 bottles ESB – I used Fullers

Preparation

- Mix all ingredients (except for ribs) in a mixing bowl and transfer to large saucepan

- Add ribs, cover saucepan and bring to boil on high heat

- Transfer mixture to roasting pan and bake (covered) for 3 hours at 300 degrees

- Remove ribs, strain braising liquid into small saucepan and simmer until reduced by 2/3

- Use as sauce for ribs

Chicken Mole with Chocolate Stout⁷ (serves 4-6)

Ingredients

1 chicken skinned and cut into serving pieces

1 large tomato, broiled and peeled

5 cloves garlic

1 white onion, chopped

3 ounces semisweet chocolate

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup sliced almonds

½ tsp coriander seed

½ tsp anise

¼ cup sesame seed

1 cinnamon stick (broken into pieces)

4 cloves

4 each – arbol chiles, guajillo chiles, ancho chiles - dried

2 cups chicken stock

1 can Chocolate Stout - I used Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

Preparation

- Soak chiles in chicken stock for at least an hour

- Mix sesame seed, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, and coriander

- Add chicken stock and chiles to blender and puree until smooth

- Add toasted mixture, chocolate, raisins, garlic, tomato and onion in batches to blender, pureeing mixture each time

- Put chicken in slow cooker and pour mixture over chicken.  Cook on low for 3-6 hours, meat will be firm at 3 hours and falling off bone at 6 hours

Zucchini, Cheese, and Pilsner Casserole⁵ (serves 4-6)

Ingredients

3 cups grated zucchini

1 cup grated cheddar

½ cup pilsner – I used Czechvar

2 TBS white onion, chopped

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup cracker crumbs

Preparation

- Mix ingredients, put in an 8x8 greased casserole dish and bake 60 minutes at 350.

Brown Ale Spanish Rice³

Ingredients

2 cups converted rice

2 cups tomato juice

1 cup brown ale – I used New Castle Brown Ale

1 cup chicken stock

½ green bell pepper, diced

½ red bell pepper, diced

1 small white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation

- Bring tomato juice, brown ale, and chicken stock to boil

- Stir in rice and vegetables, reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

Pears poached in Kriek²

Ingredients

4 Bosc pears

2 cups Kriek

1 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks + ¼ tsp cinnamon

Preparation

- Peel and core the pears and cut in half length-wise

- Put in a saucepan with Kriek, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and cinnamon

- Simmer 20 minutes or until pears are soft

- Remove pears and simmer liquid until reduced to a thick syrup

- Pour over pears and serve

Belgian Beer Waffles²

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1 bottle Belgian Ale – I used Chimay White

¼ cup oil

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp lemon juice

½ tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

- Mix flour and salt, add other ingredients and mix until smooth

- When mixture thickens, add barleywine, stir, and remove from heat

- Let batter sit for 2 hours at room temperature

- Bake in a waffle iron

References

 The list below contains the original recipes for the dishes prepared, though, most of them were modified to use the updated recipes in this handout.

[1]  Beer and Good Food.  Bob Simmons, Bristol Publishing Enterprises, 1997.

 [2]  Un”beer”ably delicious.  Guido Deboeck, Dokus Publishing, 2002.

 [3]  The Great American Cookbook.  Candy Schermerhorn, Brewers Publications, 1993.

 [4]  The Ultimate Beer.  Michael Jackson, DK Publishing, 1998.

 [5]  Cooking with Beer.  Rob Driver, ProSe Associates, 1996.

 [6]  Ye Olde England Inne, Stowe, VT, handout from VT Brewers Festival, 2005.

 [7] The Gourmet Slow Cooker.  Lynn Alley, Ten Speed Press, 2003.

 [8] http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0397/artichoke.html

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Chili Recipe contributed by David Parr

Ingredients:

2 lbs. bite-size cubed stew beef

2 lbs. ground beef

¼ cup vegetable oil

Spices:  Salt (to taste); 3 tablespoons minced garlic; 3 tablespoons chili powder; 3 tablespoons onion powder; 1.5 tablespoons paprika; 1.5 tablespoons oregano; 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper; and 1 tablespoon cumin

1 jar (28 oz.) chili sauce

1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 can (30 oz.?) crushed or pureed tomatoes

30 oz. water

24 oz. beer

5-7 chopped peppers (mixed red, green, yellow and chili)

4-6 chopped white onions

8 cans beans (mixed white, black and red kidney beans), drained

Procedure:

Heat oil in a big pot

Saute stew beef until brown, season with salt

Add ground beef and cook until moisture is gone and meat begins to brown

Add garlic

After a few minutes, add other spices and stir for a few more minutes

Add beer, diced, pureed and/or crushed tomatoes and water

Stir well and simmer for 90 – 120 minutes

When beef is tender, add beans, pepper and onions and bring to boil for 10 minutes

Makes 1.75 gallons.

Garnish with grated cheese, chopped Bermuda onion, cilantro and/or sour cream

Serve with tortilla chips

Tip:  The flavor seems to mellow and blend better if made the day before serving and refrigerated.  Also, it freezes well.

Light Lager Competition Style Suggestions

The SSBC Light Lager Club-Only competition will take place at the May meeting.  'Light' means light in gravity (less than 1.055), not light in color.  Now, there is a BJCP category called 'Light Lager', however it was my understanding that the only criteria was to be a lager less than 1.055, and not necessarily a style from that category.  So, I offer these as suggested styles which fall into that realm, if you are looking for ideas (if I'm wrong and lead someone astray, I apologize).

Click on the links to go to the BJCP defintion of the style.

1. Light Lager

Styles

1. 1A. Lite American Lager
2. 1B. Standard American Lager
3. 1C. Premium American Lager
4. 1D. Munich Helles
5. 1E. Dortmunder Export

2. Pilsner

Styles

1. 2A. German Pilsner (Pils)
2. 2B. Bohemian Pilsener
3. 2C. Classic American Pilsner

3. European Amber Lager

Styles

1. 3A. Vienna Lager
2. 3B. Oktoberfest/Märzen

4. Dark Lager

Styles

1. 4A. Dark American Lager
2. 4B. Munich Dunkel
3. 4C. Schwarzbier (Black Beer)

Beer Trivia Answer

Contact Information

If there are any updates or changes to the information posted here, please contact:

blanchette.j@comcast.net

Last modified: March 24, 2008