last September I was able to visit Bear Republic. I was able to jump behind the bar, chat with brewers and sample everything from the Peter Brown Tribute to the Grand Am, right from the source. Solid beers that are becoming easier to find across the US as their distribution expands. Maybe it was the gorgeous… Read More
Before I get to the lemon bars that were more than a year in the making, I need to talk about these beer glasses. These glasses are more than just vessels of craft beer glory, they are a indicator of the thread of craft beer weaving itself through the mainstream. Crate and Barrel, a mecca… Read More
I promise you that this is the last St. Patricks day post. Until next year when I will further assault you with recipes for celebrating my love ‘o the Irish, and forcing you to read more stories of my visit to Dublin. Until then, here is a Green Beer cheese soup that contains not… Read More
This needs to be made with an IPA. The buffalo sauce (which has to be Franks, let’s just get that out of the way) needs a big kick to the face. The only beer up for that job is an IPA. I made this with Ballast Point’s Sculpin, one of my favorite IPA’s on the… Read More
This recipe has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving, really. It’s my favorite holiday, due in no small part to the fact that it is a day devoted to a gluttonous love of food. And no presents are exchanged. I’m not sure what it is about those present exchanging holidays that makes… Read More
This my friends, is how you do Football Food. It meets all of the requirements to earn a spot on the Football Food Table. These vague and unenforceable requirements include qualities like: fun, as high calorie as possible, no utensils or plates needed, ability to sit at room temperature for hours, AND there are… Read More
To be honest, I haven’t always loved IPA’s. It took me a while, although not as long as resolving my mint aversion, and now I can pretty firmly place myself in that Hop Heads category I used to shy away from. I discover that a dry hopped IPA gives me the delicate flavors… Read More
When it seems like your entire life revolves around a food blog, small things make you really excited. Like making homemade tortillas with beer and realizing how much better they are than any other tortilla you’ve ever had. Or getting a shout out from The Cooking Channel as if they knew just how to… Read More
As summer nears it’s inevitable end, it’s not the weather that I’ll miss the most. In fact the leather boots and chunky sweaters of colder days are starting to beckon. The produce, back yard grills, the smell of life and food floating on a late afternoon breeze will be lost in the dawning of… Read More
No offense to vodka, but a Bloody Mary just tastes better with beer. And an IPA is the inarguable choice for a Brewed Mary. I am, for the most part, a live and let live person. Happy to let your differing opinions thrive right alongside mine. There are recipe choices that I would love… Read More
This recipe has been in my brain for a while. For weeks it’s been taunting me, begging to be flushed out, poured into my food processor and immortalized in internet print. And this weekend three failed attempts to make IPA lemon bars that never really gave me the results I was hoping for coupled… Read More
(Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Beer Cheese Dip) There are a few ingredients that I have to restrain myself from adding to everything I make. On that list are the following: Sriracha, bacon, goat cheese and roasted garlic. As you can clearly discern, beer is not in that line-up. Because I never try to hold back… Read More
Everything I love about summer is in this dish. Or, more accurately, everything I love about summer that can fit into a small metal bowl are in that dish. Fresh produce. Homemade sorbet. Beer. Of course, beer. And when I was buying said beer, Alesmith Anvil, I had an interesting conversation with Beer Store Beer… Read More
Last week I was able to sit down with a guy, who in just two years went from a home brewer who was opening the doors to his first bar, to owning three bars and the fastest growing craft brewery in California. If you live in Los Angeles, and you’re a craft beer fan, I’m… Read More
A really well crafted IPA is a beautiful thing,but this is the style that is most often poorly done. The art of balancing a hop forward beer delicately with its subtle back notes is an art that only a few persistent pros seem to be able to manage. The well crafted, well balanced IPA is… Read More
As summer heats up, so does my longing to add beer to everything I consume. I linger on the idea of changing classic recipes into beer recipes far longer than my busy day should allow. How would I add beer to a Tarte Tatin? What about an Blueberry pie? Or Eggs benedict? What beer would… Read More
Summer is almost here. Barbecues, lazy afternoons on the porch swing, long days at the beach, music and card games on the patio until dawn. I realize that a fridge full of craft beer doesn’t always please the masses, but I do want to impart those flavors that are so beautiful anyone can enjoy them,… Read More
IPA’s make difficult cooking subjects. The bitterness is high maintenance. But then a beer comes along that is just so worth the effort of figutring out how to work those flavors into my food. Like Le Freak, by Green Flash Brewing out of San Diego. It’s a non traditional American IPA meets Belgium style IPA.… Read More