I hate to break it to you but you have probably never barbecued in your life. How dare I say such blasphemous things, you toss burgers and steaks on the grill every weekend?! That’s not Barbecue, it’s grill. And I would never take away from the fantastic results we can get with a backyard grill,… Read More
(Chocolate Porter Strawberry Shortcakes With Beer Whipped Cream) I’m taking a huge risk here. You may have taken one look at this post and decided that I’ve lost my magic. Chocolate beer cake is as common as Nascar sweatpants in Walmart. But unlike motor sports fashion blunders in public, I loved this dessert. I’m combining… Read More
Barbecue debates rage on all over the south, even as we virtually speak. The most sweltering of all topics is Sauce versus Rub. Rub people claiming that good meat doesn’t need to be drowned in sauce, and sauce people attesting to the holy balance of flavors between sauce and meat, and then there is the… Read More
You aren’t always aware of the nexus of a true obsession. It may only be in hind sight that the catalyst is revealed upon agonizing inspection of your past. For me, however, the spark was breathtaking, an obvious birth of a fixation that lead to this blog. That trigger was Bison Honey Basil Ale. A… Read More
There’s a good chance that when you think about cooking with beer, a meat recipe comes to mind. Your Dad’s beer marinated ribs? Beer can chicken? Beer braised pork? There’s a good reason for that. Not just for the spectacular flavors that craft beer can impart on the meat, but because beer, especially high acid… Read More
The best part about visiting a brewery is the opportunity to sample those special release beers that never make it into bottles. Those brews that are only made in small batches, put into casks that sometimes make it to local pubs or events but will never make it into bottles in your local distributors shelves.… Read More
I want you to start thinking of beer as an extract. A complex amalgamation of flavors that functions in a recipe as an extract. If you were baking a fabulous caramel cake recipe, and the recipe calls for vanilla extract and all you had was mint would you just go ahead and use that? I… Read More
In the food world you hear terms thrown around so casually. Words like confit, reduction, braise, semifreddo. I even see those words being used wrong so often, their meanings seem to change as more and more people republish inaccurate content. Braise is one of those terms. Maybe it’s ignorance, maybe it’s an attempt to fancy-up… Read More
Choosing a beer for a recipe isn’t as arbitrary as it may appear. It also isn’t difficult, but it does require thought and planning. Substituting your favorite beer in a recipe isn’t always a good idea, and may result in an end product that is nowhere near the intentions of the recipes author. Where do… Read More
The creaminess of chocolate pairs so well with a well crafted porter. For this tart I used Firestone Walker Reserve Porter, it has the perfect balance of flavors for this recipe with notes of chocolate, coffee, caramel and a touch of a citrus taste. You also want to use a really well made chocolate, because, like beer,… Read More
This week will be full of recipes for Guinness. Although I will always favor local craft beer, I do harbor a soft spot for Ireland and their World Famous Brewery. Just out of college I scraped together enough money to put myself on a flight from LAX to Dublin. I landed in Ireland on a drizzly… Read More
Let’s start by talking a little bit about steak, and how to cook it at home. Before you even start your meal, you need to know how to buy steak and what those stickers on the package mean. If you are lucky enough to be cozy with your local butcher, you can disregard this next… Read More
Look around this time of year, past the flowers, chocolate, $165 pre fixe menus and you’ll smell the stench of panic. Forced romance will never live up to the expectations that Hallmark has bestowed upon us and all that is left is waiting for the inevitable disappointment. Each partner either trying desperately to figure… Read More
I love the huge array of flavors that we now have in our Craft Beers. Chipotle? Yes please. Coffee? Couldn’t live without it. Both of these flavors, along with the fact that beer is a natural meat tenderizer make this Black Phoenix Chipotle Coffee Stout the perfect beer for the job of making tacos. Bootleggers… Read More
There is something mysterious and alluring about Alaska. Beautiful landscapes pushing past a transcendental, white washed façade. I’ll even forgive her the birth of ignorant, poorly spoken, female politicians to glimpse the majesty of the Aurora Borealis. It just may be because of this enchanted terrain that the beer seems to have a prestigious eminence.… Read More
I’m going to start this post by telling you that I am biased. That being said and out of the way: The West Coast of the United States has the best beer in the world. At least, it has the highest concentration of fantastic craft breweries. I used two old favorites for this post. Black… Read More
There is nothing new about braising with beer. In fact, it should be the standard. Beer, as with all alcohol, is a natural meat tenderizer but it’s the flavors of the beer that make for braise meat that has a truly special taste. Craft brews are known for more intense flavor profiles and will always… Read More