Mouthgasm 2011

    Jennifer Litz, head of the Texas chapter of the Girls Pint Out ladies craft-beer appreciation secret society, approached me about wanting to do a beer and food pairing class with her group at our brewery. As we talked about it, I found myself continually drooling over the idea of the dishes that my wife and I had dreamed up. My lips quivered, my tongue pulsed, my throat swelled.... I was on the verge of a mouthgasm.
  
    On January 22, 2011 my wife, Keely, and I are hosting Mouthgasm 2011- a beer and food pairing experience. At Mouthgasm, we will be walking guests through the basics of beer and food pairing principles- balance, contrast, emphasis- and discussing the ins and outs of beer in the culinary realm. We're not professional chefs, food critics, or even foodies. We're food porn fetishists- we get our jollies on jellies, and so forth. Keely and I have been concocting concoctions in our kitchen for several years, and have found personal success, enjoyment, and beervana in our adventures, and in our mouths. We will be showing you how simple beer and food pairing is, and how incredibly fun and enriching it can be.

    After a short introduction and explanation of beer and food pairing, the evening will begin. You will be taken through a 4 course meal where each course is designed to be paired with a specific Ranger Creek beer. Soup, salad, entrée 1, entrée 2, all cooked up with care by 2 Tarts catering. We dreamed up the menu, and they are executing it for us. After we've walked through the dinner pairings, each beer will be return with 4 different desserts, each specifically crafted for that beer, to show the versatility of food and beer pairings, and how a single beer can accompany the sweet and the savory.  In case your interest isn't already piqued, here is the menu:

Course 1- Soup: Merguez Sausage Gumbo paired with South Texas Lager (Dortmunder-style lager)
Course 2- Salad: Bitter greens topped with gorgonzola and balsmaic vinaigrette paired with La Bestia      
                Aimable (Belgian-style dark strong ale) 
Course 3- Entree 1: Bison sliders w/Cotswold cheese and homemade OPA mustard paired with Oatmeal
                Pale Ale (American Pale Ale)
Course 4- Entree 2: Venison and roasted root vegetables paired with Mesquite Smoked Porter (mesquite smoked Robust Porter)

Dessert courses:
Homemade "Stadium" ice cream (vanilla-Dortmunder ice cream with caramel ribbon, salted peanuts) paired with South Texas Lager
Thai-style Coconut Curry Oatmeal Cookies paired with Oatmeal Pale Ale
Figs topped with goat cheese and honey paired with La Bestia Aimable
Decadent Chocolate cupcakes topped with dark chocolate ganache and brined bacon crumbles* paired with Mesquite Smoked Porter
* uncured bacon brined in Mesquite Smoked Porter and mesquite smoked sea salt, then cooked with mesquite smoked sea salt


    This evening of mouthgasmic proportions will take place at the Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling facility (4834 Whirlwind Dr. Ste 102, San Antonio, TX 78217) on January 22 at 6 pm. The cost is $35 per person and is open to anyone wanting to have a mouthgasm, or learn more about beer and food pairing. To RSVP, contact Jennifer Litz- jennifer@girlspintout.com. 30 spots available, so RSVP today!

This year I am thankful for the 5 senses...

    "I can't believe we celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday of unity and peace. If I had my way we'd all dress in black, and daddy would serve up the white meat..."
- Everything I Ever Wanted to Learn About Genocide I Learned in the Third Grade, by The Broadways

    Ah, it's that time of year again... The time when we sit around and gorge ourselves on food, pretending to remember that we're celebrating something. Me, I cut to the chase. We raped, pillaged, and outright stole this land from native people, so I don't celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday of unity and peace. I do, however, take the time to enjoy being with my family. And my family is awesome; we don't fuck around. My wife, son and I love to cook and create, we love to eat together, and we love the shit out of some beer. This year, on top of being thankful that I have such a beautiful, loving, and supportive wife, and a rad, fun, amazingly deep son, I am thanking the heavens for the 5 senses. What is enjoyment if we had no senses with which to enjoy??

Image borrowed from somewhere online...

    So, I have here before you our Thanksgiving day menu. Much of our menu is inspired by the Homebrew Chef (though we have taken artistic license on quite a bit), and the rest is inspired solely by flavor. The stuffing we are making we made the last two years, and it is amazing. The spicy, dry, herbal character of a true Belgian tripel combines in a heavenly way with the earthy spice of fresh sage. I love me some sage. For dessert this year, we are skipping the pumpkin pie and the sweet potatoes and going comfort food, plus we had to figure out an awesome way to incorporate our Mesquite Smoked Porter. You only have a few days of preparing left, so here it is. Get going, goddamit!


Ranger Creek Belgian Dark Strong Ale Brined Free Range Turkey (serves ~10, depending on size of bird)
    The rich flavor of turkey pairs wonderfully with malty beers like Oktoberfest, Munich dunkel, brown ales, etc. However, there is also a succulent sweetness in the meat and a rich gamey character that tastes incredible with earthy vegetables and herbs. To highlight these flavors we are using our Belgian-style Dark Strong Ale which has subtle herbal notes, peppery spice, earthy yeast complexities, and deep, dark fruit character from the malt and candi syrup that compliments the bird's sweetness. Adding just a little more of the candi syrup helps the brine to have a rich pruny sweetness, and also gives the bird a bit of glaze.
1       gallon    Ranger Creek La Bestia Aimable
1       gallon    ice water
1/4    C.          sugar
1/4    C.          Dark Belgian Candi Syrup
Handful          fresh picked sage leaves
Handful          fresh thyme sprigs
3       ea.         Bay leaves
2/3    C.          sliced carrot
2/3    C.          sliced celery
1/2    C.          sliced leeks
1 1/2 C.          chopped onion
2       ea.         tangerines, halved
6       ea.         garlic cloves
In a large pot simmer beer, sugars, herbs and vegetables for 10 min. Remove from heat and add ice water. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until cold. Place turkey into brine bag (or ice chest) and fill with brine. Refrigerate for 48 hours (add ice if using ice chest). Remove turkey and dry well. Roast turkey at 350º F until internal temperature of thickest part of leg is 165º F. Let sit for 30 minutes for juices to distribute evenly, keeping the turkey moist.

Sage and Tripel Stuffing (serves 8-10)
    As mentioned above, the herbaceous, earthy spice of a Belgian tripel pairs swimmingly with sage. This rustic stuffing allows these flavors to perfectly marry, and is an excellent accompaniment to the above turkey recipe, though stands alone as a tasty dish. The addition of sausage or giblets can add more complexity and flavor, but believe me when I say this stuffing is the shit.
8      C.      crusty bread, cubed (we use locally made French-style Batard)
4      C.      cornbread, cubed

• 1/4   C.      chopped Italian parsley
• 3      Tbsp  chopped fresh sage
• 1       tsp    sea salt
• 1/2    tsp    fresh cracked black pepper
• 1       C.     unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 C.     onion, chopped
• 1       C.     celery, chopped
• 2      ea.     eggs, beaten
• 1/2    C.     chicken broth
• 1/2    C.     heavy cream
• 1/2    C.     Belgian tripel, preferably Westmalle

Place bread, herbs, salt and pepper in mixing bowl. Melt butter in skillet, then add onion and cook until softened. Add celery and cook about 5 min. Pour into bread bowl and toss. Add eggs, stock, cream, and beer mix thoroughly. Place in baking dish and bake at 325º F covered for 30 min. Uncover and back 30 min more or until browned. 

Mesquite Smoked Porter Bread Pudding (serves 8-10)

    Seriously, this recipe speaks for itself. Dark chocolate, smoke, custard and cream...

1 loaf rustic bread, cubed (we used Central Market's cranberry walnut bread)
2 C. Ranger Creek Mesquite Smoked Porter
1 pint heavy cream
4 eggs

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/4 C. white sugar
 Beat eggs, beer, cream, and sugar to combine. Toss in bread and hand mix. Allow to sit until bread absorbs the custard. Spread evenly over buttered baking dish. Bake at 350º F for 45 min. 

    In addition to these dishes we will also be making the Homebrew Chef's Garlic IPA mashed potatoes, using Ranger Creek OPA, and his Cranberry Wit Sauce. 

    Enjoy your Thanksgiving, don't celebrate our horrible American past, but do be thankful for your loved ones, and for craft brewers. 

The LOCAL Trend- Far more important than yuppies know... (PT 1)

    So, it's been pretty hip to eat and drink local for a while now. And like most folk, I never stopped to really think about the ramifications and importance of eating and drinking local. Not, that is, until I started to brew beer commercially.
    There is a big waste factor for commercial brewers: all of those spent grains... What to do with them? Well the brewery I work for, like most I know of, gives their spent grain free of charge to local farmers for animal feed and compost. As we have begun to develop a close, personal relationship with the farmer who takes our spent grain for us, I have begun to realize just how important dealing with local producers is. It isn't just the corporate giant versus the little independents. It's far more deep rooted than that.
    It begins with the economy. When you spend money at locally owned, independent businesses, or spend your money on locally made products, that money is more likely to stay in our local communities. Findings from several different studies on local versus national chain retailers (which you can find here) shows that the money you spend at a local business, or on local products, is more likely to get pumped back into the local economy, whereas money spent at a national chain retailer gets taken out of state, being funneled back to corporate headquarters elsewhere. This helps local businesses stay afloat, who employ local people, and help strengthen our local communities. Furthermore, roughly 18 cents of the cost of produce goes to the grower, whereas 82 cents goes to distributors and other middlemen. By buying local we are ensuring the support and sustainability of our local farmers and local economy.

Image totally stolen from http://cleanhippie.wordpress.com

    The same goes for locally grown and locally made products. When we buy locally grown produce, locally raised meat, dairy, etc, we are supporting our local economy. However, there are also environmental benefits as well. According to this article, "It is estimated that groceries travel an average of 1,500 miles before they reach the consumer’s table." The amount of energy, fuel, and pollution that goes into bringing Fuji apples from Chile, or greenhouse tomatoes from the other side of the country is asinine when you stop and think about how little it takes to get produce grown locally. Large scale agribusiness is a wasteful industry, both in terms of energy and direct pollution. Our soils are continually being over farmed, weakened, and filled with toxic fertilizers that get into our drinking water. Knowing who and where your food comes from is an important part of being a consumer that we have gotten too far away from. By turning back to local farmers we are ensuring that our communities are strengthened by developing a system that is sustainable. 
   I know that it all sounds preachy and maybe a little hippy-ish, but please realize that we take a ton of this shit for granted. Certainly there is alot of luxury that we enjoy now, but we have to face reality and realize that we have been living under the false pretense that this lifestyle will support us forever. We have to be informed and make important choices that affect us directly. 
   A large part of the craft brewing movement is independence and freedom, and that is both in the methods we brew and the way we produce. There is a quality that is guaranteed when you choose a local beer. Local brewers and farmers are both big parts of our local communities, but they rely on each other, and upon local consumers to survive. 


There is tons more great info about local produce, etc at LocalHarvest.org, a website with which I am not personally affiliated. 


Up next: The Local Food System- How Brewers, Farmers, and Cooks can collaborate and innovate.