Prior to Beer Bloggers Conference 2017 in Milwaukee, I agreed to present a short talk about “Cooking with Beer, ” and I was scared to death.  I cook with beer write recipes for breweries regularly, and for some reason, I assumed many people did the same thing.  To be honest, I figured I would get on stage and be heckled and laughed at by a crowd of people already doing what I do. However, I was seriously wrong! To my surprise, everyone listened, snapped pictures of my recipe slides, and asked for recipe/beer suggestions afterwards.

Being a food competitor, in addition to food & beer blogging, I’m always thinking of food, recipes, and pairings, so the entire time I was in Milwaukee and Grand Rapids, I constantly jotted down ideas using the different beers that we sampled.  My idea list grew so large, so quickly, that I thought it would be best if I shared some of my basic ideas.  Feel free to use any of these ideas, and if you do, take a pic, send it to me, and give a shout out to the brewery responsible for the creation.  I love to see great ideas come to life!

**Note: These are only ideas and not complete recipes.  I’m more than happy to help with measurements and instructions, if you decide to tackle any of these before I do!

Berliner Weisse, Sours, Lambic, Gueuze

During Frank Boon’s Lambic & Gueze session, my brain went crazy with tart beer ideas with seafood and strawberries!

Shrimp or Lobster Ceviche: raw shrimp or lobster cut into very small pieces, onion, peppers, tomatoes, avocado, and mixed with a sour beer, a little citrus, and drizzle of olive oil

Seafood Kabobs: alternate shrimp, chunks of fish, grape tomatoes, onions, squash, and peppers brushed with a mix of tart beer, butter, and garlic

Strawberry Trifle: Cook whole strawberries, sugar, and lambic until softened and slightly thick.  Layer poundcake, strawberries, and whipped cream in glasses drizzled with strawberry syrup.

Wheat, Belgian Ales, Kolsch, Cream Ale

While we were at Milwaukee Brewing’s Brat Tailgating lunch, all I could think about was pairing their beer with meat–brats, pork, chicken–and breakfast.

Apples & Wheat Pork Tenderloin: Cook apples & wheat beer together with brown sugar. Use the glaze to brush pork tenderloin as it grills.  Then, slice & serve with the cooked apples.

Roasted Kolsch Chicken: Pour kolsch in a deep roasting pan with veggies.  Place chicken halves on a roasting rack over the cooking liquid, and bake.  Let the kolsch steam the chicken and cook the veggies.  In the last 15 minutes, place the chicken directly into the cooking liquid and veggies.

Blueberries & Beer French Toast: Cook blueberries, sugar, and beer (wheat, wit, or cream ale) until thick.  Serve over brioche French toast.

Beer Bacon: Boil beer and brown sugar to a thick syrup.  Bake bacon on a foil lined cookie sheet until crisp, brushing with beer syrup while it bakes.

Stout, Porter, Barley Wine

During the Live Beer Tweeting event, between the beer, the curds, and the pretzels, my taste buds were craving party and tailgating food.

Affogato: Boil dark beer, teaspoon of espresso powder, and sugar for 10 minutes until thick.  Serve over vanilla ice cream.

Stout Meatballs: Cook meatballs in a crockpot with glaze of stout, ketchup, garlic, red pepper, and onion.

Porter Corned Beef or Pastrami: Raw corned beef brisket or pastrami in the crock pot covered in raw shredded cabbage. Pour a porter over and cook on low all day.

IPA

My husband is always searching for the hoppiest IPA he can find, and undoubtedly, he always hands me his beer to taste.  I may not be a huge IPA fan, but I can see the value in using its bitter, floral bite in recipes.

IPA Pickles: Make a pickling liquid with IPA, pickling spices, and vinegar.  Pour hot pickling liquid over chosen veggies (green tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, asparagus, anything).  Seal in a jar and refrigerate.

IPA Mustard: Soak yellow & black mustard seeds in IPA for 3-4 days.  Add brown sugar, vinegar, and turmeric.  Blend until desired smoothness.

IPA Beer Cheeseburger Soup:  Ground beef browned with onions and garlic. Potatoes, IPA, and beef stock cooked until potatoes are soft.  Touch of ketchup, touch of mustard, and shredded cheese cooked until melted and gooey.