PEI Liquor Celebrate Spring 2018

COOKINGWITH CRAFT BEER

Adding beer to a recipe can really change the character of the dish; it can enhance particular ingredients, help blend the flavors of the dish, or just add that little zing that your meal might be lacking.

It takes some time and experimentation to find out how to best incorporate beer into your cooking style. If you are already an experienced cook, then rest assured it has its place in just about every technique: baking, braising, deglazing, deep-frying, or marinating. But the intensity and range of flavour in different beers require a bit of planning to strike the right balance. There are three main points to consider when cooking with beer:

The natural carbonation in beer means it’s great for baking, plus any sweet malt or grain flavours are welcome in many batters or breads. Beer battered fish and chips is a great example of this principle, where the beer acts as a leavening agent and makes the batter very light and crisp. Try Molten Chocolate Stout Cakes made with Guinness or Upstreet Black Tie Affair Vanilla Cranberry Stout

Beer tenderizes meats, making it perfect for marinades or long braises. Robust dishes like stews are a good place to start before experimenting with the subtleties beer can have on more refined flavorings.

Beer is naturally bitter from the added hops, so it does well when blended with sweeter ingredients. Sweeter vegetables like onions, carrots or corn are a great counterpoint to bitter beers. Caramelized onions are a classic example of a sweet vegetable that is ideal with beer. Bitter hop flavour also helps balance the richness of creamy or cheesy dishes like mac and cheese.

Try Beer Brasied Pulled Pork made with Gahan Iron Bridge Brown Ale.

Try adding some Picaroon’s Irish Red to Buttered Mushrooms.

GUINNESS DRAUGHT 83110X, 4 x 440 mL, $15.01

PICAROONS IRISH RED ALE 80086R, 500 mL, $3.99

IRON BRIDGE BROWN ALE 81418R, 500 mL, $3.99

CELEBRATE SPRING 2018 30

Prices subject to change. | Products not available in all locations. | While supplies last.