Craft Beer Round Up

I love craft beer. If you haven't been to the beer section of your liquor store in a while, you might be surprised at some of the beers now available to the American public.  It seems any ingredient used in cooking is fair game for brewing as well.  Below you'll find a beer brewed with endive and hibiscus, one brewed with fresh chilies and one that defines the style of Double IPA.  While these beers are new to the American public, many ingredients used in them do have some historical use in beer.

This brew is made with endive and hibiscus giving it a very interesting bitterness.  It is also part of an emerging trend in the craft beer world of "Colabeeration Brews" in which two breweries put their heads together to brew a beer together.  Vrienden means "friends" in flemish.  This style of beer comes from the Flanders region that hugs the border of France and Belgium.  Beers that emerge from this region are often described as "winey" due to the fact that many are barrel aged, have fruit added and incorporate wild yeasts.

This beer is brewed with 5 different types of fresh chilies.  Twisted Pine Brewery in Boulder, Colorado infuses wheat beer with jalapeño, fresno, serrano, habenero and anaheim chilies.  This brew makes an incredible addition to a bloody mary, or as they call it, a "Bloody Billy."  The beer packs a subtle heat with a well rounded fresh chili aroma and flavor.

This brewery, Russian River, is often credited with inventing the style "Double IPA."  The beer comes off very piney and grapefruity with a lingering finish.  This is a great beer to pair with blue cheese or calamari.

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Beet Sashimi

This was the welcome finding of combining golden beets with red beets when pickling them.  I cooked the beets until tender, peeled them, and let them cool.  Next I put them in a mason jar, added some balsamic vinegar, salt and covered them with water.  I put a lid on them, refrigerated them overnight and they were delicious the next day.  The longer they sit in the liquid, the deeper the flavor.  Eat within 3 weeks. 

Beet Sashimi