Continuing my crusade to reclaim cheese from the grips of rotten grapes, I had a late breakfast of Gouden Carolus with two radically different cheeses.
The first cheese was a Camembert. If you have never had any, this is a soft, creamy French cheese with a chalky rind, and is very similar to Brie. I usually [...]
Thanksgiving meals, like Christmas, have a number of challenges when it comes to pairings. The turkey is sweet but can be rather flavourless. Sweet potato casserole can be extremely sweet indeed. There tends to be a lot of butter floating around, as well as cranberry sauce, gravy, and (at least in my household!) mustard sauce, [...]
Too many people are willing to accept watery mass brands for their drinking pleasure, simply because of advertising. They carry that through into their cooking as well.
I refuse to accept this – that’s why I became involved in beer culture – so I kicked this recipe up a notch by using an Imperial [...]
Continue reading about Chocolate stout cake served with Imperial Stout
This is my favorite way to do food & beer pairings — stumble across something totally unexpected that’s amazingly good.
I already had a glass of Oktoberfest poured up when I decided to serve up a helping of homemade peach cobbler. I never dreamed the two would compliment each other.
Lo and behold, the gentle sweetness and [...]
Bell’s is a new entry to the Alabama market. Their Amber Ale is probably one of the best examples of the style (84th percentile and B+ on the two big rating sites).
Today being a colder day, I decided to go with a beef chuck pot roast, with potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and using some of [...]
It being Labor Day, and traditionally a cook-out kind of day, I decided to combine an old classic, a new twist, and something fantastic.
Burgers – who doesn’t like them? Brie – a cheese I have only recently discovered a liking for. And beer – the classic combo.
I went with the Indian Brown Ale from [...]
Continue reading about Brie Burger and Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
I sincerely hope this doesn’t somehow come across as a knock against Highland Gaelic Ale — which is a fine beer — but it goes perfectly with this subpar Chinese takeout. Really, the Gaelic is a very good amber ale. Primo. It just happens to pair remarkably well with a less-than-mediocre food dish.
The food came [...]
Continue reading about Highland Gaelic Ale + Leftover Cloying General Tso’s Takeout
I had the privilege of presenting a high gravity only beer dinner at the J Clyde on Saturday. I call it a privilege, but really it was a dirty job… but I did it, because I am That Kind Of Guy. No, no praise necessary. I Took One For The Team.
Grilled Gulf Shrimp served on [...]
Being a Team Player, I took on the onerous duty of working out which beers are best paired with pulled pork BBQ. I made the pulled pork myself, allowing a large chunk of pork to lie wreathed in mesquite smoke for 18 hours. It was indeed a hard task, but somehow we pulled through relatively [...]
Last night I had the honor of MC’ing Alabama’s first beer dinner featuring exclusively high gravity beers, in celebration of Free The Hops’ success raising the ABV limit on beer in Alabama. The J. Clyde hosted. Here’s a brief rundown of how the pairings faired:
Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza with a fresh garden salad mixed [...]