beer recipes

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema

04.04.2014 14 Comments

I’m still in shock.

A few days ago I was given word that I’m a finalist for a Saveur award for BEST Original Recipes. Best on the entire internet and in the entire world. Out of the millions of food blogs out there and out of the 30,000 they considered, they chose The Beeroness as one of the six best.

I’d love to tell you that I feel justified, or vindicated. But really, I feel humbled. I feel honored. I even feel a little overwhelmed.

I want you to like what I’m doing. I want you to make my recipes for your family, I want them to become your recipes, for these recipes to be a great excuse to explore craft beer. But I never really needed it to be more than that, more than just me and you making some beer food and sharing it over a few pints.

And the Saveur goes and makes me want this too. I want to win it, for us, for the love of beer food.

So take a second and vote for The Beeroness for the Best Original Recipes.

Because beer food really is the best.

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Polenta:

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup Saison beer
1 cup dry polenta corn grits
3 tbs butter
3 wt oz smoked gouda shredded
Salt and pepper

For the Shrimp:

1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp red chili flake
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp salt
1 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined
2 tbs butter
3 clives garlic minced
½ cup saison beer

For the Crema:

½ cup Mexican crema
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1 avocado sliced

Instructions

Heat the chicken broth, water and beer in a pot over medium heat. Add the polenta and cook over a low simmer, stirring occasionally, until creamy. About 30 minutes. Stir in the butter and cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.
While the polenta is cooking, make the shrimp.
In a small bowl stir together the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red chili flavors, smoked paprika and salt, set aside.
Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the beer.
Add the shrimp, sprinkle with seasonings.
Cook the shrimp until pink, remove from heat.
In a small bowl stir together the crema and lime.
Plate the polenta, top with shrimp and avocado slices, drizzle with crema.

I use Bob’s Red Mill Polenta (affiliate link), it’s non-GMO, organic, very consistent and really high quality.

Brown Ale Farro Risotto with Roasted Mushrooms

24.03.2014 10 Comments

There is one thing I can’t stop doing every time I travel.

And not just when I get to leave the country, but even when I just leave the state. I just need to wander around a market. A locals only place, stocked with whatever people who live in the neighboring streets like to eat. Once while in Costa Rica, in a small and run down town, I found myself in a small market that had just lost all power.

"It happens," the shop owner told me, "We just stay open, hope the light from the door can reach to the back." I made a mental note not to buy any thing perishable, but did leave with 3 bags of coffee and an unidentifiably spice that I later used on roasted vegetables.

Sometimes these little adventures just bring me back to an ingredient that I forgot that I loved. My recent trip to a local market in a neighborhood heavily populated with Italian imigrants lead me to buy a bag of farro. I love this little grain, much more than rice, much more than quinoa and I can’t understand why it isn’t used more often. It doesn’t get mushy the way that rice can, it has a nice almost chewy texture, tons of those vitamins/protein/ health benefits that people seem to like, and much more flavor than other trendy grains.

Plus it cooks up really well with beer. Which means it wins.

Brown Ale Farro Risotto with Roasted Mushrooms

Print Recipe

Servings 4 entre sized portions, 8 side dish portions

Ingredients

For the Risotto:

2 cups 15 wt oz faro
6 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
3 tbs olive oil
½ white onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
3 tbs unsalted butter divided
1 cup plus ¼ cup brown ale, divided
¼ cup heavy cream
2 wt oz about ¾ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

For the Mushrooms:

8 wt oz assorted wild mushrooms
3 tbs olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Add farro to a large bowl. Cover with luke warm water, let stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Drain well.
Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Add the mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss until well coated. Roast for 15 minutes, stir and roast for an additional ten minutes. Drain the liquid off the mushrooms, set mushrooms aside.
Place the chicken broth in a saucepan and bring to a low simmer, keeping to warm, but not boiling.
In a separate pot, heat the 3 tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, but don’t allow to brown. Add the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 20 seconds
Stir in the faro and 3 tablespoons butter, cooking until the farro is completely coated with butter and it smells slightly nutty, don’t allow to brown. About 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of the brown ale and cook until the pan begins to dry, stirring frequently. About 6 minutes.
Add about ½ cup of broth into the farro. Stir frequently until the farro is almost dry, and then add another ½ cup and repeat until the farro is cooked. This process should take about 30 minutes. Don’t leave the risotto while it’s cooking, the farro on the bottom of the pan burns easily. (if you run out of broth, just use hot water the same way you would broth)
Once your risotto is cooked through (taste it to verify that the farro is cooked and not crunchy), turn heat to low and add the cheese, cream, remaining 3 tablespoons butter and ¼ cup brown ale and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the roasted mushrooms just prior to serving.

Beer Marshmallows with Chocolate Mint Beer Sauce

07.03.2014 16 Comments

I told you last year that I wouldn’t further assault you with tales of my trip to Ireland for Saint Patrick’s day, until it was close to Saint Patrick’s Day.

But here we are, just a week away. So I’ll force another story of Ireland down your throat. But I made you some beer marshmallows so I hope we can call it even.

The night after I arrived in Dublin, still jet-lagged and a bit shaky, I found myself at a table in the back of an old Irish pub with a couple of Irish farmers in their early twenties. A scrawny, fair-haired, Irish boy, who admitted that he’d never left the mossy soil of Mother Ireland, asked me about life in the famed Los Angeles. "So…you’ve, like, met famous people. Like movie stars? and people in bands?"

I said that I had. Just part of living in LA and having friends who work in music. It wasn’t a big deal. His eyes widened, he bought the next round and pressed me for details, "WHO HAVE YOU MET?!"

I was felt slightly pushed back and delved into the database of my past celebrity meetings. I wasn’t sure who he’d like to hear about so I started to go with my favorites, "Ummm. I met James Brown once. He told me I was pretty and did a spin for me."

He was confused. "Who’s that? Who else have you met? Do you know Madonna"

"No. But I did go to Elton Johns birthday party. It was small, only a handful of people but I was too nervous to talk to him. But I did spend the night talking with-"

"Let me cut to the chase." He turned serious, he wanted to get right to the information he was looking for, "I want to know if you’ve met THE GUY."

I was blank. Who was the GUY? Which guy?

"You know!" The dozen Guinnesses he’d had since he’d left the sheep farm were starting to settle into his demeanor.

"I really don’t know. Who’s THE GUY in Hollywood?" I was more curious than confused.

Exasperated he finally spit it out, "EDDIE MURPHY!"

"Oh. No." If I’d had one million guesses I wouldn’t have pulled that name, "I haven’t met him."

"That’s too bad. But you know, he lives in LA. So, you might. Right? At some point, like at Starbucks or something?"

"Ummm, yeah. I guess there’s still hope."

But, sadly I did leave LA never having met Eddie Murphy. So unless he’s a Seahawks fan, we may never meet. But I do suspect that if he’s a beer drinker, he might like beer marshmallows. With stout chocolate sauce. And if he doesn’t, then it’s probably a good thing we never met.

Beer Marshmallows with Chocolate Mint Beer Sauce

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For The Marshmallows

Powdered sugar
3 ½ envelopes unflavored gelatin such as Knox
1 cup beer flat and cold*
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
2 large egg whites
½ tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Sauce

10 wt oz dark mint chocolate I used Green & Blacks
1/3 cup chocolate stout

Instructions

Grease a 9x13 baking pan, sprinkle with powdered sugar until well coated, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer add ½ cup cold flat beer. Sprinkle with gelatin. Allow to stand while the sugar is being prepared.
In a large saucepan (mixture will bubble up considerably) over medium heat, add the remaining ½ cup beer, sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Raise heat to high and allow to boil until the mixture reads 240F on a candy thermometer (about 6-8 minutes).
Once the temperature has been reached, turn off heat.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin. Once all the sugar has been added turn the mixer on high until light and fluffy and tripled in volume, about 6 minutes.
While the mixer is running, prepare the egg whites. Add the egg whites to a bowl with the salt. Beat on high with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites and vanilla extract into the stand mixer ingredients until just combined.
Pour the marshmallows into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Allow to set at room temperature until set, about 2 hours. Remove from pan, cut into squares.
To make the chocolate sauce, add all chocolate sauce ingredients to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted.
Dip the marshmallows into the chocolate, remove with a fork, set on wax paper until set. Or just pour it on in a ridiculous but photogenic stream to make a delicious mess.

Notes

*The beer in these marshmallows can be very present. Pick a beer you like. Try to avoid really high hop beers, they can get really bitter. If you want a low beer flavor, pick a pilsner, pale lager, or wheat beer. You can also use a malty belgian or a brown ale. If you LOVE hops, you can use an IPA but take note that the beer bitterness will be very present.

Molasses Stout Glazed Salmon with Herb IPA Mashed Potatoes

05.03.2014 15 Comments

No matter how often you move, there are things that you forget. Every time. You forget that you won’t know which drawer to put Sharpie markers and batteries in (they always end up in the same drawer), you’ll turn to grab the knife from where is "used to be," you won’t know where the Target is, or where to take your dry cleaning, or where to buy the best prosciutto and you can forget about that guy who offered to sharpen your knives for free if you bring him cookies THAT guy doesn’t exist in your new land.

I have a gypsy soul, I’ve never missed my own bed, I don’t have the home sick gene, I’m never nervous about new roads or new words or new food. I look forward to building a new database of people and place. But there is a learning curve with a new place. Things I didn’t know that I didn’t know. I’ve had to adapt to a new climate, one that was not 80 degrees on Christmas, and involves a near wardrobe change when I need to run out to the car to grab the beer I left in the back.

But the upside is that beer would have been overly warm in my old land, in this place, it was the perfect 43 degrees and ready to drink.

Now I just need to find a guy to trade knife sharpening for baked goods and I’ll be half way there.

Molasses Stout Glazed Salmon with Herb IPA Mashed Potatoes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For The Potatoes

2 lbs russet potatoes peeled and chopped
6 tbs unsalted butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sage minced
½ tsp thyme. minced
½ tsp rosemary minced
3 tbs IPA beer

For the Salmon

1 tbs olive oil
¼ cup shallots
2 tbs soy sauce
1/3 cup stout
2 tbs molasses not blackstrap
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp onion powder
4 4-6 ounce Salmon fillets

Instructions

To Make the Potatoes:

Add the potatoes to a pot of lightly salted boiling water. Allow to boil until fork tender. Drain and return to pot.
Add the remaining potato ingredients, stir and mash with a potato masher until well combined.

To Make The Salmon:

Preheat oven broiler.
Add the oil to a pot over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
Add the shallots, cook until softened and slightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Add the soy, stout, molasses, smoked paprika,onion powder and chili powder. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened, about 6 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray (or drizzle with vegetable oil.
Place salmon on the foil, skin side down.
Brush liberally with glaze.
Broil for 3 minutes, re-brush with glaze, and place under the broiler for 3 more minutes. Repeat (re-brushing and broiling) until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
Serve over potatoes.

Stout Soaked Mushrooms and Herbed Goat Cheese Crostinis

03.03.2014 22 Comments

Photos from my Instagram account

I made it.

From LA to Seattle, up Highway 1. Past fat lazy seals, miles of winding coastlines, epic Redwoods, and into an unusually sunny Seattle. Although the sun has now given way to the typical rain, it’s somehow comforting.

Although figuring out how to wield a camera in low light has been a bit challenging.

But the food isn’t. This part of the word has gorgeous produce, fantastic seafood, incredible beer. I’m starting to get familiar with the Northwest breweries and the beautiful beer that I’m now so close to. If you know of a local brewery I should go to, please, I’m all ears.

As I unpack the boxes, rely heavily on my navigation to get around, figure out what local stations to set my car radio to, and try to amend my ill-equipped wardrobe (warm socks?? I need new socks?), I’m excited to be here. My Gypsy Soul gets to wander a new city.

Stout Soaked Mushrooms and Herbed Goat Cheese Crostinis

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 wt oz 1 ½ cups assorted dried mushrooms (I used Porcini, Shiitake & Chanterelle)
12 ounces stout beer
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped shallots
½ tsp kosher or sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 baguette sourdough or French
4 ounces chevre goat cheese softened
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Instructions

Put the mushrooms in a small bowl or jar. Cover with the stout beer. Leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours or until the mushrooms are soft and have reconstituted.
Drain the mushrooms and rinse well to remove any residual grit.
Slice the mushrooms into thin slices (unless mushrooms were pre sliced).
In a pan over medium high heat melt the butter with the olive oil.
Add the shallots and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the mushrooms to the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook until most of the oil and butter has been absorbed, about 5 minutes.
Preheat the boiler on the oven.
Slice the baguette into 18-24 slices.
Place the slices on a baking sheet. Place until the broiler until golden brown, about 2 minutes, flip over and place under the broiler until golden brown the opposite side.
In a small bowl stir together the goat cheese, thyme, sage and rosemary.
Spread each slice with goat cheese, top with mushrooms.
Serve immediately.

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

13.01.2014 24 Comments

People have irrational culinary fears, I get it. Some people avoid recipes using yeast like they are circus clowns in a dark alley. Some people can’t wrap their brains around the idea of plunging food into hot oil without a spotter. I have an irrational fear of mall Santas so I get it, there are just some things we tend to avoid.

Although I assure you, you’d be just fine if you wanted to fry these suckers in hot oil. I also assure you that if you bought a deep fryer your football parties will never be the same. But if you aren’t there yet, I get it.

I spent most of the summer cooking everything I ate on my backyard grill, taunting the grill-less into Sad Face reactions. One of my go-to sides was grilled french fries. I cut them large enough as not to slip through the grates and I learned that soaking them in a salt brine gave you that creamy middle and crispy outside that you really want in your french fries.

Now that most the grills in America are covered in the unsavory film of winter, I’ve switched to the oven method. The salt water soak is still the way to go when you want that creamy/crispy combo, and letting the baking sheet heat up in the oven will give you more of that golden brown outside that you’d get from that scary vat of hot oil.

Although I do promise that if you do decide to deep fry your potatoes, you’ll be fine. It’s not that scary, not like, say a grown man in a red suit that lurks near a Hollister.

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 lbs russet potatoes
12 ounces pale ale
1 tbs kosher salt
water
¼ cup canola oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sugar

Instructions

Cut the potatoes into ½ inch strips.
In a large bowl add the beer and 1 tbs kosher salt. Add the potatoes to the beer, add just enough water that the potatoes are fully submerged, about 1 to 2 cups.
Cover and chill for at least 3 hours and up to 12.
Move the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven, place a rimed metal baking sheet on the rack. Preheat oven to 425.
Drain the potatoes and rinse well. Place on a stack of paper towels and pat dry. Add to a large bowl, drizzle with canola oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sea salt, black pepper and sugar. Toss until well coated.
Pour the potatoes onto the baking sheet in an even layer.
Bake for 20 minutes. Turn with a spatula and bake until golden brown, an additional 15-20 minutes.

Tomato Herb and Beer Poached Cod with Caramelized Fennel

08.01.2014 13 Comments

I started this adventure masked as a blog just over two years ago. I decided when I first hit publish that this wasn’t a "let’s see how this goes" endeavor. This is was a full force, every piece of my life, both feet, all chips on the table undertaking. I was all in.

My stack of "I Need To Figure This Stuff Out" was much larger than my "I’ve Got This" pile and the more I fought towards the goals I set, the larger that first stack got. Lucky for me, my reaction to "You can’t do that" has always been, "You watch me." And somewhere along the road I stop hearing people say "no" to me and started to hear them say "Someday I’ll wish I’d said yes to you."

I guess it’s working, and I have a few gold stars to show for it. The first printing of my book, The Craft Beer Cookbook (affiliate link), sold out in less than three months, I’m a regular beer expert on a radio show, I have people from all over the world share photos of the dishes they have made from my site with me over Facebook and Twitter (I LOVE this, keep doing it, highlight of my day), and in the past year I’ve been interviewed by dozens of magazines all over the world. I’m humbled by this in an enormous way, that what I’ve worked nights, weekends, poured so much time and money into is being realized. That I’m able to do this, share this love with you, and find a place in craft beer.

A few days ago an interview I did with the print magazine Imbibe hit newsstands. I stood in Barnes & Noble, trying really hard not grab the guy perusing motorcycle magazine standing next to me and yell, "THAT’S ME!" and shove page 21 in his face. I refrained.

So I’m doing it to you instead, I’m shoving page 21 in your face and yelling. But to you, I’m yelling "Thank you."

Tomato Herb and Beer Poached Cod with Caramelized Fennel

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
1 fennel bulb sliced into ¼ inch slices
3 cloves garlic mined
1 cup white ale or wheat beer
28 wt oz crushed tomatoes
1 tsp crushed red peppers
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tbs chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
½ tsp salt
4 cod fillets 4-5 ounces each
Rice potatoes or pasta for serving

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the fennel slices and cook until caramelized on each side, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, stir for about 30 seconds. Add the white ale, scraping to deglaze the pot.
Add the crushed tomatoes, red peppers, paprika, basil. tarragon and salt, bring to a low simmer.
Add the cod fillets, pushing gently to submerge.
Simmer until cod is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, about 8 minutes (Note: do not boil or fish will become tough, keep tomato sauce at a low simmer).
Using a slotted spoon, remove cod from the pot, add to a serving platter.
Bring the tomato mixture to a strong simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced about 10 minutes.
Plate the cod, top with tomato mixture.

Chocolate Stout Shortbread Cookies

23.12.2013 22 Comments

I need to start a petition.

To change the usually paring of Milk and Cookies to Beer and Cookies. First of all, it’s just a better idea. If you want to lure friends over, "Hey I’ve got beer and cookies" will go over much better than the alternative. Second, milk is gross. Sure, you turn it into butter, cream or cheese and I’m in. But a tall glass of liquid that was recently inside of a cow just makes me gag. I’m not sure if I have ever in my life drank a glass of milk that wasn’t in the form of blended ice cream. Not even as a kid, I was the juice and cookies type. Now, it’s beer. A nice milk stout is as close as you can get me.

So next time you find yourself at my house and I offer you cookies, don’t expect a glass of milk. But I will give you some good beer, and some cookies made with beer. So I hope that’s a good substitution.

Of course it is, it’s beer and cookies.

Chocolate Stout Shortbread Cookies

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Shortbread

1 ½ cups butter softened
1 ¼ cup sugar
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
3 cups flour
2 tbs cornstarch

For the chocolate layer:

3 cups 18 wt. oz dark chocolate chips (60%)
2 tbs heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chocolate stout or imperial stout
1 tsp Fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325.
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter, sugar, almond extract and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with the salt, flour and cornstarch, mix until just combined.
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper. Press the shortbread dough into the bottom of the baking sheet in an even layer.
Prick all over with a fork.
Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes or until the edges have just started to turn golden.
In the top of a double boiler (or a metal bowl set over a pot of water, but not touching the water) over gently simmering water, add the chocolate, cream and stout. Stir until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Pour over the shortbread in an even layer.
Sprinkle with salt. Chill until set, about 3 hours and up to overnight.
Cut into squares. Chill until ready to serve.

Beer Cheese Ball

12.12.2013 8 Comments

I was a lifeguard for three years in college. Mostly at summer camps, poorly run water slide parks and a bad summer on floating dock in the middle of a dirty lake.

Late one night at a summer camp in Western Canada the guys who ran the camp decided to let the pre-teen campers, hopped up on Sysco ice cream and fudge sauce, jump into the pool. For about two hours I watched as they seemed to instinctively go from one side of the pool to the other, cheering, waving their hands, jumping up and down. When that got boring, they just did it all on the other side of the pool.

The following week, after Ice Cream Social Night, the pool was opened again, and the same thing happened again with a completely different group of adolescents doped up on saccharine. Every week after was the same routine. "WE LOVE THIS SIDE OF THE POOL!" they all seemed to be cheering, and a few minutes later, "NO THIS SIDE OF THE POOL IS THE BEST!"

We don’t grow out of that by the way, we just find more adult ways of shifting from one side of the pool to the other, "WE LIKE MINI SKIRTS!" no, wait, "WE LOVE MAXI SKIRTS!" And as cool as we think we are in the beer community, we do it too. "WE LOVE HOPS A LOT!" but, wait, "MALTY BELGIANS ARE THE BEST EVER!" While hops and malt, opposing forces that could never live without each other, will always be held in equal regard when it comes to importance in the beer making process, the "in beer" seems to favor one or the other. We have made a bit of a shift in the past year, from the Hop The Crap Out Of This Quadruple IPA to the Malty Sweetness Deep And Roasty Belgian ales. To celebrate this shift, I used a red ale that has tons of malt but didn’t forget the hops. A common ground in the middle of that Hops vs Malt pool.

I’m up for either, as long as you don’t trash talk the other side of the pool, you know you’re going to be back there in a few minutes.

Beer Cheese Ball

Print Recipe

Ingredients

5 wt oz cream cheese
2 wt oz goat cheese about ¼ cup
4 wt oz shredded Asiago cheese about 1 cup
4 wt oz shredded parmesan cheese about 1 cup
1/3 cup red ale
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup chopped chives
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Add the cream cheese, goat cheese, Asiago cheese, parmesan cheese, beer, and garlic powder to the food processor, process until well combined. Add the chives and pulse until just combined.
Place on a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a ball, wrapping with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours and up to 24 (flavors develop overnight, don’t be afraid to make this a day ahead of time).
Remove from the plastic wrap, gently roll in chopped walnuts until coated.
Serve with pretzels or crackers.

Roasted Broccoli with Beer Cheese Sauce

11.11.2013 12 Comments

Leave it to me to take a perfectly healthy and delicious side dish, like roasted broccoli, and pour a bunch of cheese and beer all over it, effectively negating most of the health benefits.

But really, it’s for your own good. There’s a good chance you’re sitting there planning a menu, a Turkey centric, end it with pie, If I don’t eat too much I’m doing it wrong, type of late November meal. Me too.

We’ve got the main dish down, and potatoes are all set, lots of pies (probably too many), but then those wily vegetable side dishes always come last. Is green bean casserole really enough green stuff? Should I have more?

Yes. You should have some roasted broccoli, serve it with a side of cheese sauce to match the excessive gluttony level of the rest of the table.

You wouldn’t want it to feel left out.

Roasted Broccoli with Beer Cheese Sauce

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Beer Cheese Sauce

2 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
2 tbs corn starch
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup pale ale
8 wt oz cheddar cheese not pre shredded

For the Broccoli:

3 lbs broccoli florets cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
½ tsp kosher salt

Instructions

In a pot over medium heat melt the butter.
Sprinkle with flour and cornstarch, whisk until thickened. Cook, whisking continually for three minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and the beer, stirring to make sure no lumps remain.
About ¼ cup at a time, add the cheese, whisking between addition until the cheese has completely melted. Make sure to adjust heat to make sure it does not boil.
Preheat oven to 400.
Add the broccoli to a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic and salt. Toss to coat.
Roast at 400 for 10-15 minutes until fork tender and edges have started to crisp.
Serve with cheese sauce on the side or drizzled on top.

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart

25.10.2013 10 Comments

Why beer?

I’ve been asked a lot of questions about why I’ve tried so feverishly to squeeze myself into this world. After all, there are a lot of ingredients that make great culinary obsessions. So, why beer?

To explain that, we’ll have to talk about collaboration. Craft beer is the only major market that does this regularly, with breweries constantly teaming up to co-create a beer. Nike and Adidas will never team up for a collaboration shoe. Nor has Ford and Chevy ever co-produced a truck. Wineries don’t do it, or bike makers, or creameries. Brewers do. All the time.

Beer people, big and small, are wide-eyed, unabashed, gushy, groupie style fans of one another. Unafraid to share that mutual adoration. This leads not just to collaborations but deep and meaningful relationships that can be felt widely across the entire industry. It’s common to see the one brewery owner helping another, lending a hand. It isn’t rare for a one head brewery to call another and say, "I’m short a few bags of malt, can I borrow some from you?" and a truck of grains to be immediately sent over. It’s common for a breweries pubs to pour beer besides their own, unheard of any other liquor industry. It’s a community that favors connections over competition. Beer people have a rising tide lifts all ships mentality, the rivalries friendly, pats on the back and cheering each other’s successes. It’s unlike any other industry. And sure the beer is great, but the people are even better.

That’s why beer.

Potato, Porter Caramelized Onions & Beer Goat Cheese Tart

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 white onion
1 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup porter beer
4 wt oz goat cheese
1 tbs cornstarch
¼ cup IPA
1 russet potato thinly sliced
2 tbs butter
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 pastry crust
½ cup baby arugula

Instructions

Slice the onion into 1/8 inch rings. In a pot over medium heat add the butter and olive oil. Add the onions and cook until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes (do not cook the onions at too high heat or they will burn). Add the porter and cook until the beer has evaporated and the onions are a dark golden color, about 15 minutes.
In a small food processor add the goat cheese, cornstarch and IPA, blend until smooth.
In a cast iron skillet melt the butter, add the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook until the potatoes have browned.
Preheat oven to 350.
Roll the pastry crust out to a 10 inch circle, transfer to a baking sheet that has been covered with a Silpat or parchment paper.
Spread the beer goat cheese evenly across the tart, avoiding the outer 1 inch edge.
Top the cheese with caramelized onions then with the potatoes.
Fold the outer edge up over the filling of the tart.
Bake at 350 until the crust has turned golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Top with arugula before serving.

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta: An Oktoberfest Recipe

24.09.2013 11 Comments

Although it seems like most of America sees Oktoberfest as The Festival of Barely Contained Breasts And Bad Beer In October, it really isn’t meant to be any of those things. Oktoberfest began more than 200 years ago as a wedding celebration, it’s morphed into a celebration of local food and drink.

In Germany, they take that local notion seriously. Only beer brewed within the Munich city limits is allowed to be served at the festivities, and last year nearly 7 million liters were served up. Which may explain why 37 kids were reported missing, as well as a live rabbit, during last years event (all children and furry creatures were found safe and sound).

The authentic Oktoberfest festivities take place in Munich Germany, starting around mid-September and ending the first Sunday in October, making this year’s event well underway. To celebrate in my own house, far, far from the Bavarian epicenter of the German Beer Lovers Fest, I made a hearty pasta, full of beer brats and brown ale.

The bratwurst began as a peasants dish, using all the scraps left over once the more expensive cuts were taken, which makes it a perfect addition to carbonara pasta, which has its own humble beginnings on a peasants table in Europe.

To sum it up, my friends, celebrate in an authentic fashion: strap on some lederhosen, drink local beer, cook some sausages in beer, but just don’t forget where you put your kids or woodland creatures.

O’zapft is!

Beer Brat Carbonara Pasta

Print Recipe

Ingredients

5 ounces gaunciale or 6 strips thick sliced bacon
1 sweet white onion sliced into rings
1 tbs olive oil plus 2 tbs, divided
6 bratwurst raw
12 ounces brown ale
1 lb spaghetti
2 Roma tomatoes chopped
1 cup fresh grated Pecornio or Parmigiano-Reggiano
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
4 large eggs

Instructions

In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the gaunciale (or bacon). Remove from pan, chop. Pour off about half the pork fat, leaving about 2 tbs still in the pan. Add 1 tbs olive oil and onions, cook over medium heat until the onions start to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes. Remove onions from pan, set aside.
Increase heat to medium high, add the bratwurst, cooking until browned on both sides. Add the beer and reduce heat to medium low, simmering until the bratwurst are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Slice into rings.
While the bratwurst are cooking, cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water until al dente, drain and return to pot.
Add sliced brats, chopped gauncaile (or bacon), caramelized onions, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tbs olive oil to the spaghetti, toss to combine.
One at a time poach the eggs in simmering water until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.
Divide the pasta between 4 bowls, top with poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Salted Beer Caramel Corn

18.09.2013 37 Comments

Today is the day.

Today, September 18th, the book I spent months creating, turning myself into a figurative nightmare, pouring blood, sweat, tears and beer into each recipe, hits mailboxes and store shelves across the land. While I should be feeling excessively accomplished now that I can officially slap a Publish Author tittle after my name, there is also a thin film of vulnerability draped over today. Because more than I want it sell like Funfetti Cronuts, I want it to be well received, I want you to love it. I wish all the recipes to be Home Runs, every step to make sense to ever cook, and every Amazon reviews to be glowing.

What you think matters to me, probably more than it should. So if you buy this little book of mine, The Craft Beer Cookbook (affiliate link), and you have a question about a recipe, email me: [email protected]. If you make a recipe and love it, tweet a picture to me @TheBeeroness. If you make a recipe on your own blog, share it on my Facebook page. I want to know what you think (let’s be honest) especially if it’s good.

While I spent the weekend worried about the release of cookbook, and working out the details of the book tour, I decided it was a great idea to stress eat caramel corn. I even made two batches. The first batch I used a hoppy brown ale, which gave the caramel a mild beer flavor that was a bit lost once it coated the corn. The next batch I used an imperial stout, a big bold beer with enough monster taste to give the caramel corn notes of beer in every bite.

Caramel corn and a cookbook, not a bad Wednesday.

Salted Beer Caramel Corn

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup corn kernels
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbs light corn syrup
½ cup imperial stout plus 2 tbs, divided
4 tbs butter
1 tsp coarse sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250.
Place the corn kernels in a brown paper bag. Fold the top over. Place in the microwave (long side down), microwave on high for 4 minutes. When the popping starts to slow to about one pop per one second, remove from microwave. Measure out 7 cups of popcorn (if there is less than 7 cups, pop additional kernels in the same manner, if there are more than 7 cups, reserve the remaining popped corn for another use).
Spray a large baking pan with cooking spray.
Add the corn kernels to the baking sheet in an even layer, place in the oven until the caramel sauce is ready.
Add the brown sugar, light corn syrup, ½ cup stout and butter to a saucepan over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, stop stirring. Allow to boil for 7 minutes, without stirring. Remove from heat, immediately stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons stout.
Spray a silicon spatula with cooking spray (except the handle).
Gently pour the caramel sauce over the corn, stirring to coat.
Bake for 20 minutes at 250, stir, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread evenly onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper, sprinkle immediately with salt. Allow to cool, until hardened. Store in an air-tight container.

Pumpkin Ale Muffins with Graham Cracker Streusel Topping

13.09.2013 21 Comments

Don’t judge me for this.

It’s obligatory. After all, I am a blogger, and it is pumpkin season. And as the beer-food blogging hybrid beast that I am, pumpkin season means two things. First, there is the food blog trend of Pumpkin All The Things that I must participate in. Second, there are the most highly anticipated of all seasonal beers: The Pumpkin Ale.

So naturally, I couldn’t let this season slip away without presenting you with a few pumpkined items, roll your pumpkin weary eyes if you will, but it’s not over yet.

I will now further assault you with a list of Must Try Pumpkin Beers, In no particular order. Are you sick of list? I hope not, I am quite the list maker, so sit tight, it’s about to get real.

1. Souther, Tier Pumpking. This has been on my list for a while, but being a West Coaster, it’s not available to me anywhere near my current longitude. It’s only because of This Girl and her new Husband that I was able to try it a few months ago in Boston. It’s fantastic. An epic example of Pumpkin Done Right. If you’re on the East Coast, it’s fairly mandatory that you pick one up.

2. Shipyard, Smashed Pumpkin. This is what you grab if you want to be punch in the mouth with some pumpkin, it’s not subtle, as Shipyard rarely is. It’s full force pumpkin in your face.

3. Elysian, Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. A nice, low ABV (I like the low alcohol beers, it means I can drink more) pumpkin pie tasting treat. More subtle than others, with a nice maltyness.

4. Avery, Rumpkin. This guy is a beast. If there was a Pumpkin Ale School Yard Bully, it’s this guy. Not only did Avery make a pumpkin ale that demands attention, they went and aged it in rum barrels (!!!!) to give you a monster ale with monster flavor and monster ABV. Be prepared to share, or at least call a cab.

5. Cigar City Brewing, Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale. This is what happens when your pumpkin beer takes a Caribbean vacation. Unique spices that come from Jamaica give you a new take, completely worth seeking out.

Pumpkin Ale Muffins with Graham Cracker Streusel Topping

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For The Muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground ginger
¾ cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup pumpkin ale
2 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup canola oil

For the Topping:

5 standard sized graham cracker sheets
2 tbs all purpose flour
1 tbs brown sugar
pinch salt
3 tbs melted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl sort together the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.
In a small bowl stir together the pumpkin puree, pumpkin ale, eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter and canola oil.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spray 12 muffin tins with cooking spray.
Scoop the batter into the well of a muffin tin to about 2/3 full.
In a food processor, add the graham crackers and process until reduced to just crumbs.
Add the flour, brown sugar and salt, pulse to combine.
Add the melted butter and process until well combines.
Scoop about 1-2 tbs graham cracker mixture on top of the muffin batter.
Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until top spring back when lightly touched.

Notes

Optional add in's (stir in the batter just before pouring into the muffin tins):
2/3 cup raisins,
2/3 cup chocolate chips,
2/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries,
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Pub Cookies

11.09.2013 38 Comments

I want to put a beer cooking trick up your sleeve. A secret skill to help maneuver the beer cooking universe with deft dexterity. I like to call this a Beer Extract, made by reducing that bottle of beer to a small but mighty beer syrup that fits nicely into a recipe that wants some beer flavor but is without the capacity to handle large volumes of beer right out of the bottle.

It’s easy, really. Just simmer the beer long enough to remove the water, leaving all those other great flavors in a compact bite of beer essence. When a recipe, like these Pub Cookies, can only take a little bit of liquid and you want a bit o' that beer flavor to come through at the end, all you need to do is reduce the beer to remove the water and you’re all set.

While this might not bring you the large amounts of beer taste you might want, there is a subtle malty finish to the end flavor, along with those pretzels that always seem to love to tag along for the beer flavored ride.

Pub Cookies

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 4 35

Ingredients

12 ounces imperial stout or porter beer
3/4 cup butter cut into cubes
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg plus 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup bread flour this will make them chewy
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips 60%
2/3 cup mini pretzel twists broken into pieces
¼ cup honey roasted peanuts

Instructions

In a pot over medium high heat add the beer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 tbs, about 8 to 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and both types of sugar, beat until well creamed. Add the egg and the yolk, beat until well combined. Add the 1 tbs of beer, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined, scraping the bottom to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
In a separate bowl, add both types of flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix on medium/low speed until just barely combined, don't over mix. Add the chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, and peanuts, and stir until incorporated.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, scoop golfball sized scoops of dough, roll them into round balls and place on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown, don't over bake. (If you don't chill the dough, or if you make smaller sized cookies, the cooking time will be much shorter. Start to keep an eye on your cookies after about 12 minutes.)

Mediterranean Beer Braised Pork Burgers

06.09.2013 17 Comments

We could never manage to get ourselves through an entire conversation about cooking with beer without talking about meat. Sure, the magical leavening powers of beer give bread that awesome texture, and after making a chocolate stout cake none of my cakes will ever be sober again, but meat is where it all begins.

There is no hard data on the inception of beer cooking, but my educated guess leans me towards meat. Not just for the incedible meat tenderizing properties of beer, but also due to the fact that it’s a mild preservative, important in those pre-Frigidare days of trying to feed a crowd. These days, meat and beer just seem to have found a seamless connection, a perfect marriage that leads to the birth of outstanding crowd pleasing meals. This union is due in no small part to the fact that beer gives meat an amazingly tender texture while infusing it with a little bit of that beer flavor we all know and love.

So, what beer with what meat, you ask? Great question. Here are my recommendations:

Beef: Imperial Stout

Pork: Smoked Porter

Chicken & Turkey: Brown Ale

Fish: White Ale

In my history of beer cooking, those are the pairings that have proven the most successful. Also, don’t forget to save some of that beer for drinking.

For this recipe I used my Homemade Beer Burger Buns, which was a fantastic idea.

Mediterranean Beer Braised Pork Burgers

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Meat:

1 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
3 lbs country style pork ribs
2 tbs olive oil
14.5 wt. oz. stewed tomatoes
12 oz smoked porter
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 white onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped

For the topping:

1 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs dill chopped
½ cup red onion very thinly sliced
1 English cucumber dices
1 cup firm tomatoes chopped
8 Homemade Beer Burger Buns

Instructions

In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cumin.
Sprinkle pork on all sides with spice mixture.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven until hot but not smoking. Sear pork on all sides, working in batches in necessary.
Pour the stewed tomatoes and beer over the pork. Add the Worcestershire, onions and garlic. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Add a lid at a vent and allow to cook until pork is very tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Shred using two forks, removing the bones from the pot. Remove meat from the pot with a slotted spoon to drain off excess moisture.
To make the sauce, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, dill and red onion. Chill until ready to serve.
Split the burger buns and fill with pork, top with cucumber, tomatoes and yogurt sauce.

Homemade Beer Burger Buns

04.09.2013 29 Comments

The Beast of Yeast

If you are among the yeast-averse, those who are convinced that bread making isn’t in your skill set, you probably haven’t even read far enough to see that I have faith in your yeast taming abilities. Not only is it easier than you think, it’s so completely satisfying to watch that bread rise, yielding perfectly delicious results, and it’s also much cheaper than buying sub par alternatives at the market.

Over the past few years I’ve falling in love with the process of bread making, figuring out not just how to make dough rise, but why it fails. Here are my tips to making sure you have fresh baked success every time you tear open a packet of yeast:

1. Rapid rise yeast and regular dry active yeast are not the same. Rapid rise yeast needs more heat to activate, a heat level that will kill regular yeast. Use the type of yeast that the recipe calls for or the dough won’t rise (or won’t rise properly).

2. Buy a kitchen thermometer. Yeast is very picky when it comes to heat. Make sure the liquid you use is in the right temperature range. If the liquid is too hot, the yeast will be killed. If the liquid is too cold, the yeast won’t be activated. A thermometer will take any guess work out of it.

3. Yeast dies. Check the expiration date, if yeast is past that, it doesn’t have the living organism necessary to make dough rise.

4. Salt kills yeast. Don’t let yeast come in direct contact with salt or it will die. I’m over cautious with this, adding salt towards the end, after the yeast has been activated by the liquid. Salt is important in giving bread a bright flavor and helping you to avoid bland baked goods. Don’t skip salt, just add it last.

5. Dough rise times will depend on the temperature of your room. Dough rises faster in a warm room, and really slowly in a cold room. Although dough will still rise in a room as cold as 40F, it will take days to double in size. If the recipes says, "Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour," pay more attention to "doubled in size" rather than the "1 hour." Especially in winter, if your house is cold. It could take several hours if your house is colder than 70F.

6. Yeast feeds on sugars. You’ll have much higher levels of yeast rising success if you let your yeast feed off a little sugar (granulated sugar, honey or anything else with high sugar content). Add some to any bread recipe you make for greater levels of dough rising success.

Now that you’ve had your crash course in yeast baking you are all set to tackle that culinary bucket list and impress your friends.

You can totally do this.

Homemade Beer Burger Buns

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Servings 8 buns

Ingredients

2 ½ cups All purpose flour
1 envelope rapid rise yeast 2 ½ tsp
½ tsp onion powder
¾ cup wheat beer
¼ cup butter softened
1 tbs raw honey
½ tsp salt plus additional for topping
egg wash 1 egg plus 1 tbs water, beaten
2 tbs sesame seeds

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast, and onion powder. Mix until combined.
In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, sprinkle with the salt, honey and add softened butter.
Turn speed to medium-high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface, knead a few times. Cut into 8 equal sized pieces.
Form each piece into a tight ball. Add evenly spaced over a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
Cover loosely and allow to rise until almost doubled in size, about 20-30 minutes.
Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt.
Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Italian Beer Bread Sticks & Tips for Beer and Food Pairing

20.08.2013 16 Comments

Before we jump in to my treasure trove of beer and food pairing tips, we need to dispel one myth: there are no rules. Drink what you prefer and eat likewise. If YOU like it, it’s a good pairing, there are no hard and fast rules, just considerations and principles to keep in mind.

1. Consider intensity. When subjecting your tasters to a palate wrecking chipotle dish or 1000 IBU IPA, consider the delicacy of what you’re pairing that monster with. Mild works well with mild, and strong holds up next to strong. If you really want to pair an intense food or beer, you may consider equally intense counterpart that can take a punch.

2. What flavors linger should be what is paired. Consider what flavors stick around on your palate after the bite when you think about what you pair it with. Making a steak with a garlicky cream sauce? That sauce will probably linger more than the meat. Pair to that rather than the steak.

3. Alcohol intensifies heat. This can be good or bad, but a factor that should be considered. Was that curry a little more mellow than you intended? Grab a high ABV (alcohol by volume) beer to kick the heat up a notch. On the other hand, that jalapeno and Habanero chili might need a low alcohol session beer.

4. Don’t forget texture. I will spare you from a lecture using my least favorite beer term, "mouth feel," with just a mention of the idea that carbonation cuts through grease and fat. A great compliment to a triple cheese pizza isn’t as much a flavor but a texture, bubbles add a cleansing balance to a rich greasy meal. While a smooth stout, with low carbonation levels, will match the silkiness of a creamy chocolate mousse. Consider carbonation levels when paring, not just flavors.

5. Think of all the flavors being in one bowl. The ingredients should be able to coexist simultaneously, and although the argument can be made for contrasting, the best place to start is complimenting. The best way to do this is thinking about all the flavors together. Let’s just pretend that you made yourself a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. What do you want to throw in that pot? a beer with notes of caramel and molasses or a beer with lemon and basil. I don’t know about you but that last beer is looking like a much better man for that job.

When it comes to cooking and beer, it’s always a fairly safe bet to pair with the beer you used to make the dish. I used a higher hop wheat beer for this, a good beer for pairing as well. The wheat matches the flavors in the breadsticks (obviously) and the slightly higher than average hops can keep up with the kick of garlic.

Italian Beer Bread Sticks

Print Recipe

Total Time 1

Servings 8 breadsticks

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp fresh rosemary minced
1 tbs sugar
3/4 cup beer wheat beer or pale ale
¼ cup butter softened
1 tsp salt
Topping:
3 tbs melted butter
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp course salt

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast, garlic powder, sugar and rosemary. Mix until combined.
In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, sprinkle with the salt and add softened butter.
Turn speed to medium-high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400.
Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 equal sized pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into a 7-inch breadsticks. Transfer to a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
IN a small bowl whisk together the melted butter and garlic powder. Brush breadsticks with the butter mixture, reserving any leftover.
Sprinkle with coarse salt (I used smoked Maldon salt)
Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Brush with remaining butter prior to serving, if desired.