Anne Sprecher writes a note to remind me of the leap year celebration at Sprecher - a special tasting and tailgating treats. The Irish Stout will be tapped,  and you can also sample the new Mamma Mia Pizza Beer, which is being contract-brewed at the Glendale, WI brewery. Dubbed the “world’s first culinary beer,” the brew is made with pizza ingredients. But homebrew genius Randy Mosher has even brewed beer with chanterelle mushrooms, so there’s definitely a precedent for culinary brews.

Barb Ford writes a column called “Easy Way Gourmet” and says,

“It’s not so often that I hear people discussing beer and food pairings or recipes. But one quick look through Lucy Saunders’ latest book, “The Best of American Beer and Food-Pairing and Cooking with Craft Beer,” will change all that.

It is rare for me to pick up a book on beer. It is even rarer to find an amazing combination of cookbook, guidebook and memoir of great meals….

As an expert on beer and food, Saunders is an excellent guide to the world of fine brewing. She takes the reader on a tour of craft breweries and traditions across America, with suggestions for creating a tasting party pairing beer and cheeses, a geographic discussion of brewing traditions by region and even coverage of “Chocolate: Another Fermented Favorite.”

(And thanks to Jim Javenkoski for his notes on the science of pairing chocolate and craft beer!)

As part of Philly Beer Week, a celebration of craft beer, I’ll be there next month for a tasting of specialty brews and chocolate foods, both sweet and savory, including a spice rub made with cocoa nibs from the Askinosie artisanal chocolate company  in Springfield, MO.  Carol Stoudt, who just celebrated 20 years in craft beer, will be there, as will Jim Javenkoski and Enrique Suarez of Unibroue. I’ll bring cookbooks, as well as samples of Clipper City’s Holy Sheet dubbel.

Sweet & Savory: Craft Beer & Chocolate

Devil’s Alley

1907 Chestnut St.

215-751-0707

www.devilsalleybarandgrill.com

Sunday, March 9, Noon-3 p.m., $25, RSVP with credit card

A five-course tasting with savory BBQ from chef MichaelYeamans, based on recipes from Lucy Saunders’ cookbooks:

Ancho chile and cocoa rubbed pork tenderloin 

 - Served with Clipper City Holy Sheet

Grilled chicken with Chocolate Mole Sauce 

- Served with Unibroue’s Maudite

Beef brisket with chocolate nibs spice rub 

- Served with Stoudt’s Smooth Hoperator

Chocolate truffle and varietal chocolate

-  Served with Unibroue’s Trois Pistoles and Terrible

Call Devil’s Alley  215-751-0707 to reserve - it’s going to be a truly hot chocolate tasting!

Shane Randel, one of the advocates for better beer in Boise and one of the people profiled in The Best of American Beer & Food, has left the Front Door.   However, the owners promise that craft beer and food will still be featured. Read about it in this article from the Idaho Statesman, which also mentions the many fabulous beer feasts Randel organized with craft brewers such as Full Sail and Lagunitas. 

If you love hoppy American craft brews, then you probably know there’s an acute shortage of hops. At the Milwaukee Ale House’s Midwinter Beer Fest, I spoke with a brewer who talked about importing hops from Argentina! Now, help is at hand with a most generous offer from Jim Koch of the Boston Beer Company, brewers of the Samuel Adams line of craft brews. Koch has offered up to 20,000 pounds of hops from the 2007 harvest to sell, at the original cost, to needy craft brewers. The application process is detailed on the website, samueladams.com, under the “hop sharing program” icon. It’s a huge act of generosity, to share a key brewing ingredient when it is so scarce.(I’m also grateful to Jim Koch for the kind things he had to say about the cookbook on the cover - thanks again!)

Tuscarora Mill ”We Cook the Best of American Beer and Food!”

Join me at a beer dinner with Clipper City’s Hugh Sisson and Chef Patrick Dinh, to celebrate craft beer at the table at Tuskies.

Shawn Malone and Chef Dinh, with Hugh Sisson and Tom Cizauskas, bring me back to Virginia for a 7-course tasting.

1)    Lager Steamed Mushroom  Dumplings with Marzhon Sweet and Sour Sauce served with Gold Medal winning Balto MarzHon

2) Angry Lobster Szechuan Style served with Small Craft Warning Uber Pils

3) Grilled Rainbow Trout with Mission  Fig Butter and Green Cardamom Lentils served with fresh cask Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale

4) Fennel Crusted Rack of Lamb with Barley Risotto, Peg Leg Stout Sauce  served with a 2nd fresh cask of Peg Leg Imperial Stout

5) Holy Sheet Braised Short Ribs with Raclette Potatoes served with Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale

6) Cheese Intermezzo of Tilston Point Blue Cheese with nut bread, pear coulis, and frisee served with Below Decks Barleywine (2007 vintage)

7) Coconut cream pie (mmm, a Southern favorite) served with Hang Ten Weizen Dopplebock

Dinner begins at 7pm. Book signing and meet-and-greet at 6:30. Cost is $65 per person, inclusive. Reservations required. Call the Tuscarora Mill at (703) 771-9300 and ask for Shawn or John.

Wednesday, March 5, Tuscarora Mill 

203 Harrison St SE

Leesburg, VA   20175

(703) 771-9300

http://www.tuskies.com

Come meet Hugh Sisson of Clipper City and Chef Ian Morrison of the Royal Mile Pub next month, Tuesday, March 4, as they host a book signing and dinner to celebrate the cookbook.  Chef Ian Morrison creates a six course menu, pairing Clipper City’s beers with recipes from my cookbook, The Best of American Beer and Food. And thanks to Tom Cizauskas who put me in touch with Brewer Hugh Sisson and Chef Ian as I was writing the cookbook last year! 

1) Passed Hors d’oeuvres  paired with the reception ale, Oxford Raspberry Wheat- Stuffed Mushrooms, Smoked Salmon Crostini, and more

2) “Surf N’ Turf” Tasting - Mini Burgers and Cheese Stuffed Shrimp w/ Bacon  (both from Lucy’s book)  served with Gold-Medal winning Balto MarzHon

3) Asiago Cheese Soup with Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale

4) Butter Poached Lobster Tail with  Vanilla Beurre Blanc over Lobster Claw Mashed Potatoes, paired with Small Craft Warning Uber Pils

5) Braised Beef Short Ribs with Pomegranates  accompanied by glazed parsnips and carrots with the Peg Leg Imperial Stout

6) Lemon Thai Basil Sorbet (Ian’s mom’s recipe in Lucy’s book!) with a fresh cask of Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale

Dinner begins at 7pm. Book signing and meet-and-greet starts at 6:30. Cost is $55 per person. Reservations required. Call the Royal Mile Pub at (301) 946-4511 and ask for Chef Ian or Amanda.

Tuesday, March 4 at the Royal Mile Pub

2407 Price Avenue

Wheaton, MD  20902

(301) 946-4511

http://www.royalmilepub.com/ 

Mmm, barley wines. Among the most food-friendly of beer styles, barley wines match up mellifluously with some of the world’s richest and most flavorful foodstuffs. From aged Stilton, duck rillettes, bittersweet chocolate, or even snack foods such as toasted glazed walnuts, I love the peppery nose hit from the higher alcohol found in intensely spirituous barley wines.

Barley Wine Glazed Walnuts

2 cups shelled walnut halves
1/2 cup barley wine
1/2 cup sweet cream butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch ground white pepper or cayenne
2 teaspoons sea salt, finely ground, or to taste
Soak walnuts in barley wine in shallow dish or zip-seal plastic bag at least 1 hour, stirring or turning several times. Place nuts and barley wine mixture in large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, and add butter, brown sugar, pinch of pepper, and finely ground sea salt as desired. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to coat evenly. (Don’t use plastic utensil as the syrup is hot.) Cook and stir until liquid has mostly evaporated and nuts are sticky and glazed. Pour glazed nuts onto nonstick baking sheet, and spread out to cool. When cool enough to handle, break clumps and place in serving bowl. They will be a bit sticky but delicious with a goblet of barley wine.

David from Musings Over a Pint tried the Barleywine Banana Split recipe from the Best of American Beer and Food in time for this month’s session. Here’s his take - with the addition of what sounds like a fantastic chocolate sauce!