Last Friday’s blog postings about beer and travel came just before the 4th July holiday weekend – so my post is too late for the Session’s round-up posted to Beer by Bart. But since the Best of American Beer & Food contains a virtual travelogue within its covers  – the first half of the book is devoted to interviews with chefs and brewers across North America – it seems right to post this brief excerpt about beer dinners, travel and inns of Wisconsin:
Small hotels and inns across the Midwest are tapping new customers with combinations of beer dinners and overnight stays. In Wisconsin, the American Club of Kohler offers a series of beer dinners on Tuesday nights, with special packages to stay overnight after sampling. Given the rich menus and lavish sampling at most beer dinners, staying overnight is a wise choice.

At a beer dinner for the Rogue Brewery, Chef Brett Muellenbach prepared a five-course meal that began with beef carpaccio paired with Dead Guy ale, a salad with a coronet of toasted rye bread paired with the Half-a-Weizen, pan-seared walleye, roasted chicken with American Ale, and topped off with the finale of Rogue 10,000 and a velvety soft chocolate cake, prepared by pastry chef Richard Palm. It was a sumptuous meal, and knowing that the comforts of a down-filled duvet and whirlpool bath awaited made the evening all the more enjoyable.

In New Glarus, Wisconsin, the Chalet Landhaus Inn  prides itself on offering a taste of Swiss hospitality. That extends to special beer dinners, such as the one prepared by Chef Mike Nevil for Deb and Dan Carey of the New Glarus Brewing Co. to celebrate the brewhouse expansion. Chef Nevil used beer in several preparations, but one of the favorites was a salad topped with nutty shaved Emmentaler cheese from the Edelweiss Creamery, served with a Raspberry Tart Vinaigrette. “I took the raspberry tart beer and reduced it with some lemon juice, fresh tarragon, minced sweet onion and balsamic vinegar, and then blended that reduction into a creamy base,” says Nevil. “Brewmaster Dan Carey just loved the flavor.”

Some brewers even become innkeepers themselves. Bill and Michelle Tressler of Green Bay’s Hinterland Brewery became the proprietors of the Whistling Swan Inn, Fish Creek, in Door County, WI. Urban flavors, surrounded by intimate comfort, best describes the Whistling Swan. The menu, designed by Hinterland Executive Chef Kelly Qualley and Whistling Swan Executive Chef Adam Schierl explores contemporary American cuisine. Their journey to create bold flavors traverses a diverse selection of locally foraged produce, wild game, freshwater and ocean fish. “It’s been a tremendous adventure,” says Tressler of the decision to become an innkeeper.

And Leah Caplan, a chef turned innkeeper in Wisconsin at the Washington Hotel, relishes the relationships she’s able to nurture with local foragers, farmers, fishermen, and now, the Capital Brewery. She even plans to bring in a guest chef for a beer cooking class each summer. “I’m more of a wine drinker,” Caplan admits, “but my guests all love beer, too.” At the very least, craft beer can be an equal at the table and in the mini-bars of more hotels and inns.

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!

Music supports a creative response and so I often listen while I cook, write and taste. The right mix of music will add so much enjoyment to dining – or become an irritant, as in canned restaurant music that repeats over and over, becoming stale and flat to the ears. It’s one of the key elements to consider in rating a pub, tavern or restaurant – because music will make a mood. And mood influences flavor perceptions, so does good music = good taste = good beer?

Start with a beer in good condition, one that you’d enjoy drinking solo. If you like the taste of it in a glass, chances are you’ll enjoy the flavors in the finished dish.

Treat craft beer with respect – if you boil it vigorously, the flavors will change as the beer reduces, growing more intensely bitter. Use very hoppy ales in marinades and vinaigrettes which are left uncooked, for the truest flavor to the original. Otherwise, add alternative sweeteners, such as barley malt extract.

Since beer is really a “liquid flavor” when cooking with it, consider using thickeners to convey the tastes. Chef Nathan Berg of Native Bay uses unflavored gelatin to make a savory jelly with craft ales – I tasted the Central Waters Elder Weiss made into a jelly presented with candied hickory nuts – it melted in the mouth with a delicate tang of hops and made the nuts taste all the sweeter.

Though I don’t think it’s necessary to cook every dish served in a beer dinner with beer as an ingredient, I do think it is a good example of a classic pairing technique called “bridging.” A bridge is a garnish or ingredient or other flavor elements that meld together from the food, to the drink, to the palate. You can use the flavors of beer as a bridge or you can use foodstuffs. For example, to bring out the nuttiness in a brown ale, you could present a pilaf topped with toasted pecans, or to highlight Chinook hops, you could garnish a salad with slivers of fresh grapefruit. It’s a simple but effective tool in creating pairings with harmonious flavors.