The holidays are a great time to enjoy craft beer by hosting a craft beer tasting or beer dinner in your home. It is a time rich with seasonal or limited releases us brewers spend all year dreaming up and finally are able to brew and share with all of you; I guess you could say its our gift to all of you for your support of the brewing arts. Craft chefs also can use the holiday season to showoff their skills for friends and family, and the unique beers we are brewing provide many new and exciting pairing options. This meal was inspired by some Southern Style cooking to help keep us warm here on the unusually cold front range of Colorado as a pairing for two of our Single Serve release; India Barleywine and Bourbon Barrel Stout. We bucked convention and prepared a pot full of true southern Gumbo with pan-fried cornbread and a deliciously simple Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad followed by some Peanut Butta Pie.

The Beers:

India Barleywine: Blends the warming alcohol character of Barleywines with the fresh hop character found in American India Pale Ales. A hopping schedule that begins with a whole leaf mash hop and ends with a dry hopping in the fermentor just before packaging, provides a most unique nose of varied citrus-orange, tangerine, pineapple-with cantaloupe, mango and a mild pine. A first taste will reveal a slightly sour grapefruit character, contributed from the hop profile, along with mild citrus, pine and an earthy or woody character. The esters from our house yeast work to compliment the strong citrus profile and also add to the dry finish which results in a hoppy beer without a lingering bitterness. Although hopheads will want to drink this beer fresh, Barleywine aficionados will want to age this beer so as to bring out the dried fruit characteristics which subtly linger in the background. This anomaly of style, whether fresh or aged, pairs well with big flavors and even bigger personalities.

Boubon Barrel Stout: Aged four months in Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrels, blends the characteristics of a great single barrel Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey with an American Craft Brewers take on an English Imperial Stout. It provides the taster’s nose with a snifter full of Kentucky Bourbon upfront, and sweet molasses and a light milk chocolate on the back. As one sips this Imperial Stout they will taste the warming Kentucky Bourbon, imparted both from the barrel aging process and the higher alcohol content associated with Imperial Stouts, as well as subtle notes of bittersweet chocolate. One will also notice a smooth vanilla flavor, resulting from the oak barrels, which rounds out the Stout by providing a softer mouth feel-comparable to the slight buttery notes found in some Red Wines. The defining Roast and Chocolate Malts of this beer leave a slight sour note on the palette, which perfectly balances the perceived sweetness of the vanilla. This Bourbon Barrel Stout pairs well with rich holiday meals, chocolate inspired desserts, and intellectual conversations held fireside in leather-overstuffed chairs.

The Menu:

Bonesaw Gumbo

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 yellow onions
2 bell peppers
4 ribs celery
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 quarts chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
2 lbs cooked shrimp
2 lbs andouille sausage
1 1/2 lbs shredded cooked chicken
1 bunch chopped scallions
2/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 cans okra with juice
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
Worcestershire to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Preparation Notes: Chop onions, peppers, celery and garlic place in pot with bay leaves,
seasonings, okra and tomatoes. In a sauce pan, brown andouille sausage
and remove. In the same sauce pan, make rue – heat oil and gradually
stir in flour and cook over medium heat until it’s the color of a dark
copper penny. Stir rue into vegetables. Add chicken stock, sausage, and
chicken. Bring to boil. Simmer for 1 hour. Add shrimp, Worcestershire
and cayenne pepper and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Serve over rice,
and garnish with chopped scallions and Italian parsley.

Pairing Notes: Ryan “Bonesaw” King and his wife Amanda King have provided us one of the great gumbo recipes, and it pairs beautifully with the rich and hoppy India Barleywine. The delicate flavors of a well prepared gumbo, accented by fragrant Italian Parsley, work to unlock the complex citrus character of the India Barleywine. Additionally the malty sweetness and warming alcohol compliment the southern spice in this meal. India Pale Ales are often paired with spicy entrees, but this India Barleywine has the malt backbone to hold up to the spice in southern style cooking, and this meal does a great job of showcasing the unique malts used in this beer.

Southern Pan-fried Cornbread

2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 organic cage free eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil for pan
1/4 cup melted butter

Preparation Notes: Preheat oven to 425. Put oil or shortening in a 10-inch oven safe fry pan and place in the oven to preheat while making batter. Combing cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. In another bowl whisk together milk, eggs, and butter. Combine and mix until batter is incorporated. Remove the pan from the oven carefully and coat with oil. Pour in the batter and bake for 20-28 mins. check center with a toothpick.

Uncl’ GeetGots DunLap Peanut Butta Pie

3 oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup of crunchy peanut butter
8 oz of cool whip
1 graham cracker crust

Preparation Notes: Add cream cheese, sugar, pb, and mix all together. Then fold in the cool whip. Pour into crust. Let sit in fridge for 3 hours.

Pairing Notes: Wade Keith was right in calling this southern style rich and creamy Peanut Butta Pie; Uncl’ GeetGots Dunlap Peanut Butta Pie, ’cause your belly will ‘Dunlap’ over your britches when you are through eating it. An exceptional pairing with an Odell Bourban Barrel Stout, the richness of both the Pie and the Stout compliment each other and provide a decadent finish to the nights meal. When pairing beer with food one can try to compliment or contrast the flavors in each, and if you desire a complimentary dessert for a warming stout Uncl’ GeetGot’s Pie serves as an educational tool for the palette. The pie accentuates the light chocolate flavors in the beer and further softens the tannic mouthfeel provided by the oak barrel aging. A truly delicious pairing on a evening!

And at nights end…

…We sat with bellies full and livers satisfied thanks to the great southern hospitality of our friends and fellow Odell coworkers, Ryan, Amanda, Wade, his wife Gretchen and my partner Krystal. The idea for pairing a Spicy Southern Gumbo with our India Barleywine came without knowing for sure if it would provide a great craft beer and food pairing or just a great evening with friends, but after my second helping of Bonesaw Gumbo and just a little more IBW in my glass I can say with certainty that this is an excellent craft beer and food pairing. As Craft Brewers we do not follow the ‘rules’ when we brew so why should you have to when you pair our beers with your food. Have a great holiday season, invite your friends and family over for a little Gumbo and India Barleywine followed by some Bourbon Barrel Stout and Peanut Butta Pie, and enjoy our hand made gift of passionately brewed craft beer paired with your homemade cuisine!

For more Craft Beer Pairings at Home tips and ideas check out the Brewers Associations new video:

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beer-and-food/host-a-tasting/at-home

Cheers!

Joe Mohrfeld

Belgian Brewers have never played by the rules of style, so it seems a bit ironic to try to emulate a Belgian “Style” of beer. Luckily we are not emulating, but rethinking and brewing what we think a Strong Belgian Golden represents in liquid form. With each step of the process we learn bits about the beer we want to ultimately brew for release as a 750ml Single Serve. Each step, however, can be as, or even more, interesting than the final product. Those fortunate enough to make it in to our tap room and try the pilot brews for this project will be able to taste, smell, and see small nuances each recipe tries to reveal. Nuances that will ultimately make up the whole of the final beer. Derrideans, or any deconstructionists for that matter, rejoice!

The first pilot brew was not without excitement. Due to some minor problems with malt crush due to our mill, (and losing some malt as a result of a malfunctioning diversion tube) our lautering efficiency and simplicity greatly decreased and made for a much longer runoff time and one stuck mash. The brew was otherwise smooth and in the end we achieved the desired pale color. For this beer we imported all of our base malts from the Belgian Maltster, Castle Malting. The Pilsner Malt we use contributed to the dry earthy farmhouse style finish and kept the beer light and pale in color. Being hopheads we naturally added a generous amount of hops throughout the process; First Gold, Tettnanger, Amarillo in the kettle and a hopback full of spicy Saaz. Each hop addition and variety was selected because of its complimentary quality to the yeast characteristic we were desiring. For yeast, we added 3 different strains (2 Belgian and our House) and developed a fermentation schedule to accentuate particular characteristics from each. Although this particular brew is not a Strong Belgian Golden, it is a dangerously drinkable 7% ABV Belgian inspired Pale Ale we like to refer to as De Oogst – “The Harvest.” Van Gogh Painted-We Brew!

Some photos from the first Strong Belgian Golden Pilot Brew:

Op uw gezondheid! – “Cheers!”

Joe Mohrfeld

We are a Brewery of Brewers here at Odell Brewing Co and whenever we come up with a new beer that we release to our friends it is always a collaborative effort here in the brewhouse. For this particular beer, a Strong Belgian Golden, we wanted to give all of you, the lovers of hand-crafted beers, an idea of how we design, develop, and brew our new limited single serve releases. We thought it best to start at the beginning: With the email that began the project.

Over the course of this beer’s development we will post pictures and notes regarding; the pilot brews, creative development meetings, and random insights (including post-imbibing inspired brainstorming sessions) into the creation of an OBC Strong Belgian Golden. We hope you enjoy following us throughout this project on our Blog, Twitter, and Facebook, and we hope that when its ready to be released you will join us in the tasting room for a big Cheers! to the creativity of craft brewing!

The Email as sent:

Subject: Strong Belgian Golden

From: Brendan McGivney

To: Chad Yakobson; Zach Turner; Joe Mohrfeld

Cc: Wynn Odell; Doug Odell; Eric Smith; Joni Deynes

Hello.

As we discussed yesterday, I challenge the three of you to collaborate to create the best Belgian Strong Golden in the world. As a starting point for the project Chad is responsible for brewing a pilot test batch, Zach is responsible for yeast prop and procurement and Joe needs to find some Goldens to sample this Friday afternoon at 4pm.

I encourage you to reach a consensus on all ingredients and processes and make sure you give Phil as much notice as possible to get the ingredients you need.

This beer needs to be unique and distinctive not simply a copy of another good beer. Please reach out to me, Jake, Doug and anyone else for input and advice. Read up, sample, test and prepare to ensure a successful project. You will be asked to present your final beer to the Product Development Team for feedback prior to brewing 100bbls in anticipation of a 2010, Single Serve 750ml bottle release.

Thanks,

Brendan