Cooking with beer

We're always looking for fun ways to celebrate our summer Wheat Ale, Oberon. This recipe, which debuted as part of this year's Bright Night events, is one of our current favorites. It's simple, delicious and great by the pool, on the deck or wherever you enjoy a taste of summer. Cheers! Sunstruck by Oberon INGREDIENTS Crushed Ice ½ oz. Falernum (pronounced fə-LUR-nəm) is a nonalcoholic syrup from the Caribbean, best known for its use in tropical drinks. It contains flavors of ginger, lime, almond, and most often also of cloves or allspice. 3 oz. Orange Juice 4 oz. Oberon Grenadine Garnish of Orange and Cherry aka “Butterfly” DIRECTIONS Pour 3 ounces of Orange Juice into a pitcher. Add ½ ounce of Falernum to the Orange Juice. Open 1 bottle of Oberon and pour about half into the pitcher. Take a sip of Oberon Stir and pour over ice Lace the glass with Grenadine Garnish Thirsty or hungry for more? Check these recipes out.  Cheers and enjoy!

A light twist on a classic, best enjoyed during Taco Funday... or any day! Ingredients 3 oz. Bell's Light Hearted 2 oz. silver tequila 1 oz. simple syrup .5 oz. orange liqueur Juice of 1/2 lime Hop salt for garnish Instructions Mix the tequila, lime juice and simple syrup. Add the lemon and lime for extra flavor.  Pour hop-infused salt in a shallow dish/plate. Moisten the rim of each glass with a lime wedge and dip into hop salt.  Place 4-5 ice cubes in a glass (or more if you prefer).  Fill glass with mix, top with Light Hearted and enjoy!

Another amazing use for a Bell's classic! Ingredients 8-12 oz. Bell's Amber Ale (depending on your glass size) Chili lime salt (enough to rim the glass and a pinch to flavor the drink) Juice from 1 -1/2 limes (about 1.5 oz.)  Worcestershire sauce (4 dashes) Your favorite hot sauce (2 dashes) Instructions Wet the edge of a pint glass with lime and dip it into a plate with chili lime salt to create a nice salt rim.  Squeeze lime juice into the glass, add Worcestershire, hot sauce and a bit of chili lime salt. Stir well.  Pour your Amber Ale and be careful not to have it make contact with the salted rim so it does not fizz up excessively and overflow. Stir. Add a couple of ice cubes and enjoy!  

A delicious and tasty new recipe for our newest year-round beer, Light Hearted! 6 servings Ingredients 12 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined 3 cups of fresh snow pea pods 2 cups of matchstick carrots 1 large red onion, small dice 3 Tbs minced garlic 3 Tbs minced ginger 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced 3 Tbs canola oil 2 oranges, zested and segmented  ¼ cup soy sauce ¼ cup sake mirin Season with salt and pepper Steamed rice and sliced green onion for garnish Directions In the largest skillet you have, add the oil and heat it up until the oil shimmers. Toss in the onion, carrots, pea pods, and jalapeno and sauté on high heat until the vegetables are slightly starting to brown. Add the garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant Add the shrimp, soy sauce and mirin. Continue cooking over high heat, continuously stirring until the shrimp are cooked. Off of the heat, toss in the orange zest and orange segments Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed, and serve with steamed rice, thinly sliced green onion, and a pint of Light Hearted Ale.

Can't make it out to Bell’s Eccentric Café? Now you can follow along and make our legendary soup at home. Ingredients  1 onion, finely diced 2 ribs celery, finely diced 2 TBS minced garlic 2 TBS Dijon mustard 1/4 cup Worcestershire 2 tsp horseradish 1 stick butter 1/2 cup flour 2 cups Porter 6 cups milk or vegetable stock 4 cups of cream 1 lb of shredded cheddar cheese Salt and white pepper to taste In the kitchen  In a large pot, sweat the onions, celery and garlic in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. When the onions are translucent and most of their liquid has been cooked off, add the mustard, Worcestershire, and horseradish and give it a quick stir to ensure even coating. Add butter and melt it into the vegetables, add the flour, stir until all vegetables are coated. Cook until a light brown color (about 2 minutes). Whisk in the beer, let it come up to a boil and cook down for a minute to burn the alcohol off (you will need to stir constantly as this will be very thick). In a separate pot, heat the milk and cream (warm but not boiling). Once beer and vegetables are ready, slowly add the cream and milk, whisking it into the mixture. Bring to a boil and then add the cheese, handfuls at a time, whisking constantly and making sure all cheese is incorporated before you add more (if you do not do this, your soup may have a grainy texture). Taste for seasoning and add salt and white pepper as necessary. Serve hot with your favorite crusty bread!

This twist on chocolate fondue is a delicious treat to serve at your next gathering, but we get it if you'd rather save it all for yourself.  Ingredients  16 oz. semisweet chocolate 4 oz. Kalamazoo Stout (1/3 of a bottle... drink the rest!) 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup coffee 2 TBS unsalted butter For dipping we suggest: Crusty bread Fruit: strawberries, oranges, bananas Sharp cheddar Pretzels Marshmallows Shortbread cookies In the kitchen In a medium sauce pan, bring heavy cream, Kalamazoo Stout, and coffee to a high simmer. Break chocolate apart and put into a heat-proof bowl, pour hot cream and stout mixture over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit on the chocolate for a few minutes (allowing the heat to melt the chocolate), and then whisk it together until fully incorporated. Add the butter and continue to whisk. If you have a fondue pot, you can keep it warm in the fondue pot. If not, keep the pan on the stove on low heat until ready to eat. Get your favorite dippers and enjoy with some friends!