Food

Who says Halloween is just about candy? Beer, believe it or not, pairs great with several sweets. Here are just a few beer and candy pairing ideas to get you started.  Bell's beer and candy Pairings Rind Over Matter with Lemonheads, Tropical Skittles, Swedish Fish, Starbursts, Smarties or sour worms Two Hearted with Sour Gummy Worms or Sour Skittles Best Brown with milk chocolate peanut clusters, Pay Day or Peanut M&Ms Special Double Cream Stout with dark chocolate pretzels Amber Ale with Candy Corn or Milk Duds Kalamazoo Stout with Tootsie Rolls, Black Licorice Expedition Stout with a Take 5 Third Coast Old Ale and chocolate-covered cherries What kind of candies do you pair with beer? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

We love when people take our beer, bring it into the kitchen and cook. Jackie Dodd, the Beeroness, used our latest release Oatsmobile and made Crispy Oven Baked Beer Battered Onion Rings Here’s what she said about our session pale ale: It’s a damn good beer. One of the best sessions beers I’ve had this year (a session beer is a beer that has a lower alcohol content, generally below 5%). The oats give it a round, almost creamy flavor that balances the beautiful dry hopped finish. It kicks you a bit of a fruity, but not overly citrusy, flavor with just the right malt backbone and the perfect level of carbonation for a beer that I want to drink all summer Thanks, Jackie! View the recipe on the Beeroness’s website. If you have any recipes using our beer, we’d love to see them.

Looking for a special dessert to go with your beer? Julie Frank of My Rustic Table posted this recipe for making chocolate cupcakes with our Porter. Frank writes: I used Bell’s Porter beer in the batter instead of the hot water. Porter is dark and thick with flavors of malt, dark chocolate, and coffee. The addition of beer brings out chocolate’s inner diva! Seriously chocolate. Sounds delicious. Here’s a link to the recipe. Learn more about how our beers pair with different foods. We also have recipes on our Pinterest page.

For this year’s Oberon release, we’re teaming up with our friends at Sweetwater’s Donut Mill to present a special treat. The Oberon-inspired donut is a tie-dyed glazed cake, with blue frosting, orange, yellow and black sprinkles with a blue drizzle. The donuts will be available on Monday, March 21 at Sweetwater’s locations in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. See a list here. Sweetwater’s is a family-owned business that started in Kalamazoo in 1983, the same year Larry Bell opened his homebrew supply shop. Its donuts have received numerous awards and for good reason - they are delicious. There are several Oberon Day events across our distribution area. Check out our events page for more details.  

With this weekend’s football festivities, you may be looking for a dish to bring to a party or make at home. Here’s a tasty idea: Sriracha Stout Chex Mix. CraftBeer.com has the recipe using Kalamazoo Stout with it. The recipe calls for reducing the stout to a thick syrup. In addition to the sriracha, the mix has Thai green curry and garlic powder, creating a melody of spices. There’s other ideas, including Belgian Tripel Honey Black Pepper Chicken Wings, Brown Ale Caramel Corn with Pretzels & Pecans and IPA-Caramelized Onion Dip. Here’s a link to the recipe from CraftBeer.com

Bright White is a Belgian-inspired Wheat Ale fermented with a Belgian yeast, yielding a mixture of clove and fruity aromas without the use of any spices. These traits make it the perfect beer to pair with food as you cook. Here are some suggestions and inspiration of cooking with Bright White from our own David Munro, one of our resident food and beer pairing experts. Mussels Mussels and Bright White are an excellent combination. Here is a recipe from Munro: Gently sauté a finely diced onion, three or four finely chopped cloves of garlic and two tablespoons of butter. Do this in a large enough pan that can hold two pounds of fresh mussels and has a tight fitting lid. Rinse the mussels with cold water and remove any opened ones. Once the onions and garlic have become translucent, pour a 12 oz. bottle of Bright White into the pan and add the mussels. Bring the liquid to a boil and cover with the pan with a lid. Reduce to medium/low heat and set timer for 5 minutes, or until the Mussels have opened. Turn off the heat, add a handful of roughly chopped cilantro and a four tablespoons of butter. Put the lid back on and shake (be careful not to burn yourself). You can either do family style service or use individual bowls. Be sure to pour all of the delicious broth over the Mussels and serve with a loaf of freshly baked crusty baguette to soak up all of that delicious broth! If you want spicy, use sriracha on the side, not in the cooking. Starters Here are some ideas of how you can use Bright White with appetizers and smaller dishes: Leek and potato soup made with Bright White. Bright White Chicken Chili: You can also have as an entrée, served over a baked potato. Sautéed local mushrooms, with a Bright White cream sauce of onions, garlic and fresh parsley. Use local thick cream for cooking. Bright White Cheese Fondue. Poached Asparagus with a Bright White Hollandaise style sauce. Entrees For an entrée or main course, think lighter. Seafood and chicken are complimentary. Beef, for the most part, is too much. A possible pairing with lamb. Here are other ideas: Scallops lightly poached in Bright White and served with a sauce of herbed chevre on a bed of stringozzi. Whole sole stuffed with leeks and crab, parchment baked with Bright White and served with Duchess potatoes. Seafood stew with Bright White broth. Eggs are also great with Bright White, including the omelet pictured above at the Eccentric Cafe. Dessert For dessert, pair with berries and cheese in combination or alone. Here are some more ideas: A layered mascarpone and berry trifle. Lemon Panna Cotta with Fresh Raspberry Coulis. Crepes with strawberry and cream cheese filling. A bowl full of fresh cherries, lightly poached in Bright White, chilled and topped with mascarpone ice cream. Have you cooked with Bright White or any of our other beers before? Let us know what you made on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #bellsbeer.

With a perfect balance of malt and hops, Bell’s Amber Ale is a great introduction to our portfolio. Or on its own. One of the oldest Bell's recipes, it is also quite versatile when pairing with food. It is also great to cook with.  The recipe below comes from the kitchen of our Michigan Sales Manager, Derek Zomonski.  Enjoy. Ingredients ½ cup Bell’s Amber Ale 1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ¼ Cup minced onion, rinsed and patted dry 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon Worcestershire 1 ½ teaspoons Tabasco 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon smoked paprika Directions Bring the beer to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature. Mix, cheese, onion, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, Tabasco and garlic in a food processor or with a hand mixer until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the beer and mix until smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.  Serves 8-10 (maybe …).  Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

As winter crawls forward and with spring on the horizon, what better way to celebrate than some Smitten Golden Rye food pairing tips? This beer showcases a citrusy, resinous hop aroma with earthiness from rye malt. There are many levels of flavor to be found in Smitten, making it a great beer to pair with the beginning, middle, and even the end of your meal. Below are some great ideas to get your Smitten food thoughts going! About Smitten Rye malt lends a rustic, earthiness to beer that gives a spicy and sometimes sour aspect of flavor. It pairs well with things like rye or sour dough bread, cheeses, and pickled vegetables. Cascade hops lend citrus aromas and bitterness that can balance out richness and sweetness in dishes as well as emphasize and pair well with spicy items. Foods to pair with Smitten • Good old fashioned charcuterie plate. Gather some cheddar cheese, ham, pickled eggs, homemade pickles, piccalilli and fresh baked bread, especially sour dough or rye. • Sandwiches: Try some smoked turkey or pork, place on some grilled rye toast, and top with sliced Leicester cheese. Vegetarian? Replace the meet with a grilled Portobello mushroom seasoned with sage and garlic. • Barbeque will balance great with Smitten as well with rustic malt flavors and hop bitterness. • Try some Smitten Mustard on any of these things! See recipe below. • For dessert, go for lemon squares to match those citrus aromas or go for a nice cheese and fruit plate. Bell’s Smitten Golden Rye Ale Mustard INGREDIENTS • 36 oounces or 3 bottles of Smitten – allow to sit in an open bowl, overnight, to allow carbonation to escape • 1 cup organic apple cider vinegar • 1 cup virgin olive oil • Juice of one lemon • ½ cup horseradish (Polish for nice and spicy – other types for milder heat) • 1 tsp. paprika • 1 tsp. chili powder • 1 tsp. ground cumin • 1 tsp. ground curry powder • 40 oz. ground mustard powder • 16 oz. light brown sugar • A good pinch or two of salt to taste DIRECTIONS Blend all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Sifting is best to remove any lumps. Be sure to mix all of the dry ingredients well. Blend together in the bowl with Smitten, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice. Gradually add to your dry mixture and blend until smooth. Use a hand whisk or electric beater if handy. Add to a large solid bottomed saucepan and gradually bring to a slow boil, this will allow you to heat without creating a head of foam. Nice and slow is best. Allow to simmer and reduce for 30 to 40 minutes. While simmering, heat pasteurize your glass jars and lids for cleanliness by placing jars into a boiling water bath. This will not only pasteurize your jars, but will help insure that the hot mustard will not break a cold jar. To learn more about canning, you can check out this Ball Canning beginner tutorial. Before adding, check consistency and if too thick, add a little more Smitten. If too thin, keep reducing. It will thicken slightly when cold. Taste and add salt if needed. Recipe will yield around 10 cups, depending on how thick you prefer your mustard. Stored in a refrigerator, your mustard should have a year of shelf life. Combine with a 6-pack of Bell’s Smitten! Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Heather in Lake Orion, Michigan Always wanted a way to add beer to your bacon? Recently, one of our fans experimented with this idea and shared with this fabulous recipe. We had to try it! When gathering your ingredients, you will want to make sure to choose a thick cut bacon. We went to a local, Kalamazoo butcher, V & V Quality Meats, for ours. Kalamazoo Stout, which is available year round, perfectly complements the hearty, richness of the bacon while the coarse salt brings out the sweetness from the brown sugar. Roasting the bacon for a longer time at a lower temperature will allow the bacon to reach that melt-in-your-mouth level of crispiness. We also recommend using a cookie sheet with a tall lip to capture the bacon grease as it cooks. A larger pan underneath can also be used to catch any grease. Here's the recipe: Ingredients • 1 lb. thick cut bacon • ¾ cup dark brown sugar • ½ cup Kalamazoo Stout (measure after foam goes down) • Coarse sea salt Directions • Preheat oven to 385°F. • Place bacon on a wire rack on foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes. • Mix together brown sugar and beer to make your basting liquid. • Brush bacon with mixture. Flip and brush again. • Cook for 15 minutes. • Repeat this process 3 to 4 times until desired crispiness. • Let bacon rest and cool for 10 minutes. • Sprinkle sea salt on top. • Let cool for another 10 minutes. • Enjoy!! We also tried this using Java Stout and Cherry Stout, both fall specialties. All three varieties were delicious! Cherry Stout will give the bacon a deeper sweetness that candied the bacon fantastically. Java Stout with add another layer of flavor that any coffee lover is sure to enjoy. Have a recipe featuring one of Bell’s beers? Please share and perhaps you’ll see your recipe featured here on our Blog! Need help locating these or other beers nearby? Try using our Beer Finder.

Looking for a new way to bring Bell's beer into your kitchen? The recipe below features our fall seasonal, Best Brown, gorgonzola cheese and hanger steak. Tofu can easily be substituted for a vegetarian version. Enjoy. Gorgonzola Steak Wrap Makes 4 to 5 wraps INGREDIENTS   Steak Marinade 1 cup Best Brown 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup tamari 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 2 shallots-minced 1 tbsp brown mustard 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme-minced 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary-minced 1/2 tbsp roasted garlic-minced 1 tsp black pepper Red pepper flakes 4 (6 oz) hanger steaks Gorgonzola Sauce 2 cups heavy cream 4 oz Gorgonzola cheese-crumbled 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 dash hot sauce 1 dash black pepper The Wrap 2 cups arugula Thin sliced red onion 1 jar roasted red peppers, sliced INSTRUCTIONS   Steak Marinade 1. Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl, mix well 2. Put the steaks in an airtight container 3. Pour the marinade over the steaks 4. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours Gorgonzola Sauce 1. Reduce the heavy cream by half over medium to high heat In small stock pot 2. Whisk in the cheese 3. Remove from heat when cheese is melted 4. Whisk in remaining ingredients The Wrap 1. Remove steaks from marinade and lightly pat dry with a paper towel 2. Grill 3-5 minutes on each side 3. Remove and let rest for several minutes 4. Slice steaks across the grain 5. Place arugula in the middle of a 12 inch tortilla 6. Top with steak slices, Gorgonzola sauce, red onion and roasted peppers 7. Wrap tortilla around fillings and serve.