Belgian Pale Ale

 

 

 

 

Belgian Pale Ale (yields 5 gallons)
3 lbs. 2-row
1.5 lbs. Vienna
0.5 lbs. Caravienna
0.5 lbs. Caramunich
0.25 lbs. Pale Ale Malt
0.25 lbs. Crystal 80
0.25 lbs. Special B

3.3 lbs. Pilsen Light LME

1 oz. Northern Brewer (9.6%) 60 minutes
1 oz. Striess Spalt (2.3%) 15 minutes

1 tsp. Irish moss

Trappist Ale Yeast

Mill grain.  Mash for 90 minutes at 152F.

Sparge with 150F water into brew pot.

Bring to boil.  Remove from heat and add LME.  Stir well.

Return to boil.  Add Northern Brewer hops.  Begin 60 minute boil.

After 45 minutes, add Striess Spalt hops and Irish moss.

After 15 minutes, remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer to fermenter.  Add enough cool water to bring total volume to 5 1/8 gallons.

Once wort has reached 70F, pitch yeast.

Seal with lid and airlock.  Let the yeast do its business then bottle or keg like usual.

O.G. - 1.054
F.G. - 1.008

Enjoy!

Saison Black Bread

This bread is a spin off of a Russian black bread.  It is similar to a rye bread.  I used saison as the beer because it is what I had on tap, but a Rye PA would work really well.

Saison Black Bread (yields 2 loaves)
1 c. very warm water (not boiling)
1/2 c. saison or any other beer
2 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. corn syrup (dark if you have it, but light will work just as well)
2 tbsp. butter, room temperature
2 1/4 c. bread flour
3/4 c. rye flour
1/2 c. spent grain flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
1 tbsp. caraway seeds


In a stand mixer bowl, mix water and beer and yeast.  Let sit for about 5 minutes or until it gets foamy. 

Using the dough hook attachment, begin to mix in the remainder of the ingredients - scraping the sides as needed.  Once everything has mixed, knead for about 8 minutes.  Keep an eye on the dough.  Add more bread flour if needed - you want the dough to start to clean off of the sides of the bowl.  Once you have reached this stage, empty out dough on a lightly floured surface and gently shape into a ball.  Place ball of dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Set in warm place and allow to rise till at least doubled in size; about one hour. 

After the dough has doubled, punch down.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and gently shape into a rectangle.  Cut dough in half.  Shape each piece into a loaf by folding it into thirds and place it seam side down in a greased loaf pan.  Cover loaf pans with a towel and let rise again; about another 30-45 minutes. 

Place an oven-safe shallow dish in oven on lowest rack.  Fill with water.  Heat oven to 400F.  After oven heats, place both loaves in oven on the middle rack.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or when lightly browned and loaf sounds hollow when tapped. 

Cool in pan on wire rack for 10-15 minutes.  Take bread out of pans and let cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy! 

Yogurt Banana Bread

Oh my!  This has to be my favorite banana bread that I have made yet!  It is so good!  Based off the Better Banana Bread recipe, this version of banana bread uses vanilla yogurt and spent grain to give this old time favorite quick bread a delicious twist that is moist and sweet.  So good!

Yogurt Banana Bread (yields: 1 loaf)
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. spent grain flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

4 tbsp. butter, softened
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 c. vanilla yogurt
2/3 c. sugar

Grease a loaf 9x5" loaf pan.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together.

In another bowl, add the butter, eggs, bananas, yogurt, and sugar.  Mash with a potato masher till everything is combined and bananas are now only small chunks. 

Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and mix just until everything is moistened.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until top is browned and when a toothpick is inserted in the middle of loaf, it comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.

Serve warm or completely cooled.... either way, it is good!

Enjoy!

Churro Cake Bites

The other day, my daughter checked out a cake bites cookbook from the library.  She was drooling by the time she even got halfway through it.  I promised her that we would make something and her first pick was the churro cake bites.  So the recipe in the book, 101 Gourmet Cake Bites, all of the recipes call for boxed cake mix.  I'm not a fan of boxed cakes, but it gave me the inspiration that I needed to do the 'Churro' cake.  I found a cake recipe made from scratch in which I could adapt to include spent grain and some cinnamon.

These by the way were a HUGE hit with the family and with those lucky enough to snag one while out for sample at Wilmington Homebrew Supply.

You are going to love these!

 

Churro Cake Bites (yields 3-4 dozen)

Cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. spent grain flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting:
8 tbsp. butter, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp. half and half
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

Coating:
1 pkg. white chocolate bark
cinnamon sugar

Okay, first we need to make and bake the cake. 

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Prepare 2 round cake pans or one sheet pan with shortening and dust with flour.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry flours, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.  Using a pastry cutter or with your hands, work the shortening in until the mix resembles course sand.  Add the eggs, milk and vanilla extract and mix to combine. 

Pour into prepared cake pan(s).  Cook in 350F oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

When cakes are done, set them on a wire rack to cool.  After 10 minutes, remove the cakes from the pan(s) and let cool completely on a wire rack.

After the cake is completely cooled, crumble the cake into small pieces in a large bowl.


To make the frosting:  Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Add 3 tablespoons of half & half, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar.  Beat on low speed until the frosting begins to develop.  Then increase the speed to make it nice and creamy.  If necessary, add more half & half or powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency.

Now, take the frosting and dump it into the bowl with the crumbled cake.  Mix with the back of a spoon until a thick dough consistency forms.  Shape into equally sized balls, about 2 tablespoons.  Set formed balls onto a plate covered with wax paper and put in the freezer for about 20 minutes. 

Melt the chocolate bark either in a microwave or using a double boiler.  Take chilled cake bites and dip into the melted chocolate using two forks.  Allow for some of the excess chocolate to drip off back into the bowl of melted chocolate.  Placed the freshly coated cake bite onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.  Repeat this process for all of the bites. 

Enjoy! 

Stuffed French Toast



Today is my birthday and my hubby and daughter made me stuffed french toast.  And it was delish.  This is my hubby's recipe.  I hope you enjoy.

 



Stuffed French Toast (yields 3 servings)
6 slices of spent grain honey bread
3/4 c. softened cream cheese

Egg mixture
3 eggs
3/4 c. milk
1/2 all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash of salt

Toppings:
Strawberries, sliced
Bananas, sliced
Powdered sugar
Syrup

Preheat the oven to 300F. 

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat.

Whisk together the ingredients listed for the egg mixture in a bowl and then transfer to a shallow dish.

Make cream cheese sandwiches by spreading approximately 1/4 cup of softened cream cheese on one piece of bread and then topping it with another piece of bread.

Dip the cream cheese sandwiches into the egg mixture.  Turn over to coat all sides. 

Grill each sandwich on the heated griddle.  About 1 minute on each side.  Transfer to a baking dish and place in preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Top with strawberries and bananas.  Sprinkle powdered sugar and drizzle some syrup over top.

Enjoy.

Spent Grain Honey Bread

I found an awesome recipe for Simple Honey Wheat bread that I tweaked to make a spent grain version.

Spent Grain Honey Bread (yields 2 loaves)
2 c. warm water (110F)
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. active dry yeast

1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. honey
2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. spent grain flour
5 c. bread flour*

*use additional flour as needed during the kneading process

In a small bowl, dissolve sugar into warm water.  Stir in yeast.  Let sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast mixture is foamy.

In the mixer bowl, mix together the sugar, oil, honey, and salt.  Stir in the foamy yeast mixture. 

With the mixer bowl set up on your stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to mix the spent grain flour in with the honey yeast mixture.  Add bread flour in 1/2 cup increments till mixture just begins to thickens and covers the whisk.  At this point, change out the attachment to the dough hook and continue to add bread flour in 1/2 cup increments till the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  At this point, increase the speed on the mixer to a 4 and begin the kneading process.  Knead the dough for about 6 minutes.  Keep an eye on the bowl and dust with more bread flour as needed.

Turn oven on to lowest setting (I used the 'warm' setting).  Transfer dough to a large lightly oil bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Turn oven off.  Place bowl on the lowest rack in the oven and let rise for about 45 minutes.  **Make sure your oven isn't too hot.  If it is too hot to touch, leave oven door open for a minute, then place bowl in oven.

After 45 minutes or when dough has doubled in size, remove bowl from oven.  Punch down dough.  Prepare to loaf pans by spraying them with a non-stick spray.  Divide dough into two equal portions.  Shape each portion into a loaf and place in pan.  Turn oven back on to warm for a few minutes, then turn off oven.  Place loaf pans in oven for about 30 minutes to rise again.

Once the loaves have risen, remove from oven.  Turn oven on to 365F or halfway in between 350F and 375F.  Once oven has heated, return loaves to oven and bake for 25 minutes or until tops are lightly browned and bread sounds hollow when tapped.  If your loaves are browning too quickly, loosely lay aluminum foil over the loaves. 

Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove bread from pans and finish cooling on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Taco Rye PA Soup

Weekends usually involve a crockpot meal, most likely a soup.  I'm a busy bee on the weekend and try to avoid standing over the stove for too long.  I mean, I'd rather be taking a stroll around a lake, walking along where the ocean meets the sand, visiting museums, or swinging by Wilmington Homebrew for a brewing demo and chitchatting with fellow homebrewers.  The solution to the dilemma of being chained to the kitchen is the trusty old crockpot.  This soup is going for a taco flavor but is doing double duty by cleaning out some goods in my pantry/freezer.

The great thing about this type of soup, you can really customize it to your tastes.  Add a can of whatever kind of beans or chopped tomatoes.  Make it as spicy as you want with adding more or less spices or hot sauces.  Have fun with it and in the process get rid of some of those cans that have been in your pantry for a while.

Taco Rye PA Soup (yields 6-8 servings)
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 can of black eyed peas (I actually used some leftover black eyed peas from New Year)
1 can black beans
1 can creamed corn
1 can tomato soup
1 (12 oz) bottle of Rye PA

1 tbsp. chili powder*
1/4 tsp. garlic powder*
1/4 tsp. onion powder*
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes*
1/4 tsp. dried oregano*
1/2 tsp. paprika*
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin*
1 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. pepper*
*(OR you can use 1 pkg of taco seasoning)

1/2 lb. ground turkey, browned

Topping:
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Sliced jalapenos
Tortilla chips, crushed

Put all ingredients, except for toppings into a crockpot.  Cover with lid.  Turn on low for 5-6 hours. 

Serve in bowls and top with any of the desired toppings.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ale

First of all... let me disclose that I do not know the science and all that mumbo jumbo behind brewing, so please do hate on me for it. I just enjoy brewing and drinking good beer.

With the holiday season having just passed, I have been doing a LOT of baking. I couldn't help but have cookies on the mind when I was trying to figure out what my next brew should be. I came across a few recipes dealing with oatmeal & raisins and oatmeal cookies. So I decided to brew an oatmeal raisin cookie ale. Plus my hubby's favorite treat is an oatmeal raisin cookie.

I must admit, after the fermentation and carbonation was complete, I was a little disappointed in the flavor.  I mean, it was a good beer, but it wasn't the flavor profile that I wanted for an 'oatmeal raisin cookie' concept.  I will try again.  Perhaps next time I will use some molasses and more spices to give it a hint of that cookie flavor.



Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ale (yields 5 gallons) 
1.5 lbs Victory malt
1 lbs flaked oats
1 lbs crystal-60
0.5 lbs Carapils
6.6 lbs amber LME
12 oz. brown sugar
8 oz. milk sugar
2 oz. Northern Brewer
0.5 c. raisins, rum soaked
1 cinamon stick
1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. Irish moss
British ale yeast (WLP 005)

Mash grains for 90 minutes at 150F.  Sparge into boil pot. 

Bring to boil.  Remove from heat and add amber LME and stir till well mixed.  Mix in brown sugar, milk sugar, raisins/rum, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Return to boil.

Add 1 oz of Northern Brewer.  Boil for 40 minutes.

Add 1 oz of Norhern Brewer.  Boil for 5 minutes.

Add Irish moss.  Boil for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Let cool 15-20 minutes.

Strain wort into fermenter.  Add cold water to bring total volume to just over 5 gallons.  When wort temp reaches 70F or lower, pitch yeast.

OG:  1.058
FG:  1.020