Hopping Around Locally; What Chefs are Creating with Craft Beer – Annie Magdowski
Since most beers are ales or lagers, here’s some information that you will find helpful when choosing a beer to use in your dish.
ALES – Ales are made by brewing a top-fermenting yeast at room temperature. They have lots of hops and malt and can have a bitter taste and dark color.
- INDIA PALE ALE–a very hoppy brew
- HEFEWEIZEN—an unfiltered wheat beer, somewhat sweet
- IRISH RED ALE—roasted barley gives a red color and tea-like flavor
- PORTER—London-style dark ale made with roasted malt
- STOUT—the darkest and heaviest of beers packed with toasted flavors like chocolate, coffee, oatmeal, cream
LAGERS – Lagers are created when bottom-fermenting yeas is cold-brewed at low temperature (45 to 57 degrees) for long periods of time. They tend to be lighter, milder, and fruit-flavored.
- PILSNER—a light yellow lager with bitter, hoppy flavor
- AMERICAN LIGHT—a watered down version of a pilsner
- BOCK—a strong lager brewed extra months and robust malt characteristics
- MARZEN—a copper-colored high alcohol beer with toasty flavor, full body, and dry finish
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS about BEER, HOPS, and COOKING
- A small amount of sugar or baking soda can neutralize and balance hops’ bitterness
- Fresh hops can be used to infuse a dish, then removed
- Michigan has over 350 breweries; 326 are open to the public
- For great information, pick up a copy of the free Michigan Beer Guide, published by Rex and Mary Halfpenny since 1997
- A microbrewery or craft brewery is a brewery that produces a small amount of beer.
Try our beer cheese recipes: