Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt or ½ tsp sea salt
cayenne pepper
Cajun Seasoning
1 bottle of your favorite larger or pale ale, cold
1-2 pounds of Sand Dabs or other firm white fish
cornstarch
2 quarts vegetable oil

Directions:

Heat oil in pan until it reaches 375F.  In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients and whisk in the cold beer. Mix well. Dredge the fish in the cornstarch and then in the beer batter. Drop into the oil and cook until a golden color. Remove fish from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately.

Purchase items in BOLD in-store at Surfas or online at Culinary District!

Try this with Roast Turkey, Piccolo Chef’s Pumpkin Gnocchi (http://www.surfaslosangeles.com/2009/11/pumpkin-gnocchi-with-sage-and-pecorino-butter-sauce ) or  Florentyna Sweet Potato Gnocchi from our freezer, Apple-Fennel Slaw (http://www.surfaslosangeles.com/2009/10/fall-fennel-slaw) or Valdeon Cheese Stuffed Dates.

Have any questions about these or other of our unusual beers? Stop by and let’s talk!

Cheers!
Aly, her Royal Beerness!

The Best of the Wurst

We kicked off Father’s Day weekend in the best way we could think of: Beer and Sausages! Aly was back to lead an informative and tasty class on some perfect beer and sausage pairings. Below are her notes!

– H. Allen Smith, after he drank his first American beer. 

When shopping for a beer, one is greeted with a dizzying array of imported and domestic beers to choose from. Colorful labels almost beckon with a “come-hither” gesture, as if to invite one to enjoy the bubbly brew that is awaiting within. The label of a beer is more than a marketing tool, and is often an extension of the beer/brewer/brewery’s personality itself. When we are in a crunch to select a beer and don’t know where to start, the label is the first place we look to, hoping that the elegant script or the dancing pink elephant on the front is indicative to some extent of the experience we will have upon opening it.

Unlike many ambiguous wine labels, which almost seem to mock the uneducated wine buyer, beer labels are more like your friendly next door neighbor; they willingly divulge the style, taste and sometimes, way to pour. Pending on where the beer was brewed and what combination of hops, yeast and malt used, there can be a large variation in a given style. If you don’t like one beer, don’t rule out all others in the same style/category. Most beers claiming to be of a certain style have certain characteristics as a base, and from there, can stray in a number of different directions. If you are unfamiliar with the characteristics of a certain style of beer, try one out! Often you can spend as little as $2 to try something new. Here’s a simple cheat sheet to get you started:

“CHEAT SHEET”: Beer Styles and Flavors***

Abbey – Strong, fruity, spicy, aromatic, complex

Altbier – Bronze-colored, snappy bitterness, full malt flavor

Amber – Color signals caramelized flavors in amber ales and lagers

Barleywine – Very Strong, dark, bittersweet, malty, complex – a sipping beer

Bière de Garde – Full-bodied, herbal, flavors of anise and earth

Bitter – Fruity and racy, subtle, low carbonation, robust hopping

Bock – Dark (usually), strong, malty, toffeeish, full-bodied, with restrained bitterness

Brown Ale – Dark, caramelized, fruity, light chocolate and coffee

Doppelbock – Very strong, dark, toffeeish, with some sweetness

Dortmunder Export – Golden, dry, bready, moderate bitterness

Dubbel – Dark, fruity, complex, raisiny, spicy

Dunkel/Dunkels – Dark, malty, juicy, bready, moderate bitterness

ESB – “Extra Special Bitter,” amber, fruity, slightly strong, hoppy

Framboise/Frambozen – Beer made with raspberries; can be sweet or dry

Gueuze – Pale, dry, funky, wildly complex, quite tart

Hefeweizen – Wheat beer with yeast, light-bodied, spritzy, clovey, banana-like

Helles – Golden, light-bodied, malty, bready, restrained bitterness

Imperial Stout – Very strong, dark, roasty, coffeeish, chocolatey, robust

IPA – “India Pale Ale”, amber, strong, dry, robust hop bitterness and aroma

Kölsch – Very pale gold, bready, lightly fruity, restrained bitterness

Kriek – Beer made with cherries; can be sweet or dry

Lambic – Fermented by wild yeasts; tart base for gueuze and fruit beers; funky

Märzenbier – Amber, bready, round, malty, caramelized, juicy, medium-bodied

Mild – Dark, lightly hopped, caramelized, raisiny, light-bodied

Oktoberfest – Should be the same as Märzenbier but sometimes paler

Old Ale – Somewhat strong, dark, caramelized, fruity, balanced bitterness

Oud Bruin — “Old Brown,” dark, sweet-and-sour, fruity, juicy, raisiny, complex

Pale Ale – Amber, snappy, dry, fruity, hoppy, with some caramel flavors

Pilsner – If genuine – golden, dry, sharply bitter, flowery, bready, snappy

Porter – Very dark, chocolatey, coffeeish, caramelized, hoppy

Rauchbier – “Smoked beer”; smokey flavors and aromatics, juicy, caramelized

Saison – Dry, sharp, spicy, complex, refreshing, hoppy, slightly strong

Schwarzbier – “Black beer,” dark, bitter chocolate, dry, caramelized, bready

Scotch Ale – Dark, sometimes strong, malty, full-bodied, restrained bitterness

Stout – Black, coffeeish, chocolatey; can be dry or sweet, strong or modest

Trappist – Made by monks; strong, fruity, spicy, complex

Tripel – Pale, strong, dry, fruity, complex, spicy, rummy, spiritous

Vienna-Style – Bronze, sweetish, malty, bready, caramelized, light bitterness

Weisse/Weissbier – Wheat beer, usually with yeast. See Hefeweizen

Witbier – Belgian wheat beer, hazy yellow, light-bodied, citric, spritzy, slightly tangy

Try something new or amazing? Curious about my favorites? Send questions and comments my way.

I’ll be seeing you at rounds. Cheers!

Aly Iwamoto
Surfas Cheese and Charcuterie Lady
Beer Lover, Enthusiast, and Brewer

hey.beermeplz at gmail.com 

***Oliver, Garrett. The Brewmaster’s Table. New York, NY: HarperCollins Books, 2003. Print.

Brewing Ingredients:

The German Purity law lists beer ingredients as:
• Water ( the medium)
• Malt ( base)
• Yeast (the catalyst)
• Hops (the stabilizers and flavoring agents) 

Belgians and other distinctive craft brewers use spices, seeds, nuts, flowers, fruit, coffee, ad many other flavors. The legitimate grains for malt are barley, wheat rye, and oats. All others are considered adjunct (substandard) such as corn, rice and other lesser grains.

Types of Beers

Lager and Pilsner: are bottom fermented and are generally lighter and lower in alcohol.
Ale and Wheat Beer (Weiss): are top fermented and usually fuller flavored and higher in alcohol.
Stout and Porter: can be either top or bottom fermented.

Additional Terms

Imperial: A highly extracted version of a certain type of beer.
Double: Twice the malt half the water, way too much of a good thing.
Vintage: Beer produced in a certain year or for a holiday
Bottle Conditioned: A second dose of yeast is added to insure complexity
OG (Original gravity): The ratio of solids to liquids in a brew
IBU (International Bittering Unit): Amount of hops on a scale of 100
ABV (Alcohol By Volume): The amount of FUN in a beer

This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord has intended a more divine form of consumption. Let us give praise to our maker and glory to His bounty be learning about beer.
–Friar TuckThere is a reason why monks are known to brew beer and make cheese. Perhaps it is because beer and cheese make people happy, and the production of these products serves the community around them, or perhaps the process of manipulating basic ingredients into something beautiful is a near-holy experience in itself. Whatever the reason is, there is no denying that the pairing of a bubbly brew with a delicious cheese is a divine one.

Naturally, when asked to conduct the first beer event of the year for Surfas, I relished the opportunity. What better way to kick off our Beer Series at Surfas than by paying homage to this time-old traditional pairing? I picked five beers and cheeses that I thought would illustrate the range and flexibility in which these two things could be paired and enjoyed.

1. Old Speckled Hen (5.2% ABV) – Greene King Brewery; Bury St. Edmunds, UK
Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar (Beechers Creamery; Seattle Washington) melted on French Baguette crostinis, topped with Jamon Serrano –This English Pale Ale and Cheddar share a common terroir ((UK)). The sharpness of cheddar picks up the maltiness and caramel notes of the English Pale Ale, as well highlight the apricot and nutty flavor. 

2. Blue Star Wheat (4.5% ABV) – North Coast Brewing Co.; Ft. Bragg, CA
Acapella Goat Chevre (Andante Creamery; Sonoma, CA) – The citrusy notes of the Belgian Witbier complement the slight tartness of the chevre, while the banana and fruity notes pick up the sweetness. Carbonation refreshes and cleans the palate from the creaminess, as if to invite taste buds for another tasting.3. West Coast IPA (7% ABV) – Green Flash Brewing Co; Vista, CA
Grayson (Meadow Creek, VA) –The bold flavor of this stinky cheese stands up to the 95 IBU (bittering level) of the hops in this India Pale Ale. The fresh grassy elements of the hops pair well with the creamy, intensely perfumed cheese.

4. Gouden Carolus Cuvee van der Keizer (10% ABV) — Brouwerij Het Anker; Mechelen, Belgium
Five Year Vintage Gouda (Holland) –Caramel and fruit notes of the cheese will match the deep raisiny notes of the strong dark ale. The dry finish of this Belgian ale intensifies the creamy butterscotch notes of the Gouda.

5. Cucapa Barleywine – (ABV 10%) Cucapa Brewing Company; Mexico
Saint Agur (Auvergene, France) --The intensity of this beer needs an equally intense cheese. Creaminess complements the sweet dessert like quality of the beer, as well as the syrupy mouthfeel. Tastes of dark fruit complement the saltiness of the St. Agur, which marry well in this low carbonated brew.

If you’re looking to try something new but don’t know where to start, or are already a beer aficionado looking for something different, we carry all of the above beers and cheeses at Surfas and I encourage you to give these pairings a try.

Fellow beer-geek? Shoot an email my way with your name ((just first name, don’t try to get fresh with me)), favorite beer/style of beer, favorite way to drink it ((pairings, glasses)) and if you’re a homebrewer, what was your last brew? I’d love to hear your feedback on these pairings, whether positive or constructive.

I’ll see you at rounds. Cheers!
Aly Iwamoto

Surfas Cheese and Charcuterie Lady
Beer Lover, Enthusiast, and Brewer

hey.beermeplz at gmail.com