Cooking with beer - Coq au biere

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Andy Mogg over at Beer Reviews has asked bloggers and beer lovers for their favourite food recipes that use beer as an ingredient. I was going to make a Steak and Ale pie but decided to make a dish that is fairly popular in Northern France where it is quite common for beer to be used instead of wine in some recipes. One of those recipes is Coq Au Biere. I thought I would give this recipe a try.

Here's how I got on.


Coq Au Biere - the ingredients

8 Chicken Thighs

4 rashers of  bacon - cut into small slices

8 shallots, chopped

200g button mushrooms, cut in two

3 carrots sliced

4 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp thyme

2 chicken stock cubes

1 tbsp sage

500ml bottle of beer. I used Fyne Ales Vital Spark 

Salt and pepper

Flour for coating the Chicken Thighs

How to make Coq Au Biere

1. Put flour, salt and pepper in freezer bag and add chicken until  fully coated in flour. Place into a hot pan and cook until golden. Remove chicken and set aside. Put the shallots, carrots, garlic and mushrooms in the pan and cook until they have a bit of colour.

2.  Return the Chicken to the pot and throw in the rosemary, thyme and sage.

3. Pour in the beer and the chicken stock. Pop the lid on and simmer on the hob for 1 hour.

4. Serve with boiled potatoes and green beans.

I left mine overnight and ate it the following day. It was absolutely lovely and the richness of the Fyne Ales Vital Spark added to and enhanced the complexity of the flavours. The Brewdog Ingrid I washed it down with wasn't bad either.

Why don't you try it and get Cooking with Beer.

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A Dip into the Dark Side

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Glasgow pub, The Three Judges have been running their Mild, Stout and Porter festival every March now for the last couple of years. They tend to bypass the Camra Mild in May festival and opt to stage their dark beer fest a couple of months before it. Their logic is simple. They find that the beer choice in May for mild is limited due to sheer pressure of demand on breweries from pubs looking to buy some of the dark stuff. The Judges reckon, correctly, that by getting in first they can have the pick of some of the finest examples of Mild, Stouts and Porters from across the UK for their thirsty punters to enjoy and appreciate.


Their festival beer choice reads like a dark beer lovers wish list of some of the finest examples of these beer styles. There are beers from Summer Wine Brewery, Dark Star, Fyne Ales and many, many others. I popped in a couple of times during the first few days of the festival with the intention of hooking up with some beer friends and sampling some nice and tasty beer.


My usual beers of choice tend to be light and hoppy, so the Judges' festival is a good excuse to dip into the dark side and experience some rich, roasted and fruity flavours.


Five of the eight pumps are given over to the festival and, when I was in, I had the pleasure of trying beers that were good, well made examples of their styles. These included Ilkley Black Mild, Brewster's Stilton Porter, Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose, Dark Star Espresso Stout and Otley Dark O.


Otley Dark O was full of roast malt taste with some delicate dark chocolate, coffee and traces of ripe berry fruit. It was a really nice, well made and well balanced Stout (or is it a Mild?) with a deliciously lingering bitter finish. It was decidely more-ish and possibly the nicest beer that I had over the weekend.


Another couple of beers worthy of mention were Brewster's Stilton Porter and Dark Star's Espresso Stout. The Stilton Porter poured ruby red with a foamy, cream head. It smelled faintly smokey with a tint of tobacco ash. It tasted of rich and fruity with a strong bitterness that gave way to a smooth mild finish. I was expecting a stilton hit but, apart from a slight cream tickle, there was no cheesiness to speak of.


I'm a big fan of Dark Star's beers with their Hophead being a beer that I actively seek out as it's a blast of hoppy loveliness. I've had the Espresso Stout in bottles and on cask before and it has consistently hit the spot so I it was an easy choice to make when it was added to the beer board. It smelled as I had remembered - dark, roasted malts with some spiced chocolate and a trace of coffee in the flavour. It had a sweet rewarding mouthfeel that gave way to a dry and slightly bitter finish. It was nice pint but the coffee was not as pronounced as I had remembered. It had been my fourth or fifth pint of the day, so it may have been my poor, battered tastebuds. In the interests of research, I popped in the following day and had another Espresso Stout and found the coffee profile to be more dominant and to the fore. It was a really enjoyable pint.


I dipped my toe into the Dark Side and was  impressed by the standard, quality and range of beers on. The festival lasts until the 26th March and there are over 30 more Mild, Stouts and Porters still to be enjoyed.



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Guest Beer Review - Phil from Beersay Blog

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Collaborations are good things. In beer we have had some great examples of different brewers and breweries working together to create some very interesting and special beers in the process. Last summer's Saison Du Buff from American Craft merchants Stone, Victory and Dogfish Head, the Fyne Ales and Kelly Ryan superb Fynebridge Black IPA and BrewDog/Mikkeller's, I Hardcore You all immediately spring to mind as fine examples of constructive collaboration.

In that spirit of positive partnerships, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce on the blog a guest reviewer every now and again. I'll be reciprocating by reviewing a beer or two on my fellow bloggers site. So, kicking off the first in an occasional series, I introduce to you Phil from the Beersay blog who has been sampling some of Sierra Nevada's Stout.  Here's what he thought -

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Liquid Geography


If you'd have asked me a few years ago about beers from the good old U S of A, I would have more than likely described them as being pretty tasteless, fizzy, mass produced or something of that ilk. Generally when I've spoken to people about American beer that's the impression I'd got and having never been there I had no point of reference to think otherwise. The only American beer I'd ever had was Budweiser.  Now I still drink the odd Bud at times and enjoy it too, it has it's place and ice cold on a hot day is it, however a flavour-fest it is not..


That all changed at the Stoke On Trent beer festival a two years ago, The Mrs and Myself had gone to the Saturday night session and to be honest it was a bit of a washout. Nearly all the beers we'd fancied trying had long since gone, so we ventured up to the foreign bottled beer bar to sample what it had to offer.
As the night went on we got talking to the bar manager about his suggestions and he brought out two bottles of Goose Island IPA. Sensing our scepticism (probably from the looks he was getting back), he explained that it was in his opinion the best beer he'd sold all weekend. He was right, it was bloody gorgeous. We duly left, extra happy as he gave us the last two bottles to take home.


Since then a lot of water (and beer) has passed under the bridge and I've not really explored American beer any further, nor had I realised what a fantastic craft brewing scene they had going over the pond. So here we are back in 2011 and I'm writing a guest review for The Beer Monkey, so I thought what the hell, it seems very popular amongst other bloggists let's go for something completely different, the Sierra Nevada Stout.


Now I'm not going to waffle on about the brewers, their brewery or history, I've done enough waffling already, you can read about it at your leisure here:


http://www.sierranevada.com/index2.html


So, to the beer. I opened it on a bright sunny afternoon as the photos show, out pours an inky black liquid, seems a little flat at first but quickly forms a lively creamy brown head, stout is black I know but this is BLACK.

It smells hoppier than any stout I've had before it's the main thing that fights for your attention you before you dive in. First taste gives a lively buzzing fizz on the tongue which is out of character. The taste though is wonderful, it feels very light in the mouth probably because of the high carbonation that lingers on through the glass, a little like a Budvar Dark in some ways.


But it also has a really great depth of flavours that get your taste buds buzzing, there's toasted malts, burnt caramel, really high % cocoa quality dark chocolate, a little coffee then comes the big old hoppy finish. Long after your last sip that chocolate bitterness lingers on in the mouth from teeth to tonsils. (I walked the dog straight after drinking this and a full hour later I could still taste it.)


All in all a pleasant experience and not at all what I was expecting, an American beer that is a take on British Stout which has elements of Belgian and Czech brews, a geography lesson in a glass.


Verdict: I need to do more study...



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Abstrakt:05 Comp - The winner is......

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.....Mr Will Millinship.


The correct answers to March's beer monkey competition were as follows -


James Watt occupation prior to setting up BrewDog was a trawlerman.

Martin Dickie studied brewing at Heriot Watt Uni.


Thanks to all that entered.

Look out for another beer monkey competition next month.




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The Session #49 - Regular Beer

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I drink beer. I'm a beer drinker me. If I'm not down the pub having a few pints then you'll most probably find me at home nursing something nice, tasty and refreshing. I used to have regular beers. But, back then I drank to get drunk. Not, as I do now, to sample, savour and enjoy the quality and artisanal craftmanship that's gone in to making the brew in my hand.

Times change and so does the individual. Back then, I had regular beers. These were usually golden, canned and fizzy. More often than not made by some brewing giant, some behemoth that didn't care for the flavour and taste of their product. As long as it looked good on a balance sheet, then that was alright.

I've changed and so has my taste in beers. My beery kicks now come, not from the desire to get pissed as quickly as possible, but to indulge myself in the myriad of beer styles and tastes out there. I love that tingle of anticipation before entering a quality establishment not knowing what's on offer but happily content and safe in the knowledge that what could potentially be on offer is something special, something different and something so tastebud tantalisingly gorgeous that it brings not only a smile to your face but a ready brek glow to your soul.

 Or I could have a bottle of Bud or a pint of Carling.

Life is too short and beer choices too diverse to have a regular, go to beer that ultimately limits your choice and restricts your horizons.


I don't have Heinz tomato soup or eat the same meal every day, so why should I restrict my beer consumption to one brand or style.  Routine and regularity are the enemy of innovation and creativity.


Get tasting, get drinking and, most importantly, get enjoying the huge variety of tasty, refreshing and eclectic beers out there.


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There's nothing more I can add....

.......this says it all.


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Glasgow Beer - Mild, Stout and Porter Festival

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Glasgow beer fans are in for a treat later on in March when Glasgow Pub Institution, The Three Judges holds their annual Mild, Stout and Porter Festival. The event, which lasts a fortnight, aims to showcase some of the finest examples of these beer styles from some of the best breweries in the U.K.


The festival is a dark beer lover's dream and includes beers from Dark Star, Fyne Ales, Summer Wine, Bristol Beer Factory and Potbelly. It starts on the 11th and continues through to the 25th of March. Beers are still being added to the extensive list but so far confirmed are


- Dark Star Espresso Stout
- Summer Wine Barista Espresso Stout
- Fyne Ales Sublime Stout
- Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild
- Potbelly Beijing Black
- Ilkley Black
- Otley Dark O
- RCH Old Slug Porter
- Summer Wine Resistance Mild
- Abbey Black Friar
- Bradfield Farmer's Stout
- Quantock Stout
- Bank Top Port o Call
- Triple F Pressed Rat and Warthog


More beer is arriving daily and is being lovingly cared in the cellar until the festival begins by the Judges expert cellar folk, Ronnie, Angela and Colin.


So, if you are in Glasgow or the West of Scotland and looking to indulge yourself in some lovely Mild, Stout and Porter in the next couple of weeks then the Three Judges is clearly the place to be.



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Competition Time - Win Some BrewDog Abstrakt 05

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A new month brings a new competition in beer monkey mansions. Each month we put up for grabs some of the nicest, newest beers out there. Last month one lucky person won some utterly gorgeous Fyne Ales Jarl. This month we have something equally as enticing and exciting but even harder to get your hands on - a bottle of BrewDog's latest experiment in ale alchemy. Their latest Abstrakt beer which is a 12.5% Belgian Imperial Stout aged on toasted cocnut and cacao. Only 700 hundred of these were available on BrewDog's online store and they have all sold out.

But......you can still get your hands on a bottle by answering the following BrewDog related questions.



 - What was James Watt's occupation before setting up BrewDog?


- Which University did BrewDog's Martin Dickie study brewing at?



If you think you know both answers, then drop me an email at

thebeermonk3y@gmail.com

Closing date is 7 p.m. this Sunday 6th of March.

The winner will be notified soon after.

Good Luck.



Competition now closed. Thanks to all that entered. Look out for another beer monkey competition next month.





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