June Beer Dinner – Pizza & Amber Ales

Nicole, Tibor and Dennis came over for a evening of amber ales and tasty food.  For the menu, Dennis brought over a fresh fruit tray for an appetizer, we made grilled pizzas, and Nicole and Tibor brought over Watergate Salad and 7 Layer Cookie Bars.  Everything was very good and the Amber Ales went well with everything.  I served two homebrewed Amber Ales – Peregrine and Citra Ace.  There was a split decision on these two and I will probably end up entering both into competitions.  We choose Widmer’s Drop Top Amber Ale as the best of the evening – all were good – Drop Top is a bit sweeter and went with the food very well.

For the commercial beers we sampled the following:

North Coast – Red Seal (5.5% ABV and 42 IBU)

Odell – Levity Amber Ale (5.1% ABV and 24 IBU)

Widmer – Drop Top Amber Ale (5.3% ABV and 18 IBU)

Alaskan – Amber (5.3% ABV and 18 IBU)

Full Sail – Amber (5.5% ABV and 31 IBU)

Red Seal - http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/beer-RedSeal.htm
Levity - http://odellbrewing.com/beer/levity-amber-ale/

Drop Top – http://widmerbrothers.com/beer/#drop-top-amber

Alaskan Amber - http://www.alaskanbeer.com/our-brew/year-round-beers/amber.html

Full Sail – Amber - http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/beers/amber.cfm

Pizza Dough Recipe - http://draftmag.com/recipes/detail/227

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce bottle or can brown ale, room temperature (I used an Amber Ale)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons instant yeast

21/2 cups bread flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

11/2 teaspoons salt

Instructions:

Whisk together the ale, oil and yeast in a medium bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Pulse together bread flour, all-purpose flour, cornmeal and salt in a food processor fitted with a dough blade. With the motor running, add the ale mixture to the food processor. Pulse until the dough comes together, then process for 30 seconds. (You can also use a stand mixer or make the dough by hand. If using a stand mixer, mix the dough for 4-5 minutes with a dough hook; by hand, knead the dough about 10 minutes.) The dough should be smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

HOW TO: GRILL YOUR PIZZA
1. Preheat a grill to medium-high. Very generously coat a pizza peel, unrimmed baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Gather your pizza toppings together and put on a baking sheet or plate for easy transport. You’ll also want a large metal spatula or tongs. 2.  Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut dough in half (or desired size). Roll and stretch one piece of dough into desired size and shape and transfer to the prepared peel or baking sheet. Head out to the grill.
3. Clean the grate of your grill. Using a single, quick motion, transfer the dough to the grill. Top with sauce and desired toppings; close the grill top. Grill the pizza until the underside is brown and crispy and the cheese is melted, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to the peel or baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough and toppings.

Three from Ballast Point

On a recent trip to Florida, I tried Victory at Sea by Ballast Point Brewery that is based in San Diego.  I have heard good things about the brewery and wanted to try a few more of their offerings.  I picked up a couple of mix 6-packs to try a few different beers and three that I picked up from Ballast Point were: 1) Pale Ale (4.6% ABV and 23 IBU), 2) Calico Amber Ale (5.5% ABV and 45 IBU), 3) Sculpin IPA (7% ABV and 70 IU).  All of these beers were very good and I really liked the Calico Amber Ale the best - it had a great malt background and just the right level of hop bitterness.  I can recommend all of these beers, and for me, the Calico Amber Ale was the best.

Website description - Pale Ale - "There’s no wonder why our Pale Ale is so popular—it is skillfully crafted in the style of the Kolsch beers of Cologne, Germany. We’ve chosen German hops for aroma, and rounded out the recipe with a blend of American and German malts.  While it is very much like a Pilsner, our Pale Ale is fermented at ale temperatures, giving it a subdued fruitiness—a perfect compliment to the crispness of the wheat and maltiness of the Munich malt. If you like a lighter brew but also like the complexity of craft beers, then our Pale Ale is for you."

Website description - Calico Amber Ale - "Inspired by traditional English ESBs, our Calico Amber Ale is as American as it could be. A rich complexity comes from four types of malt—but it’s those distinct American hops that offer a crisp bitterness and unique floral aroma.  To round out our traditional-English-yet-very-American Amber Ale, we use a proprietary yeast to develop a fruity, Madeira-like richness. Try one today, and find out what a gold medal beer tastes like!"

Website description - Sculpin IPA - "The Sculpin is a testament to our humble beginnings as Home Brew Mart. It showcases bright flavors and aromas of apricot, peach, mango & lemon. The lighter body also brings out the crispness of the hops.  This delicious Ballast Point Ale won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup 2010 in the International Pale Ale category. The Sculpin fish has poisonous spikes on it’s fins that can give a strong sting.  Ironically, the meat from a Sculpin is considered some of the tastiest. Something that has a sting but tastes great, sounds like a Ballast Point India Pale Ale."

URL - http://www.ballastpoint.com

Bristol Brewing - Mass Transit & Beehive

Bristol Brewing is based in Colorado Springs and I have tried and liked Laughing Lab – Scottish Ale and Old No. 23 Barley wine.  I think both of these have won awards over the years.  Bristol is a small brewer and they offer a variety pack of six different styles or two each.  Mass Transit Ale (5.1% ABV and 21 IBU) is an American Amber / Red Ale that pours a cloudy reddish tan with a two-finger head.  Bristol describes Mass Transit Ale as, “Based on the amber style, this is a dependable session beer that simply delivers superb flavor. Crystal, Carapils, Victory and Vienna specialty malts give this ale its rich auburn color and easygoing nature.”  Mass Transit is easy to drink and would go great with BBQ and Hamburgers.

Beehive (4.06% ABV and 16 IBU) is an American-Style Wheat Beer and pours cloudy orange yellow with a small head.  Follow the pouring instructions on the bottle to pour the beer with the yeast as the brewer intends for this beer to be tasted.  Bristol describes Beehive as, “Definitely sunshine in a glass. Beehive is a joy to drink, with its beautiful honey-gold color and refreshing, full-flavored body. For our version of the classic American Wheat, we use less two-row and more Munich malt for depth, and soften the edges with the lightness of wheat. Local Black Forest honey adds character without sweetness.”  For comparison, my wife enjoyed a glass of Chocolate Wine with an ABV of 14%.  I would need to drink 3.5 glasses of Beehive to equal one glass of that particular wine.  Beehive is a nice beer and you could literally drink these all night with the low ABV.  I was thinking it might be too sweet with the honey, but this was not the case.  This is definitely a “session” beer and I think would be a good beer for the non-beer drinker.

Boulevard Amber Ale

Boulevard is based in Kansas City and we have a good selection of their offerings here in Denver.  Boulevard’s Amber Ale (5.1% ABV and 24 IBU) pours cloudy amber with a nice head.  Boulevard describes their Amber Ale as, “ an exceptionally well-balanced beer, complex yet thirst-quenching. American pale malt provides a firm foundation. English specialty malts impart a nutty sweetness, perfectly complemented by noble German hops. The deep coppery color holds the light, reflecting a ruddy glow, and the finish is clean, round, and delicious.”  This is very tasty Amber Ale and I really enjoyed it.  It has low bitterness to emphasize the malt sweetness and this Amber ale would go with a wide variety of food.  I think it would go great with a burger or pizza, and it would be very good at an outdoor BBQ with friends and family.  I will need to stop by the brewery the next time I go through Kansas City. 

Two very tasty Amber Ales

Full Sail’s Amber Ale (5.5% ABV and 31IBU) has been around since 1989, and it is the flagship beer for Full Sail and has won 14 medals over the years.  Amber pours amber with a two-finger head.  Full Sail describes Amber as, “a sweet, malty, medium-bodied ale with a spicy, floral hop finish.  It’s brewed with 2-row Pale, Crystal and Chocolate malts.  And we hop it with Mt. Hoods and Cascades.”  Full Sail’s Amber is very tasty and this is a well-balanced ale with just the right amounts of sweet malt and spicy, floral Northwest hops. 

Next up was Twisted Pine’s American Amber Ale (5.5% ABV and 55 IBU) is a little more bitter than Full Sail’s Amber.  This is another good beer and it pours amber with a frothy head – I had to let is settle a bit before I could empty the bottle.  Twisted Pine describes Ambers as, “medium bodied beer with good hop character.  The aroma is slightly hoppy, malty, and lightly yeasty.  The beer’s texture starts off crisp and effervescent, and becomes a little thicker toward the finish.”  This is another very good Amber Ale and Cascade hops are used along with Northern Brewer.  You cannot go wrong with either of these selections.  I paired these with a dinner of roasted chicken, rice, sauteed Vidalia onions and mushrooms (with some Amber Ale) and sauteed garlic green beans.  Very tasty pairing too.