Beer

[danalwyn]

Today I bought beer for myself for the first time in my life. This also means that today is the first time I've tasted beer. My inability to consume alcohol means that this is not something I commonly engage in. After the first taste (wine-style, take a sip, swirl it around in the mouth, spit it out, wash it out), I'm not entirely sure what all the fuss is about, but I was never very good with wine either, so maybe I'm just bad with alcoholic beverages.

Comments

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

Whether or not you like beer is determined by (1) your tastes in beer (established by tasting a variety) and (2) what kind of beer you had. What brand was it? If it was one of the "big" North American brands I can guarantee you I wouldn't drink it either, and I *like* beer. :D

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

It wasn't terribly big, I certainly didn't recognize it. I went scavenging individual bottles at Trader Joe's, simply because I needed a few, but I don't remember the brands. I'll see if any of them taste better when I use them, but what struck me most was that the taste was a bit strong for what I want out of a drink. Of course, I didn't have the right culinary accompaniment, but I tend to like much lighter (and more tasteless) drinks. Maybe I'm a perfect candidate for crappy American beer.

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

Heh. Whatever it was, your best bet at finding something you like is trying a wide variety, and being willing to be disappointed but keep trying. I'd say try a Pilsner, try different lagers (they run a gamut), a few different ales, and then a smattering of porters and stouts. If you don't like strong flavors you probably won't like the latter, but it's worth trying to see. If you can get them I'd say try a Newcastle Brown, a Rani Indian Lager, and a plain Corona. Depending on what you like (or don't) about each would mean I could probably point you at a style of beer that you might enjoy (assuming you like it at all). There's nothing wrong with not liking beer -- many people can't stomach the hops, or just don't care for it. To each their own.

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

I should have made this clear earlier, I don't drink alcohol because my body doesn't metabolize it properly, it makes me horribly sick, so my use of them is purely culinary. That makes individual tasting a little more difficult because I can't actually swallow, I take a sip, and then decide whether or not it goes better with mushrooms or with onions (or with both). Right now I just need to figure out how much of the taste actually comes through into the meal, and what kinds of tastes (how much does the bitterness dilute, for instance). Those do sound like interesting choices though, I suspect I'm going to need a lot more experience then normal to do this because I have much less of an idea of what flavors I'm actually working with.

Not drinking beer leaves me with several social fallacies, but it does keep my expenses somewhat lower.

[aries-ascendant.livejournal.com]

I have a recipe for chocolate whiskey and beer cupakes. The Guiness gets cooked out, but it does have Bailey's in the frosting. I've never actually made them, (The "gourmentness" of them is still intimidating me) but the recipe says you can swap the Bailey's for milk. I can pass it along if you'd like.

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

Not up to baking yet (I generally don't bake because I don't like following recipes), but if it's convenient, sure, pass it along (I can always use more recipes).

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

Ah, then of course you can't drink the stuff! Social fallacy be hanged, it's not worth being sick. I knew you had mentioned before that you don't drink, but not why. I took it as a matter of personal preference and left it at that -- people have any number of good reasons for being teetotal.

I have a relatively short answer set for you since I cook with beer.

(1) A medium brown ale like Newcastle goes with pretty much any recipe that calls for beer. You literally can't go wrong -- it might not be as perfect as if you get the exact beer match, but it won't be *wrong*. It is particularly good with hearty dishes that are meat/mushrooms/potatoes/onions sort of things. As an example, you know I love Guinness, but I'll actually use Newcastle (which is much lighter) instead in my recipe for beef stew (or bison or venison, take your pick -- even ostrich) that's basically brown meat with spices, brown onions and garlic, chop up parsnips and potatoes, add mushrooms, add crushed tomatoes and beer and simmer. Come to think of it I should make some again. :D
(2) For anything involving fowl use a lighter beer or a wheat beer. The citrusy wheat beers aries_ascendant was mentioning go particularly nicely, but you can use cheaper generic lagers as well. The various Mexican beers work well in this instance, and are cheap besides.
(3) If you you're looking for sweetness or richness in contrast (as with some cakes and puddings) use Belgian beers if you need paler, and oatmeal stout if you need darker. I actually have a recipe somewhere for a chocolate pudding (of the cakey variety) with oatmeal stout. It's Winter Solstice type fare -- rich and dark and sweet, fuel for when it's cold and miserable out.
(4) Seafood -- again, very light citrusy beers. If you're doing something rich like lobster it's worth going over into a citrusy Belgian beer, or just use a good white wine.

Edited to add: If you look in a larger grocery store you should also be able to find a good assortment of non alcoholic cooking wines -- I think I've still got some sherry kicking about myself for Ropa Vieja (http://latinfood.about.com/od/maindishes/r/ropa_vieja.htm), since I don't care for sherry. They're not terribly expensive and you typically don't need much.

[aries-ascendant.livejournal.com]

You might like a wheat beer. They are pretty light and citrusy, but you have to be careful because they can also be horribly bitter.

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

If I see one, I'll see what I can do with it. Thanks.

BEER SNOOOOBS!

[freezer818.livejournal.com]

Ignore the beer snobs in the room and go get yourself a 12-pack of a decent American beer - Miller High Life and Coors (Yellow label, not silver) for choice. Work through that at your own pace. That will give you a decent baseline as to what "beer" tastes like. From there you can experiment with what flavors you like: Lighter, stronger, more bitter, less,

Truth be told, I tend not to drink anything "fancier" than Michelob or Heineken. Microbrews tend to be too bitter for my tates and the higher-end imports are basically liquid bread to my palate. (Of course, I drink beer less for the taste and more to make the room spin pleasantly).

Re: BEER SNOOOOBS!

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

The problem is that I can't actually drink it, my body rejects alcohol, it makes me horribly sick. I use it for cooking because it's more forgiving then wine. My problem is, not being able to drink, I have severe sampling problems, because it's hard to figure out what it tastes like from one sip (wine experts sip, but they've drunk enough to know what they're looking for. I haven't).

I think for certain types of cooking I need heavier flavors, but I've been influenced by Beer Snobs for a while, so I may be biased. Thanks though, I'll keep that in mind.

Re: BEER SNOOOOBS!

[freezer818.livejournal.com]

In that case, light beers and *shudder* Non-alcoholic beers* like O'Douls or Beck's Hacke Beck. are your best bets.

* completely N/A, but more like 0.5% alcohol (or 1 Proof for the snobs).

Re: BEER SNOOOOBS!

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

I think NA beers are primarily for people who do drink, but aren't that night. I think for cooking purposes I may stick with the good stuff. I can understand the shuddering though. If they inspire that reaction, maybe I should stay away.