Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Bay Lager Beer Bread Muffins + Cheesy Beer Dip

Lately, I've been hanging out at Great South Bay Brewery. Last week, I made banana muffins with Snozberry Stout + they went over really well with the staff + patrons. While I was hanging out in the tasting room on Saturday, I was contemplating a project for this week. I wanted to make beer bread, but didn't know what brew to use. Jon, the lead brewer at GSB suggested I use Dirty Deeds, their Russian Imperial Stout. So, I took a growler home to test out my concoction. First batch was a major fail + it was right before I was having people over for dinner. I accidentally used baking soda, not baking powder, which my friends Gary + JR are never going to let me live down. Ugh, kitchen fails are rare for me, so when it happens I get a little cranky. I also wasn't too keen on the taste of the muffins with the stout - I wanted something lighter. My friend Melissa suggested I make a cheesy beer dip to pair with the muffins [she was handling the bacon jalapeño mac + cheese - which was amaaaaaaaazing], so I looked at what I had in the fridge + decided to use Bay Lager for both dishes. It turned out really well + I'm stoked for my next exbeeriment in the kitchen. Experiment + beer = exbeeriment. Get it? It sounded a lot cooler when I said it. Whatever.


Bay Lager Beer Bread Muffins
makes 12 muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
1 bottle GSB Bay Lager
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
optional: an additional 1/4 cup melted butter to drizzle on top

Preheat oven to 350. Coat muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large glass bowl, combine dry ingredients + mix well. Slowly add beer + melted butter.

Scoop mixture into muffin tin + bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. If desired, drizzle melted butter on top of the warm muffins before serving.


Cheesy Bay Lager Beer Dip
makes a boatload of cheesy goodness, mmmmmm!

1 pound Sharp Cheddar, cut into cubes
1 pound cream cheese
1 bottle GSB Bay Lager

Add all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring well. Once all ingredients are incorporated, pour into a serving bowl.


You can substitute any cheese of your choice, or change the beers up. I suggest using the same beers in both if you're serving them together, but thats only because I like to play it safe.

3 comments:

  1. Mmm... I love stout. I need to visit this brewery. I don't bake much and have made that same mistake (baking soda/powder).

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    1. The brewery is awesome. The tasting room is huge + the people are fantastic. I'm not much of a baker, either. Only started up doing so this year.

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