Category Archives: Featured Belgian beer

Beer of the Week: Lava

Published in Featured Belgian beer, News About Our Beers & Brewers on May 15, 2012

Lava

We’ve known for a while that full-bodied, richly-flavored Lava is highly sought after by Scandinavian beer geeks and that Iceland’s beauty and culture are irresistible.  But did you know that Martha Stewart has also fallen for Lava and the Artic Isle?  On Tuesday, May 9, the Martha Stewart Iceland show aired on the Hallmark channel.  In addition to riding onto the set on a pony, speaking with Icelandic First Lady Dorrit Moussaieff, and contemplating waterfalls and Nordic cuisine, Martha gave Lava a shoutout – she thinks it should be a delicious addition to your your shopping list.

Also on the show was Chef Gunnar Gialason of Dill Restaurant, who prepared a delicious dish of dried fish with creamy butter and sea-salted hazelnuts.  This buttery appetizer is absolutely perfect with Lava.  But if you can’t get your hands on dried fish, Lava is also amazing with oysters, lobster and crayfish, arctic char, herring, sea urchin, halibut, gravlax, lamb, reindeer, rabbit and shark.  Add a handful of Icelandic herbs (angelica, dulse, sorrel, dock, yarrow, wild arctic thyme, juniper, crowberry, caraway, scurvywort, moss) to give your treat your tastebuds to true Nordic taste.

Stay tuned this week for more Icelandic recipes and treats!

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Music to Sip By: Salvatore Adamo

Published in Featured Belgian beer, Music on May 11, 2012

Lambickx: excellent by itself and as exquisite accompaniment to food.  Salvatore Adamo: excellent by himself and as exquisite accompaniment to food.  Especially romantic dinners.

When it comes to beautiful lyrics and mood-setting music, you can’t get much better than Belgo-Italian crooner Salvatore Adamo.  Just as Lambickx is a blend of hand-picked young lambics that Don selects based on “complexity [and] brilliance,” so too is Adamo’s singing and composing informed by artists and styles that are complex and brilliant.  According to wikipedia:

Adamo’s early influences were the poetry of Victor Hugo, the music of French crooners such as Jacques Prévert or Georges Brassens, and the Italian canzonette. He started singing and composing his own songs from an early age. His debut was in a Radio Luxembourg competition, where he participated as singer and composer of the song “Si j’osais” (“If I dared”) winning the competition’s final held in Paris, in 14 February 1960.

And just as lambics – and Lambickx – must age and mature for optimal drinking quality, this singer has managed to age and mature gracefully for more than 40 years and enthralling audiences with his romantic style.

Adamo’s first hit: Sans toi, ma mie

Tombe la Neige

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The Genius of Kobe Desramaults

Published in Cooking with Beer, Featured Belgian beer, Travel Tips on May 10, 2012

Kobe Desramaults is the head chef at In De Wulf (what a great name!), located in Danrouter, Belgium.  Lambickx pairs perfectly with his dish of lightly cured sea bass, radish, shellfish broth, and sloeberry vinegar.  But until Wendy returns to the US with Kobe’s cookbook in hand, we are recipe-less.

But in place of a recipe, I thought I’d share a few facts about Kobe’s culinary genius.  In De Wulf sits in the place of Kobe’s childhood home, which evolved from a cottage, to a brasserie, to an inn.  Kobe studied under some of the world’s best contemporary chefs - Sergio Herman and Carles Abellán – then returned home to transform his mother’s restaurant into a Michelin-star winning establishment.  In De Wulf received its first Michelin star in 2005, making Kobe the youngest Michelin starred chef in Belgium; to date, In De Wulf now boasts two Michelin stars.  Recently, Kobe has been named one of the top 100 chefs in the world, and at 31, he is among the youngest.

Kobe’s cooking focuses on bringing out the best in local ingredients, no matter the season.  In his own words:

“Every day there’s something changing. It’s to be found in some little things like the scent of the first elders bringing me directly back to my childhood, the wild dock leaves in the talus, the glance of the first blackberries…

It’s the same feeling a want to reflect in my kitchen. The menu doesn’t change every season but when the time is right. I call it ‘organic kitchen’ because I have to adjust it to the things happening around us. The menu never changes from dish to dish… I see it as a never ending project. Every day there is worked and puzzled on. Adapted but never feigned. It especially has to be ‘real’, sometimes brutal, soft, just natural. Being honest of who we are and where we are as the biggest challenge.”

In Kobe’s spirit, why not improvise a dish out of local ingredients?  Let us know what
amazing dish you have created, and since Lambickx dazzles with most food pairings, try it with your creation and let us know what you think!

Follow Kobe on Twitter (@kobewulf) and prepare to be tantalized, scintillated, and culinarily inspired by both his tweets and this beautiful video of In De Wulf’s offerings:

 

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Beer of the Week: Lambickx

Published in Featured Belgian beer, News About Our Beers & Brewers on May 7, 2012

Lambickx

Lambickx™ is Vanberg & Famille’s brand of hand-selected and blended lambics. Every Lambic with the Lambickx™ name is made from casks personally tasted and chosen by Don Feinberg, one of the first importers of Belgian beer to America and founder of the first Belgian-only brewery in the U.S. Don chooses his Lambics for their complexity, brilliance and drinking excellence both by themselves and as exquisite accompaniments to food.

Luckily for stateside lambic-lovers, Don and Wendy were just at Brouwerij De Troch (the source of the traditional lambics used in Lambickx and Lambrucha), blending new editions of both Lambickx and Lambrucha.  According to Wendy, the newest batch of Lambickx “demonstrates how very complex, aromatic, delicious, and different almost all lambics can be”; Lambickx’s Ratebeer reviewers seem to agree.  Shipping soon from Belgium and coming to the West Coast for the first time!

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Music to Sip By: Giusy Ferreri

Published in Featured Belgian beer, Music on May 4, 2012

The first time I tried Contessa, I was eating dinner at the Farmhouse, happily munching on cheese curds and salad in between sips of this refreshing Italian Pale Ale.  “Crisp, floral, good beer,” I remember thinking to myself, followed by, “could use some chicken.”  Unfortunately, my stomach was too full to make use of my latter insight, but I went home very full and very happy with my first Italian beer experience.

During the next few weeks, I didn’t think much about Contessa – other than wanting more of it – until Wendy told me the story behind the label.  And since then, I haven’t come across a beer label with such a romantic, sad, and poignant story.  The short version: star crossed lovers forbidden to wed, secret trysts in a meadow, the woman forced to marry against her will, the heartbroken man driven to join and ultimately die the Crusades, the heartbroken woman fleeing to a convent to spend the rest of her days.  I do the story a grave injustice by summarizing it so curtly; you can read the full version on the Contessa page.

This story brings me to this week’s music and beer pairing: Contessa and Giusy Ferreri.  This Italian singer-songwriter – and the runner up in the first Italian edition of the X Factor – is a powerful, soulful vocalist who transitioned from television celebrity to pop diva with her single, “Non Ti Scordar Mai Di Me” (“Don’t You Ever Forget About Me“).  Judging by the music video, the motivation behind the song -  a jilted lover – is certainly different from story behind the beer label, but the sentiment is certainly the same.  And though the song is, ultimately, a sad one, the accompaniment is deceptively upbeat; it is as if the backdrop to Giusy Ferreri’s is full of “sugary caramel notes” that “yield to [the] sweet bitter” of her voice.

Oh, and to bring everything full circle: toward the end of the video (around 2:52), an angry Giusy Ferreri digs into a chicken dish (the kind I wish I had eaten at Farmhouse) meant for two.  Giusy, I agree – breakup chicken is much more fulfilling than breakup pizza and ice cream.  But just think about how much more delicious that chicken would have been with Contessa.

Non Ti Scordar Mai Di Me (Don’t You Ever Forget About Me)

More music videos for your viewing and listening pleasure:

Novembre

La Scala

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Herb Roasted Chicken and Roasted Baby Root Vegetables

Published in Cooking with Beer, Featured Belgian beer on May 1, 2012

Savory, sweet, and succulent, roasted chicken pairs well with a range of beers, and especially well with Contessa.  Contessa’s sweet and bitter American hops complement the savory herbs, and the beer’s sugary caramel notes add dimension to this simple, flavorful dish.  And if you pick up an especially plump chicken, Contessa’s carbonation and hops will help cleanse the palate of chicken grease.

This herb roasted chicken and roasted baby root vegetables recipe is from Emeril Lagasse.  Photo credit goes to Food Network.

Ingredients


Herb Roasted Chicken:

1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) whole chicken
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped sage leaves
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves (reserve the parsley stems)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
2 bay leaves


Baby Root Vegetables:
1/4 pound baby turnips, peeled and stem ends trimmed
1/4 pound baby red carrots, peeled and stem ends trimmed
1/4 pound orange carrots, peeled and stem ends trimmed
1/4 pound baby golden beets, peeled and stem ends trimmed
1/4 pound baby beets, peeled and stem ends trimmed
1/4 pound fingerling potatoes, halved
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Wash the chicken and pat dry. Season well inside and out with the salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, thyme, sage, parsley and olive oil. Rub the olive oil and herb blend into the cavity of the chicken as well as all over the exterior. Place the parsley stems into the cavity of the chicken, and squeeze each lemon quarter into the chicken and place the rind in as well. Put the bay leaves inside the chicken and place the bird in a roasting pan or a saute pan, and put it into the oven. Roast for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is golden brown, and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before carving.

For the vegetables: Place the vegetables in a large mixing bowl, and season with the salt and pepper.  Drizzle with the olive oil and place in a roasting pan or on a sheet pan. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning once midway during cooking to ensure even browning. Serve with the herb roasted chicken.

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Beer of the Week: Contessa

Published in Featured Belgian beer, News About Our Beers & Brewers on April 30, 2012

Contessa is an “Italian Pale Ale” that evokes “summer in Tuscany under a full moon.”  It features herbal, floral and citrus aromas of tangerine and grapefruit. The sugary caramel notes yield to sweet bitter American hops. There is a subtle lilt of chestnut and the finish is attenuated.  It is made with water from the aqueduct of the Fiora, which springs from volcanic origins and passes through porous rock.

The lovely Contessa on the label is The Countess of Prato, a tragic figure in the history of Tuscany and legends of love. Prato (translation: the lawn of the Countess) sits on a large plateau on the slopes of Mount Amiata, for which the brewery is named. Prato is surrounded by majestic beech woods, heirloom chestnut groves, and fragrant pine forests.

In the Middle Ages, Count Aldobrandeschi fell in love with the Contessa.  As with Romeo and Juliet, their romance was star crossed. Forbidden to wed, the two young lovers would secretly meet in her meadow, embraced by the boughs of beech trees, and shielded from prying eyes. But the boughs could not protect them forever, and the countess was forced to marry against her will. The heartbroken count joined the Crusades, roaming lands far and wide in an attempt to forget his beloved.  But each night, until his death on the battlefield, he dreamed of her.  When the countess learned of her lover’s death, she took refuge in a convent until the end of her days.  Although their story ends unhappily, their love was so strong that some claim on warm summer evenings, you can see the ghosts of the two lovers traversing the “Lawn of the Countess.”

Great with Food

We love Contessa with spit roasted lamb and chicken, rustic soups, artisan cheeses like Taleggio and Pecorino, and citrus sorbets.

About the brewers

A fortuitous encounger with Amiata’s brewer at a Lambic café in Eizeringen, Belgium in February 2011 sped Wendy and Don to Tuscany and led them to import Vanberg & DeWulf’s first Italian artisanal beers.  Birra Amiata’s brewers – brothers Claudio and Gennaro Cerullo – are making beer in an adorable brewery in the poetic setting of Arcidosso near Monte Amiata amidst chestnut forests and vineyards. The Cerullo brothers are producing exceptionally balanced Belgian-influenced beers with a rare Tuscan delicacy of spicing that puts focus on local and indigenous ingredients — Amiata heirloom chestnuts, Marruca honey, Maremma saffron, and even local crocus.

Wendy and Don have just arrived in Italy – expect updates from Il Belpaese soon!

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Double Binchoise Pancakes: peachy keen with Pêche Mel.

Published in Cooking with Beer, Featured Belgian beer on April 28, 2012

Among other things, Binche, located in the Belgian province of Hainut, is famous for their local pancakes, known as doubles.  Made with both flour and buckwheat flour, as well as a dash of Binchoise beer (or, in this case, Pêche Mel) the pancakes are stacked and filled with a strong Belgian cheese.

Double Binchoise pancakes

Recipe and photo from the Belgian Tourist Office

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6; yield: 12 pancakes) 
400g buckwheat flour
250ml blonde Binchoise beer or Pêche Mel
300ml milk
1 ripe Boulette or Herve Piquant cheese
100g butter or lard
6 eggs

Preparation

Make the pancake batter by beating together the buckwheat flour, eggs, beer and 25g of melted butter or lard in a bowl.

Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for 30 mins, then make the pancakes in a frying pan coated with melted butter or lard.

Spread a pancake with the cheese, then make a sandwich with another pancake on top and fry these double pancakes until the cheese melts.

Serve the double pancake on a plate and place a knob of butter on top to melt into it. Season sparingly with salt and pepper.

Music to Sip By: Axelle Red

Published in Featured Belgian beer, Music on April 27, 2012

Bright amber Pêche Mel and fiery-haired Belgian singer-songwriter Axelle Red – perhaps our most aesthetically obvious beer and music pairing to date.  But similarities between this beer and singer are more than skin deep: just as Pêche Mel ”redefines what a beer with fruit can taste like,” Axelle Red redefines what soul, disco, and – heck – what a lawyer can sound like.

Axelle Red (a.k.a. Fabienne Demal) graduated from Vrije Universiteit Brussel with a law degree in 1993.  She released her first album, Sans Plus Attendre, the same year, and shot to music stardom.  Ever since, Axelle Red has been releasing soulful hits and winning music award after award.  But beyond the musical landscape, Axelle Red also actively campaigns for human rights, whether as a UNICEF ambassador for children and women’s rights in war-torn regions or as a spokesperson against extremism, child soldiers and drugs.

Pêche Mel: “a fruit beer with big taste and out of this world peach aroma.”  Axelle Red: a slight-framed lawyer-singer-songwriter with big soul (figuratively and literally) and out of this world devotion to saving the world.  Both: a lot of peppery kick.

Happy sipping!

La Claque

Naive

Borinage Pagnons: A sweet companion for Pêche Mel

Published in Cooking with Beer, Featured Belgian beer on April 26, 2012

Borinage pagnons are little sugar pies that beg to be dunked in coffee, hot chocolate, or drank with a big, fruity beer like Pêche Mel.  To put it generously, my French is less than fluent.  However, I believe that “borinage pagnons” translates to “borinage companions,” which is absurdly adorable.

Borinage pagnons: the sweetest little companion for Pêche Mel.

Borinage Pagnons

Recipe and photo from the Belgian Tourist Office

Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients for 6 small pagnons:
300g plain flour
100g melted butter
30g yeast, blended with warm milk
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
2 tsp caster sugar
Golden granulated sugar
Black coffee

Preparation

Sieve the flour into a bowl and add the eggs, melted butter, yeast, salt and sugar.

Bring the mixture together with a fork, then with your hands and knead well.

Leave the mixture to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

Split the risen mixture into two balls and press them into buttered sandwich cake tins.

Leave to rise a little more.

Press your fingers into the mixture to make holes and fill them with the granulated sugar and a few drops of coffee.

Bake in a hot oven (200°C [around 390°F]) for 15 to 20 minutes and then leave to cool.

Serve with coffee or hot chocolate for a delicious tea-time treat, or serve with Pêche Mel for a sweet happy hour snack or after dinner dessert!

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