The Wine Ladies

Great Lakes Brewery, Toronto’s oldest craft brewery visits The Wine Ladies at CP 24 Radio 1050

Indeed because we are The Wine Ladies it doesn’t mean we can’t deviate from the grape every once in awhile and “drink outside the box” and venture into another territory all together. We recently did just that when we devoted a radio show to that other very versatile beverage… BEER!

Our guest in studio owner Peter Bulet of Great Lakes Brewery http://www.GreatLakesBeer.com ,Toronto’s oldest craft brewery family owned and operated. We covered a lot of ground and talked about making it, enjoying it, cooking with it and even bathing in it! Well Marilyn Monroe bathed in Champagne maybe she should have shampooed her hair in beer too!

Caption: Peter Bulet of Great Lake Brewery in studio on CP 24 Radio 1050

Wine is ancient but in fact beer is the oldest form of alcohol on earth, dating back 10,000 years to ancient Sumeria, now Iraq about 6500 years ago.

Wine as we know is made from fermented grape juice. Beer is made from fermented grain. But while grapes already contain easily fermentable sugars, grain has to be altered. It has to have its starch converted into sugar before it can be fermented.

How is beer made? The principle ingredient in beer is malted barley. When barley is malted, it is immersed in water and left to sprout, then heated in a kiln, where its starch is converted into sugar. During brewing this sugar is extracted from the malt with water and the resulting liquid is then fermented by yeast into alcohol.

And beer is just not beer anymore… there are so many kinds, flavors, something for everyone’s tastes and preferences.

Great Lakes Brewery has a full line up of wonderful choices of lagers and ales. Including their very popular Golden Horseshoe Premium Lager, great for the warm weather, thirst quenching and perfect for those desiring a light bodied beer. It’s a perfect companion to lighter fare, such as fish, salads, or spicy dishes like wings or sausages. Or perhaps a perfect year-round beer Red Leaf Smooth Red Lager. A fully flavoured yet deceptively smooth lager with hints of caramel, nuts and toasted malt. Great for the BBQ… bring on the burgers!

The devil made me do it Prepare yourself for a devilishly good time...Devil’s Pale Ale is the brewery’s number one best seller. A medieval style ale that boasts a rich mahogany colour and caramel, malty flavour, like many beers of that time! And Susanne’s favorite the summer seasonal beer Orange Peel Ale one of four seasonal beers available throughout the year. Handcrafted with five specialty malts and five varieties of hops, along with just a touch of honey, heaps of fresh oranges and peels into the boil. A little different, you say? It sure is!. Orange Peel Ale balances the unique flavour of oranges with generous mounts of hops to achieve a slightly fruity and refreshing taste.http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/brands.html

Caption: A sampling of the craft beers of Great Lakes Brewery

But what about cooking with beer? Does cooking with beer bring out different flavours? Is beer best used in a marinade or a sauce?

We asked Corporate Chef Darryl Fletcher from Aqua Star the leading supplier of frozen seafood in North America North America http://www.AquaStar.com, regular radio personality on The Wine Ladies radio show and star of Chefs Corner on http://www.soultv.net to share and spread his passion for food, and this time come up with a few recipes using Great Lakes Brewery’s beers.

Caption: Chef Darryl Fletcher showcases his new beer inspired recipes at Great Lakes Brewery

As always we were inspired and not disappointed! He came up with three easy, delicious and original recipes.

Dijon Beer Marinated Salmon

Course
Choose ONE from Entrée, Appetizer,
Light Lunch/Brunch

Entree
Photograph
Enter file name

Description
Savory Marinated Dish
Ingredient List

1 cup Orange Peel Beer
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp finely chopped pickled ginger
¼ cup 35% crème
4 Aquastar Wild pacific chum Salmon portions

Preparation Instructions

Number steps. Include thawing instructions

1.  In a mixing bowl combine beer, sage, ground pepper, Dijon and pickled ginger and whisk till combined

2.  Place Salmon in a large zip lock freezer bag and pour beer mixture over fillets and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours

3.  Preheat oven to 350, place Salmon on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes

4.  While salmon is baking place remaining marinade and crème in a Sauce pan over med/high heat and reduce by half or until it thickens about 8 – 10 minutes

5.  Once salmon is cooked.  Strain sauce and spoon strained sauce over Salmon fillets

Grape Tomato Beer Shrimp

Course
Choose ONE from Entrée, Appetizer,
Light Lunch/Brunch

Entree
Photograph
Enter file name

Description
Quick easy dinner

Ingredient List

1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced onions
1 clove fresh garlic minced
1-1/2 cups sliced grape tomatoes
½ cup Great lakes IPA
1 cup strained tomato sauce
1lb cooked Aquastar 21/25 shrimp tail off
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions

Number steps. Include thawing instructions

1.  In a large non-stick fry pan over med/high heat add olive oil than onions and garlic sauté until onions soften about 3 minutes

2.  Add mushrooms and tomatoes and beer sauté for 2 minutes.

3.  Add strained tomatoes and shrimp sauté until shrimp are warm 3 -4 minutes

Chef Tips

Serve over some basmati rice
Number of Servings 4

Total Time to Prep

Choose ONE from 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
Include marinate, bake, etc. 20

Wild Pacific Pineapple Salmon

Course
Choose ONE from Entrée, Appetizer,
Light Lunch/Brunch

Entree
Photograph
Enter file name

Description
Light summer dish
Ingredient List
1 cup Great Lakes IPA beer
½ cup finely diced Fresh pineapple
¼ cup red or orange diced pepper
3 drops of Tabasco
4 Aquastar Wild Salmon Chum Salmon Portions

Preparation Instructions
Number steps. Include thawing instructions

1.  In a mixing bowl combine beer, pineapple, pepper and Tabasco mix well

2.  Place salmon and beer and Pineapple mixture in a large zip lock freezer bag and refrigerate for 2 hours

3.  Preheat oven to 350 and place salmon saving the marinade on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 min

4.  While the salmon is baking place marinade in a non-stick fry pan on med/high heat and reduce the liquid by half about 5 minutes

5.  Place salmon on a plate and spoon pineapple sauce over salmon

Caption: Susanne tries a special new brew “X” at Great Lakes Brewery.