”LET`S HAVE A BEER!”
Over countless American summers, this cry of the thirsty has been complicated by the blessing of choice. Among the mass-produced brands, one can no longer say just ”Bud.” There`s Bud Light and Bud Dry as well. Say
”Miller,” and you may be asked if you want Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft or Miller Genuine Draft Light.
Line extension is the name of the game in the highly competitive beer industry. With beer sales down and advertising and marketing costs up, there apparently is too much risk, even for the big companies, to invent new names. There is one trend, too, that no major producer can ignore. The light category is becoming the heavyweight of the beer business.
Nearly one of every three beers consumed in the United States last year was low-calorie, Beverage Industry magazine reports. Light beer`s market share jumped nearly 75 percent during the `80s. (In this era of raised health and fitness consciousness, non-alcoholic beers are becoming more popular too.)
As a sometime beer drinker who usually seeks the flavor payoff of a hearty ale or well-hopped foreign or American micro-brewery product, I`ve done my best to ignore light beer. I tasted it (tried to find taste in it) several years ago, and ever since, I have asked those who order it, ”Why not just drop an ice cube in a glass of the real thing?”
The calorie count in a light beer is not quite a third less than regular beer and something less than half that of an equivalent quantity of white wine.
To my surprise, a recent tasting of eight light beers showed that beermakers were not content to leave bad enough alone. Using yeasts genetically designed to keep alcohol low and improve fermentation techniques, they are producing more flavorful beers. (Even their promoters will encourage you to drink them very cold, however.)
The tasting was blind. Nonetheless, a large majority of the group was polite enough to vote for Beck`s Light, the beer of our host, the favorite. Stroh`s Light was the most popular of the domestic beers. Bud Light fared badly. These results were similar to those in three other cities.
Despite the national inclination to lighten up, there are plenty of options for those who are seeking a more meaningful beer experience. The Weinkeller Brewery, 6417 W. Roosevelt Rd., in Berwyn, offers beers from more than 40 nations, plus several house brews. The Goose Island Brewing Company, 1800 N. Clybourn Ave., and the Berghoff Brewery & Restaurant, 436 W. Ontario St., are selling their tasty products on the premises along with food. Baderbrau, an award-winning lager produced in Elmhurst, is available in bars and restaurants on draft as well as in bottle.
Beer has long been used in cooking. Like wine, it can become the base of an excellent marinade or add flavor to stews and sauces. In the recipes that follow, it is used to create true beer nuts, cook an Oriental shrimp and rice dish and add distinctive flavor to bread.
HOMEMADE BEER NUTS
About 1 1/2 cups
1 1/2 cups (one 12-ounce bottle) lager beer
1/3 cup coarse (kosher) salt
12 ounces shelled raw peanuts
1. Combine beer, salt and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring as necessary to dissolve salt.
2. Remove pan from heat and add peanuts. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 325 degrees. Spread nuts in a single layer on a non-corrosive baking pan. Bake 20 minutes, stirring once. Turn off heat and leave nuts in the oven for at least 3 hours. Store in an airtight container.
BEER-COOKED SHRIMP AND RICE
Four servings
1 pound medium shrimp (about 30)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup long-grain rice
3 cups (two 12-ounce bottles) lager beer
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped parsley or a combination of parsley and cilantro
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1. Peel and devein shrimp.
2. In a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat onion and 2 teaspoons garlic in oil until soft. Add rice, stir to coat with oil, then add 1 cup beer, the chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring liquid a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover pan and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine remaining 2 cups beer, 1 teaspoon garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 or 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook only until they are pink and firm, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat but leave shrimp in liquid.
4. Add parsley to rice and fluff with a fork. Portion rice onto 4 plates. Remove shrimp from liquid with a slotted spoon and portion onto plates. Pour teriyaki sauce into a sauceboat and pass at the table.
MICROWAVE-RISE BEER BREAD
One loaf
2 cups bread flour
1 3/4 cups medium rye flour
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine
3 teaspoons (1 envelope) 50 percent-faster active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup beer
1. Fit the processor bowl with the steel blade. Combine and pulse the flours, honey, butter, yeast, salt, caraway seeds and garlic.
2. Measure the beer into a 2-cup microwaveable measure. Heat the beer to the equivalent of hot tap water (120 degrees) in the microwave, set on high power, for about 1 minute.
3. With the processor motor running, very slowly drizzle the beer through the feed tube, holding back the last small portion. When the dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball, knead for 60 seconds with the machine running. Add the last liquid only if necessary.
4. Grease a microwaveable 8-inch round cake pan. Remove the dough from the bowl. Knead the dough by hand a few seconds on a lightly floured surface, adding flour as necessary if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place loosely in the prepared pan. Flatten only slightly. Cover the dough loosely with microwaveable plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick vegetable oil spray. Set the dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Place the bread off-center in the microwave and set an 8-ounce glass of water next to it.
6. To micro-rise, lower the microwave power to the appropriate micro-rise setting (in a 600-to-700-watt oven, between 10 and 35 percent power, or around 250 watts; in a 500-watt oven, 10 percent power). Heat for 3 minutes. Rest for 3 minutes. Heat for 3 minutes. Rest for 26 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees.
7. Remove the plastic wrap and place the bread on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until medium brown.
8. Remove the bread from the pan to a rack to cool slghtly. This bread is best served warm (or toasted). Wrap leftover bread in aluminum foil.
-From ”Bread in Half the Time” (Crown)
