Beer, BBQs & Making the Most of a British Summer.

Time to fire up the grill.

Most people we meet who love great beer also love great food.
At Brewser, Ash and I are no different. One of our favourite ways to spend an afternoon is gathered around a barbecue with good company, great beer and something delicious cooking over fire. So when the British summer made one of its fleeting appearances last week, we decided to make the most of it.

Armed with a box of beers from Pomona Island, we fired up the BBQ, experimented with a few recipes and spent the afternoon doing what beer was made for: slowing down, sharing food and enjoying great company.
One thing we always encourage people to try is cooking with beer, not just drinking it. Beer can bring bitterness, sweetness, acidity and depth to a dish in ways that few other ingredients can. Better still, you can pair the finished dish with the very beer that helped create it.

The result was one of our favourite BBQ menus we’ve made in a long time.
A whole cauliflower glazed with IPA and served with a rich beer cheese sauce, followed by crisp waffles smothered in stout caramel. We’ve even included a bonus recipe that disappeared almost as quickly as the beer.
If summer decides to return, we’d highly recommend giving them a go. And if you do, let us know what you think.

• 1 large cauliflower
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt

• 200ml IPA
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

• 25g butter
• 25g plain flour
• 150ml IPA or pale ale
• 250ml whole milk
• 150g mature cheddar, grated
• 1 tsp English mustard
• Salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the whole cauliflower for 5 minutes.
2. Drain thoroughly and leave to steam dry.
3. Mix the olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt, then rub all over the cauliflower.
4. Roast on a BBQ with the lid closed (or in an oven at 220°C) for 40-50 minutes until tender.

5. Combine the IPA, honey, mustard and cider vinegar in a saucepan.
6. Simmer until reduced by roughly half and lightly syrupy.
7. Brush generously over the cauliflower and return to the BBQ. Don’t be afraid of a few blackened edges – that’s where the magic happens.

8. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour.
9. Cook for a minute before gradually whisking in the beer.
10. Add the milk and continue whisking until smooth.
11. Simmer gently until thickened.
12. Stir through the cheddar and mustard until fully melted.
13. Season to taste.

We hadn’t planned on making dessert. Then someone suggested stout caramel. The rest is history.

The roasted malt character of a good stout brings notes of chocolate, coffee and dark sugar that elevate a simple caramel into something genuinely special. Paired with vanilla ice cream and toasted walnuts, it’s dangerously easy to keep going back for more.

You’ll Need

For the waffles

• 225g self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 250ml milk
• 50g melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

For the stout caramel

• 200g soft brown sugar
• 50ml water
• 200ml stout
• 100ml double cream
• 50g butter
• Pinch of sea salt

 

Method

1. Separate the egg.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, milk, melted butter, vanilla and egg yolk until smooth.
3. Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks and gently fold into the batter.
4. Leave to rest for at least 20 minutes.

For the caramel:

5. Pour the stout into a saucepan and simmer until reduced by half.
6. Add the sugar and water and stir until dissolved.
7. Stir through the reduced stout.
8. Add the cream and butter.
9. Continue cooking until thick, glossy and silky.
10. Finish with a pinch of sea salt.

 

Cook the waffles in a hot waffle iron until crisp and golden. No waffle iron? A frying pan works surprisingly well too.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, toasted walnuts and an outrageously generous drizzle of stout caramel.

We used Pomona Island’s The Bravery To Miss, a chocolate and banana stout that felt like it had been brewed specifically for this recipe.

• Watermelon, cut into thick triangles
• Harissa spice blend
• Halloumi
• Fresh mint

1. Coat the watermelon generously with harissa spice.
2. Place on the cooler edge of the BBQ and cook slowly.
3. Gradually move closer to the heat as the watermelon softens.
4. Cook until slightly charred, caramelised and beginning to collapse.
5. Grill the halloumi until golden.
6. Top each piece of watermelon with halloumi and a generous scattering of fresh mint.