Grinning and Beer-ing It
As you may know, my husband is a chef; he’s classically trained in French cuisine, so adding booze to food is kind of mandatory. Although when we had the opportunity to check out Garrison Brewing and I suggested we round up some dishes to cook with beer, he did raise a bit of a ‘huffy’ eyebrow.
I reminded him that he’s put beer in his rib marinade, and chefs in Belgium have been adding beer to their dishes for years, so it should be pretty awesome. As we parked the car by the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market, he muttered something about the sacrilege of choosing beer over wine – I ignored him and got ready to try something fresh from the tap.
Garrison has been brewing hand-crafted beer since 1997, and they have certainly become a pillar of beer production in our region.
Now I’ll admit that I know very little about the production of beer, but I’ve made Garrison a regular stop on my trips to the Seaport Market. The space they have on the waterfront holds not only their storefront but their brew house as well. There is something about being able to purchase something so close to where it’s produced that makes it even more appealing.
The space at Garrison is definitely enhanced by the gigantic silo out front and the three silver tanks you see as soon as you walk through their front doors. Garrison is a Maritime success story, and part of that story is being able to incorporate regional ingredients into their products.
Garrison sources their hops from four local fields including: Meander River Farm in Ashdale, Wysmykal Farm in Northport, Ross Farm Museum in New Ross and FiddleHop Farm in Glenholme.
A unique feature of Garrison is that their product is not only made onsite, but they have staff who are exceptionally well-versed on production, sourcing and development of their products. We met Meg and Eric at the bar and they took us through a tasting of some of the Garrison products. Remember my husband, who had shuffled out of the car? He came to life at the mention of the tasting. And beer tasting is another great feature of Garrison – you can book a space and have their uber knowledgeable staff guide you through their products.
Okay, sorry… back to the beers! We had the opportunity to try a combination of specialty beers and some of their standards. Eric recommended the best way to experience the beers – much like you would a wine tasting – was to move from lighter beers to more intense flavours.
Garrison really does produce beer for a whole bunch of occasions – from a very patio friendly and fruit-forward Raspberry Wheat to the rich, pure, roasty flavour of their Martello Stout. We started off with Garrison’s Irish Red – this is the original beer brewed at Garrison. It has some great light caramel flavours without a hint of bitterness (keep chicken in mind – we’ll get back to that later).
Next we moved on to the Nut Brown – another classic Garrison product. It’s an exceptional malty beer with hints of mocha. Then we enjoyed the Martello Stout – a delicious, full beer that leans toward the plum or date side (the head of the beer had a fantastic dark colour from the dark roast and chocolate malts). Trust me – unfiltered deliciousness. We rounded out our tasting with the Hopyard Pale – a nice citrus forward beer, with just the right amount of bitterness drawn out by the grapefruit.
A tasting at Garrison is certainly not an experience to be missed. The approachability of the staff, their incredible knowledge of the details of the beer and the exceptional environment make Garrison a great place for a group tasting.
After our visit, we were excited to turn our beers into meals. And I even caught my husband scheming on the way home…
Cooking in the winter requires braising. It provides that perfect, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food needed for the cold. As we each enjoyed a refreshing glass of Raspberry Wheat (not just for the summer patio, I’ll have you know), we realized we’d taken home a great selection of beers, and did a quick inventory.
Garrison Irish Red
With the great caramel flavours of the Garrison Irish Red, we decided a braised chicken would be a great place to start. We started with browning the chicken, just enough to get a golden, crisp crust (our chicken is from Oulton’s in Windsor; if you haven’t purchased meat from there yet, I seriously advise you to make the trip. And bring an apple for the horses. Trust me on this one).
Once the chicken has colour, take it out of the pan and add in your vegetables – onions, celery and carrots are always good places to start. Once they get going add a tin of tomato paste with the Irish Red and reduce down by half. Add your chicken back in, cover and finish in the oven (feel free to let me know how great this is – the flavour of browning the chicken is fantastic with the light toffee of the Red).
Hopyard Pale
And what if you’re not in for braising, but still want that nice warm, winter cooking feeling? Have you ever felt the urge to pair citrus and tomato? Don’t I have a soup for you! Start off with a sauté of the usual suspects – garlic and onion. Once those get rolling, add a bottle of the Hopyard Pale to deglaze and a tin of diced tomatoes, with an equivalent tin of water. Simmer this to combine all the flavors and purée (and we tossed in some shredded aged cheddar – this added the perfect edge to the soup).
It’s great to be able to enjoy exceptionally well-made, local products – especially in their liquid form. Who would have thought beer was good for so much more than just enjoying on a patio? The wonderful staff at Garrison do a pretty good job convincing you of that.