As the seasons slide into low gear, I feel drawn to meals that take a little more time on the stove, have more lasting warmth and those that feed my spirit as well as my body. Moving from quick garden salads, easy tomato sandwiches to roasts, soups and layered baked pastas, I treasure the chance to rewrite the story of how I fuel and nourish myself and my loved ones in response to Earth’s revolution around the Sun.

Above the memories, reliability and comfort derived from a time honored recipe, one thing I cherish is the magic of making them anew with who and who we pair them with. Much like food, beer brings people together around a table, a fire or a story. Pairing takes two beloved celebrations of life and turns them into a romance. There is always a beer built to enhance whatever we are eating. Perhaps the opposite of what one would expect, I discovered my love for food after my love for beer. Exploring the layers of flavor in classic English ales led me to an appreciation of how they amplified the pleasure from the dishes I paired them with. Playing with contrast or the ability to elevate flavor nuances, and my favorite, the moment when two complimentary flavors carry both the beer and the meal into a higher realm of joy, became the inspiration for me learning to cook and bake. 

Now, as we are ushered back into the darker days, I find myself walking to our local beer shop more frequently, considering which bottle to accompany my meal instead of just pulling from what is already in the fridge. Naturally gravitating to the bigger, bolder beers that can stand up to my richer meals seems to also ease the transition into the colder air that surrounds us. 

The inspiration for sitting down to share these thoughts was the annual release of our Barleywine. A beer that we have been brewing and barrel aging on and off since 2016, Barleywine embodies the complexity resulting from a multitude of quality malts and patience. Aged on oak barrels for 8 months, the beer comes into its own with time. Like bringing out seasonal decorations or unearthing my favorite winter sweater each year, tasting the Barleywine once it has found itself, fills me with excitement and gratitude. 

Tonight I matched our Barleywine with a robust vegetable stew and honestly if I ate meat, I would have without a doubt replaced it with a beef stew. Both recipes share the slow simmered herbs, garlic, onion, pepper, red wine and at times, the bright notes from lemon. The meat brings in the big flavors, especially from the garlic and onions being cooked in the fond, the browned fat left from searing the meat. The veg version needs a little more umph to carry it into the same realm as the beef. A mushroom broth, extra garlic, a splash of soy sauce, balsamic, and, if you’re down with fish, my favorite is a hint of Worcestershire that helps mimic that seared beef flavor. 

The deep layers of dried fruit and toffee from the Barleywine take hold of the stew's umami and pull it up into a higher level. If the stew is a tree, the sip of Barleywine after each bite is the leaves in autumn blaze. What was robust, strong, and nourishing is now a new delight to the senses. I give gratitude to these two for helping me acclimate to the annual wintering of our dinner table and look forward to much more flavor exploration throughout the season. 

Cheers, Jenn