Eating isn't Cheating: Flying Dog

Showing posts with label Flying Dog. Show all posts

Good people drink good beer

Neil, Eating isn't Cheating Monday, July 11, 2011

There’s a great passage in the book High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (great book, later made into an average film with John Cusack) which talks about how the things we like in many ways define who we are. It’s argued that a person’s taste in movies, music, sports, etc all shape what kind of a person we are, and ultimately matter more than what we are really like as a person. Or, perhaps more accurately, that a person’s tastes directly affect their personality. The saying goes ‘It’s what you like, not what you’re like, that really matters’ and it’s something which instantly struck a chord with me.

Just think about how music can effect a person’s younger years, from little things like a choice of pub or club to much bigger decisions like a choice of partner, your taste in music had the power to affect both.

I thought about this for the first time in a long time this weekend, after reading a quote from another excellent, although very different, writer. The starkly simple quote from Hunter S. Thompson can be seen on the branded glassware of Flying Dog brewery, who’s bottles are adorned with images and a logo designed by the very same artist who did the cover art for “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Although if you want a book by Hunter S. to read with a beer I’d recommend The Rum Diaries, it’s a book riddled with sweaty bars and beautiful beaches that inspires a thirst like nothing else I’ve read.

“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S. Thompson

I think i’ve got to agree. Since starting this blog I’ve been introduced in person to more like-minded people than I ever expected. Like a second batch of University years I’ve been thrown into a living, breathing, squabbling microcosm of beer geeks and bloggers that just happen to be some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met.

As well as the people, the search itself for good beer has led me to some of the best food I’ve ever had, and in many cases it’s happened the other way round - A pilgrimage to Borough Market a few years ago is a perfect example, where a plate of perfect oysters from Wright Brothers was accompanied by my first taste of a Meantime Stout.

Life’s far too short to settle for anything other than brilliant. It’s why good beer does matter, it’s why choosing to eat well matters, and it’s why travelling matters. Who you are is effected by what you like because our experiences are important, they impact massively on how much you enjoy life and in some ways make you who you are.

So don’t settle for anything other than brilliant, because as far as I can see, good people really do drink good beer.

Raging Bitch

Flying Dog Raging Bitch - Belgian Style American IPA

Neil, Eating isn't Cheating Monday, May 02, 2011

Flying Dog Raging Bitch (8.3%) is a mixed up sounding beer. A Belgian style IPA hopped in the American style, i.e. big, bold hops and lots of em. It's a beer I first tried on a recent trip to the excellent House of The Trembling Madness in York and I liked it so much I bought a few bottles from the shop downstairs to bring home and review with a slightly more level head (I'd had a fair few beers already that day so no time for note taking).

First impressions of this beer are that it pours like a classic American IPA, orange/amber colour but very clear and bubbly. So far so standard. But then when you give it a whiff it's really big and malty, with that classic Belgian yeast funk from the yeast and a little spice. Not a lot of hops initially but they came out more as I went down the glass.

I poured it fairly aggressively to knock a touch of carbonation out and create a nice big head. This meant that, for me personally, the carbonation was spot on. Not too foamy but nice and tight with small bubbles in the body.

The flavour is sweet and malty in the beginning, but not as malty as the colour or aroma would suggest. There's also a clear banana fruitiness that obviously comes from the Belgian yeast. It then becomes dry and boozy in the finish with fruity hops and a definate piney, resinous hop twang that is dry and spicy, more of a pepper flavour than anything more exotic though. There's also an orange pith character that comes through as the beer warms, which I think comes from the use of Amarillo hops.

It's a really unusual beer. It has that big American IPA hit from the hops but it's Belgian character is also very clear. It wasn't really what I expected, I think expected a super-hopped Duvel, but that said it definitely delivers on what it promises. It does taste like a Belgian style American IPA, just not in the way I expected. Really nice and definitely worth a try if you can get a hold of it.

Thai Duck

Hot and sour Thai duck with coconut lime rice and bok choi

Neil, Eating isn't Cheating Monday, April 11, 2011

I nearly always have duck in a french style, with a sweet reduced red wine sauce to counteract the rich duck, usually served with some sauteed potatoes or the like. But with the weather so sunny I fancied something a bit fresher and lighter.

I've had duck in the fantastic Jino's Thai Cafe in Headingley before as one of the specials, served with a hot sweet tamarind sauce that perfectly balanced against the succulent, slightly pink, crispy skinned duck. So with that as my inspiration I headed to the huge asian supermarket in Leeds city centre to buy some ingredients, it's a fantastic place and I picked up everything I needed for the recipe that was formulating in my imagination.

The hot and sour Thai duck delivered on everything I'd hoped it would, hot, sour, sweet, salty crispy skinned duck, combined with creamy yet zesty rice. It's a fantasic combination, and all washed down with an In-heat Wheat by Flying Dog it was an absolute winner whilst soaking up the rays.

To make this you'll need

(This serves two, but with another one or two pieces of duck could easily stretch to serve 3-4 people as there was plenty of rice and sauce leftover and when the duck is sliced it goes a long way)

2 Medium duck breasts
1 Tablespoon of Tom Yum hot and sour paste
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
Thumb size piece of ginger (finely chopped)
Vegetable oil
100ml water
1-2 tablespoons clear runny honey
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
Juice of half a lime
2 inches of chopped coriander stems (from large bunch)

The rice and bok choi

300ml Thai Jasmin Rice (or basmati)
400ml coconut milk
400ml water (use the empty can)
Juice of 1 lime
2 heads of bok choi, cut into bite sized pieces
Soy Sauce

Directions

Put the rice, coconut milk, lime juice and water into a large pan (that you have a lid for) and bring to the boil.
Add plenty of salt and pepper, then reduce the heat to its lowest setting and add the lid, then leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes (stir after 15 and see if the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, if ready take off the heat and leave to one side with the lid on, it will stay warm for quite a while).
Preheat the oven to 200*C
To make the sauce, start by gently frying the garlic and ginger in a little oil for a few minutes (in an oven proof dish) until very lightly coloured then add a heaped tablespoon of the Tom Yum paste and fry for a further 2-4 minutes. (Note: Tom Yum paste is traditionally used to make Tom Yum hot and sour soup, but it works great in this recipe)
Add the soy sauce, coriander stalks, water and lime then scrape all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Let this bubble for a few minutes until it reduces very slightly. Then pour the whole thing into a wide bowl, add the honey and leave to one side. Remove the pan from the hob to cool but don't clean it as you'll be using it for the duck.
Next prepare the duck by placing it skin side down on a chopping board and cut away any skin and fat that hangs around the edges, then flip it over and score the skin in a criss-cross pattern but don't cut into the flesh and season well with salt and pepper.
Place the duck skin side down into the cold pan you cooked the sauce in and turn the heat onto medium-high. The fat should render out and then the skin will crisp up (about 5 minutes). Then remove the duck and place into the bowl with the sauce. Pour the duck fat out into a jar and save for future use (to make the best spicy roast potatoes ever!)
Tip the duck and sauce back into the dish and turn the duck so it's skin side up.
Place into the oven uncovered and cook for exactly 7 minutes for medium rare, 8 minutes for medium (that's how I cooked it), or 9 minutes for medium-well done
Take the duck and sauce out of the oven and then lift the duck out of the pan and onto a chopping board to rest, the sauce will stay warm with the heat of the pan.

While the duck is resting stir fry the bok choi stems for 1-2 minutes then add the leafy parts and stir fry until just slightly wilted, then shake in a little soy sauce at the end and stir fry to coat.

To serve, slice the duck diagonally in thick slices and spoon over the sauce, squeeze a little fresh lime (use the remaining half lime) over the rice and sprinkle with fresh chopped coriander, with the bok choi on the side.

I had this dish with a bottle of Flying Dog's In-Heat Wheat Hefeweizen, which was a decent match. Not a big aroma just a little yeasty note and classic wheat beer fruityness. It's lightly spicy with a little pepper and clove, big banana flavour

and yeasty, slightly sour taste, plus a little sweet buttery note. It matches quite well with the ducks Thai spices and is rich and spicy, yet fresh and cleansing. Despite being unfiltered and really full of flavour it also manages to be clean and refreshing. This dish is about balancing hot, sweet, sour, and salty flavours so a hop bomb IPA that might work well with an indian curry is no good here as the flavours are more subtle and less chilli driven.