YOBO (You Only Brunch Once [per day]) & saying farewell to Kat

Some people like doctors and parents say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But pshhh, what do they know? I think the rest of us know which meal is really the most important: brunch.

Not quite breakfast and not quite lunch, brunch has earned a special place in our hearts for several reasons. One, you’re expected to stuff your face until you fall asleep at the table. Two, when you wake up from this food coma, no one’s going to judge if you go back for seconds or thirds. And finally, drinking in the middle of the day is not only ok; it’s encouraged. Bloody Marys, mimosas, and beermosas were invented for brunching.

And at Bitch Beer we take brunch seriously. Reserving alcohol for only your drinks? HA! Child’s play. This past weekend, five of the Bitch Beer ladies got together for a brunch potluck where we all made different brunch dishes that incorporated craft beer in some way.

The result was glorious. Live Oak Pilz potato casserole, Upslope IPA migas, Founders Rübæus bread, pancakes that used Caroline’s orange chocolate homebrew, Left Hand Good Juju muffins, Southern Tier Crème Brûlée Stout pancake syrup, and much more.

If your mouth is watering, get some friends together to have your own brunch potluck. We’ve included all the recipes we used below, so feel free to use these or draw inspiration from them.

This brunch was also special because it was our last time to say goodbye to one of our bloggers, Kat. Today, Kat is leaving Austin to begin a new chapter in Seattle, where she’ll be bringing us news from the Northwest craft beer scene. We’ll all miss her dearly, and we wish her the best of luck.

Kat and I have been good friends since she was randomly assigned to my on-campus apartment during my junior year of college, although her and her parents’ first impression of me may have not been so great. When Kat moved in, one of the first things she and her parents did was check the fridge. I had just turned 21 a few days before and had nothing in the fridge except two cases of Lone Star. Luckily, Kat forgave me for this major beer faux pas, and I’m so glad we’ve been able to bond and strengthen our friendship over our love of craft beer. I’m going to miss you, girl.

But enough sappiness. Here are those beer infused recipes:

Hashbrown Pils Casserole by Caroline

• 8 average sized red potatoes, chopped into hashbrown sized strips
• 32 oz of a Pilsner (She used Live Oak Pilz)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 (10 ¼ ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 8 oz sour cream
• ½ of a medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 jalapeño, chopped, seeds removed
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (She used a mix of pre-shredded habanero cheddar cheese and jalapeno jack cheese)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a baking dish with cooking spray
2. Sauté chopped potatoes in a large skillet filled with beer and butter (depending on skillet size, you’ll probably need to break this up into several even batches. Took about 5 batches.)
3. Sauté chopped onion and jalapeno in a bit of the remaining beer/butter mixture
4. Mix the potatoes, onions and jalapeño into the prepared baking dish with a little salt and pepper, add additional ingrendients (save a little cheese for the top), mix evenly, top with cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and casserole starts to brown on top.
6. The slight bitterness of the pilsner should play nicely off the creaminess of the other ingredients. Pair with a glass of pilsner and enjoy!

Migas with IPA Soaked Tortilla Chips and IPA Black Beans by Holly

• 10 eggs
• Green and red bell peppers
• 1 small jalapeño
• ½ an onion
• shredded cheese
• Corn tortillas
• Upslope IPA
• Olive oil
• 1 large can of black beans (or be fancy and soak your own dry black beans)
• Salt and pepper to taste

We even had some Bitch Beer pups join our brunch…

1. Slice three corn tortillas into about ½ inch wide and about 3 inch long strips. Pour a can of Upslope IPA into a bowl and let the strips soak for about an hour.
2. When that hour is about up, starting cutting up your onion, bell peppers, jalapeño (being sure to remove the seeds), and begin sautéing them in a large pan.
3. After a whole hour, fry your beer soaked tortilla chips in a pan with olive oil and more IPA. When they are nice and crispy, set them aside on a paper towel to remove the excess oil.
4. When your vegetables are sautéed enough, crack all your eggs in a large bowl, add your cheese and whisk them together. Right before you add the eggs to the vegetables, put your crispy tortilla strips in the egg mixture.
5. Pour the mixture in the pan with the vegetables and scramble until the eggs are cooked.
6. As the eggs are cooking open your can of beans, put them in a pot, and add about a cup of Upslope IPA. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are good and warm.
7. Garnish your dish with slices of avocados.
*This are the measurements I used to feed five hungry ladies. Feel free to alter the measurements, spiciness, amount of beer, and which vegetables you include.

Rübæus Apples by Caroline

• 3 red apples, sliced
• 12 oz bottle of Founders Rübæus raspberry ale
• Half a stick of butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:
1. Combine the beer and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat
2. Once the combination has heated, add in the apples
3. Sauté the apples, stirring occasionally, and stir in brown sugar as the apples start to become tender
4. Remove from heat and serve warm or cold (She served them warm)

Beer Pancakes by Kat (originally from The Beeroness)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg plus 1 additional yolk
• 2 TBS canola oil
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 cup beer of your choice (She used some of Caroline’s orange chocolate homebrew.)

Directions:
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (sans beer). Pour the mixed wet ingredients and the beer into the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine completely. Heat up a pan or a griddle. Grease it up with butter or cooking spray. Add ¼ cup of the batter to the pan. Let it cook until you see the mixture bubbling slightly. Flip the pancake and cook for about 5 minutes (2.5 minutes on each side)

Beer Batter Bread by Shaun (originally from Epicurious)

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, at room temperature (She used Founders Rübæus)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

…and the pig.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add Rübæus all at once, mixing as little as possible; the batter should be lumpy. Pour the batter into a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and brush with the melted butter. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Good Juju Ginger Muffins by Sarah

• 1.5 cups whole grain flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2.5 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1.5-2 cups Left Hand Good Juju ale
• zest of 1 lemon
• ½ tsp fresh grated ginger

Preheat oven at 350 degrees and prep a muffin pan. Combine dry ingredients, ginger and lemon zest in a bowl and mix. Add vanilla and enough beer to create a wet, thick batter. Fill each cup of the muffin pan ¾ full. Bake muffins for approximately 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Top with Honey Lemon Butter (recipe below)

Honey Lemon Butter by Sarah

• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup butter
• juice of 1 lemon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Pour into a container and chill. Serve over muffins.

Southern Tier Creme Brulee Pancake syrup by Holly

• 2.5 cups of Southern Tier’s Crème Brûlée Stout
• About a cup of brown sugar
• About 4 tbls butter

Combine beer, sugar and butter in a pot and stir occasionally. When your syrup starts simmering, taste it. The sweetness of the beer will fall out, leaving it very bitter, so add more or less sugar depending on your preference. Serve warm over pancakes.

Pilsner Snake Bite Cocktail by Caroline 

• 32 ounces (or half a growler) Live Oak Pils
• 16 ounces dry English cider
• 2-4 ounces Saint Germain Elderflower Liqueur to personal taste

This cocktail is a slightly modified version of the Snake Bite cocktail served at the Glass Half Full Taproom in Austin. Caroline had about half a growler of Live Oak Pilz left over after the hashbrown casserole, so she added the cider and Saint Germain straight into the growler. It made enough for all 5 ladies at our brunch to have a generous pour.

Pecan Porter cold brew by Sarah

• ½ cup cold brew coffee
• ½ cup (512) Pecan Porter
• Brown sugar simple syrup (equal parts brown sugar and water – bring to a simmer, add vanilla)
• cream

Combine coffee and beer over ice and stir gently. Add syrup and cream to taste.

Beermosa by Caroline

• Hops & Grain Pale Dog
• Orange juice

Combine one part Pale Dog with one part orange juice and stir. Not-overly-hoppy IPAs, wheat beers, and lagers also make great beermosas. Some of our other favorite beers to use include Hops & Grain The One They Call Zoe and New Belgium Ranger IPA.

Be sure to wish Kat good luck in her new life in Seattle, and let us know how your beer brunches go. While it might seem like a lot of food, just remember…YOBO (per day).

-Holly