Laura's Juniper IPA

Since Laura and Shane moved to Seattle last fall, we are so excited to see her for her ten day visit in February. To celebrate her homecoming and also try a new spring brew, we decided to dedicate a home-brew to Laura and surprise her with a first tap when she gets in. Our's and Laura's friends got together on January 25th to brew, share beer, and eat some good grub. We were joined by Erin, Abe, Suki, Mike, Jason, and his roommate Adam.

Brew Day

Juniper berries are what make this brew special. Active brew time is about four hours. 

Chow Time

Adam cooked us Pho and quinoa pilaf for dinner, and I found some chocolates at Summit Spice to serve with fresh berries for dessert. 

After a week of fermentation and a week of dry hopping, we transfered it from the conical fermentor into two kegs. Four days with CO2 gets the beer to carbonated perfection, and it's time to enjoy. 

Laura's Juniper IPA First Tap

First tap for our Juniper IPA landed on Valentines Day, when Laura got here from Seattle. After brainstorming with Mike and Erika we landed on a ramped-up-pub-night for our inspiration. We made chicken wings, french fries, and pizza. 

Asian Wings

Mike and Erika whipped up a saucy wing that braised in cinnamon, star anise, ginger and other delicious Asian flavors. 

Buffalo Wings

This recipe is adapted from Cook's Illustrated. 

Wings Ingredients

• 3 lbs chicken wings
• 3 tbls cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne

Instructions: "Shake and bake" the dry ingredients with the wings in a ziplock. Deep fry the wings for 12 minutes and move to a pan with a rack. Keep it in a 200 degree oven while cooking the remaining batches. Right before serving, toss the wings in a large bowl with the sauce. Be careful not to over sauce, a little goes a long way. Serve with green onions sprinkled on top. 

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot
• 4 tbls butter
• 2 tbls Serracha 
• 1 tbls brown sugar

Instructions: Heat the ingredients in a pan until combined. 

French Fries Three Ways

Those were the best french fries we've ever had. The outside was crispy, but not just crispy; there is a structural integrity to the fry that evokes a crust more than a crisp. Then there was the inside, a pillowy cloud of tender potato mash. Mike and Erika had to leave before they got to taste them, so we will be making this again soon. 

Welcome home Laura, and Shane we miss you!

Traditional and easy french fries in duck fat

• 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch match sticks
• 6-8 cups of oil, we used a combination of duck fat and peanut oil

Instructions: Add potatoes to oil and heat to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir early in order to prevent potatoes from sticking. Let the potatoes fry for 15-25 minutes. Stirring occasionally with tongs. 

Transfer with a skimmer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and season with salt. 

For our second fry variation we used the same method as above, but Erika added two sprigs of rosemary for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. The result was a mellow and utterly delicious rosemary aroma and taste. 

For the third fry variation Mike followed the lead of Modernist Cuisine. 

The fries are cut thickly and then cooked three times. 

• First, they are vacuum sealed with potato starch and water. 
• Next, they get a rinse and are vacuum sealed again with 500 grams of water with 10 grams of salt. 
• They get 20-25 minutes in the sous vide machine. 
• Then the moisture is pulled out in the vacuum sealer.  
• Then they are deep fried twice. Once at 325 degrees for 3 minutes. 
• Then cool. 
• Then deep fry again at 365 degrees for 3 minutes. 
• Transfer with a skimmer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and season with salt.