"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard
The Beer Baron is back! This post comes from Matt and you can find him on Twitter & Instagram @geekcanuck
I’m normally not crazy about pumpkin beers that come out at this time of year, as they tend to just be ales overwhelmed by pumpkin pie spices. However, when I saw that Big Rig Brewing’s Tales from the Patch was billed as a “spiced pumpkin porter”, I couldn’t resist. After all, my love of darker beers -- particularly stouts and porters -- is well documented.
I decided to have it with my Thanksgiving dinner alongside the Clockwatching Tart’s amazing spatchcocked turkey and was immediately intrigued and impressed. The maltier, more robust backbone of the porter stood up to the pumpkin spices well and the mouthfeel was silky smooth and beguiling. It was even better than advertised and a quick check back to the can revealed that it wasn’t just a spiced porter, but a spiced MILK porter, which uses lactose (aka milk sugar) to impart a lovely, milky smoothness.
Clearly, I needed to talk to the brewmaster responsible.
“It’s become a tradition that started when I was still working at a brewery out west. Every year, I’d make a different pumpkin beer for my wife, so I’ve tried quite a few variations. I’m happy to say she likes this one,” says Big Rig Brewery brewmaster and co-owner Lon Ladell, who was kind enough to answer my geeky questions about his beer.
According to Lon, the idea behind Tales from the Patch was to create a beer that emulated the flavors of pumpkin pie with whipped cream, hence the lactose.
“Porter is a style of beer that already lends itself to some of the flavours that we wanted. We used crystal malt to give it a bit of a sweet, caramel kind of note and then added some chocolate and biscuit malt to give it that kind of graham cracker crust layer,” says Lon.
As for the spices and the pumpkin itself, Lon and the Big Rig team didn’t treat it much differently than anyone else making homemade pumpkin pie.
“We used a couple of local farms. We go and actually pick some of the pumpkins ourselves and then buy the rest. It was a lot of fun. Once we got them, we broke them apart and scooped out all the innards, cut them into four or five pieces, then we put cinnamon, cloves, allspice and brown sugar on them and then roast them in our ovens at one of our restaurants. It’s exactly how you make pumpkin pie,” says Lon.
Between the roasted maltiness of the porter, the spices used on the pumpkin and the finishing touch of the lactose, Tales from the Patch is nicely balanced, unique, and -- most of all -- delicious. It definitely goes down as an absolute Halloween treat and something I hope to find again next year (even if Lon has to brew a different pumpkin beer for his wife).
P.S. If you happen to get a little caramel square this Halloween, you could do worse things than pairing it with Tales from the Patch, assuming you can track some down at the LCBO.
It's been a very busy month around here, so I didn't have time to make a new tart in September. Instead, I thought I'd browse the archives for seasonal Autumn tarts I've made in the past.
There are some real winners here!
This Butternut Squash Tart with Sage, Honey & Chilis is really easy and makes a tasty, fancy appetizer or light lunch.
Stone fruits are still in season here in Ontario, and these Plum Tarts with Honey and Black Pepper are a sweet and sour treat.
This Roasted Vegetable Tarte Tatin takes a little more effort, but it is so beautiful and delicious, it's well worth it.
I can't get enough butternut squash at this time of year, so here's another Butternut Squash Tart, this time with mushrooms and Gruyere.
Little Beet, Cheddar & Apple Tarts on puff pastry are a simple treat for a savoury dessert or snack.
Tarte flambée, or Flammekueche is similar to pizza and makes a wonderful dinner when nights get cooler.
Carrots are in season and I love the way this Carrot and Herb Tart uses a variety of coloured carrots with the green of fresh herbs.
And, finally, it isn't really fall without some pumpkin spice. These Pumpkin Spice Tarts have a gingersnap crust I love.
Get outside and enjoy the season!
It's that time of year! Pumpkin spice is on everyone's mind.
I was never a huge fan of pumpkin pie - it's a little dense and the texture isn't that appealing to me. But these pumpkin spice tarts are lightened up with cream cheese, and I love the gingersnap crust.
Here's what you need for these easy fall treats:
I'm not the world's biggest fan of sweets for breakfast. I prefer bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. But I had a strong desire to see how pumpkin waffles would taste. I searched online for recipes and there are plenty made from scratch, but I have a bunch of buttermilk waffle mix I need to use up so I played around with that until I got the texture and flavour where I wanted it.
Here's what you need for about 6 waffles:
Waffle Maker (you can also make pancakes out of this by reducing the amount of water)
- 2 cups buttermilk waffle mix
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 2.5 to 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or freshly grated)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Maple syrup
To the waffle mix add the spices and pumpkin.
Then add 2.5 cups water.
Whisk together to combine. This is a little too thick so I added more water.
This is better.
For waffles you need a pourable batter so this looks about right.
Preheat the waffle iron and mist with cooking spray.
Measure the correct amount of batter for your waffle iron. Mine comes with a measuring cup that tells you how much.
Pour the batter into the waffle iron...
...making sure it spreads into the corners.
Then close it up. I cook mine on high to get nice and crispy but you can set it however you prefer.
Once done, carefully remove from the waffle iron. You can place them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all at once. Just don't forget to spray the waffle iron with cooking spray before adding the next batch.
If you want to go crazy you could add whipped cream spiked with cinnamon and sugar, but I wanted to keep it simple.
Drizzle with maple syrup.
And serve. These have a subtle pumpkin flavour and a nice touch of spice and they're super easy to make. A delicious, lazy fall breakfast.
