Vegan beer and the Great American Beer Festival (Recipes)

 

Beer, masterly crafted from four basic ingredients - water, malt, hops and yeast, is usually vegan.

The only beers to lookout for are UK bitter beers, which tend to use isinglass, a substance obtained from the swim bladders of fish and cask condition beers which may include gelatin, a substance extracted from the bones, connective tissues and intestines of cattle, pigs and horses.

Most bottled bitters, lagers and domestic beers are vegan, however. Check this list or visit barnivore.com to see if your favorite beer is vegan.

Great American Beer Festival

The Great American Beer Festival, an annual event hosted by the Brewers Association, showcases more than 2,000 different American beers from more than 450 domestic breweries all competing for the gold, silver or bronze metals in 75 different categories.

Manhattan's own Chelsea Brewery Company with the Brooklyn Brewery and Brooklyn's Heartland Brewery will be featured at the Great American Beer Festival this year along with fellow New York breweries: Blue Point Brewing Co. (Patchogue), Brown's Brewing Co. (Troy), Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. (Pleasantville), Genesee Brewing Co. (Buffalo), Horseheads Brewing (Horeseheads), Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca) and Southampton Publick House (Southampton).

You can see what each of these breweries are pouring at this year's festival along with the number of metals they have taken home in past years by visiting the Albany Craft Beer Examiner.

Even though the Great American Beer Festival is held in Denver, Colorado, New Yorkers can still enjoy the festivities locally by touring the Brooklyn Brewery, which is open to the public on weekends from noon to 6 p.m. and has all of their beers on tap for just $4 a pop (or 6 for $20), visiting one of the six Heartland Brewery restaurants (try the veggie chili without sour cream), touring the Chelsea Brewery and dining at their restaurant, hosting a beer and food tasing party or enjoying beer-infused vegan recipes.

Beer-Infused Vegan Recipes:

1. Oatmeal Stout Brownies (recipe follows)
2. Quick & Easy Beer Bread
3. Frijoles Borrachos (Drunken Beans)

Oatmeal Stout Brownies:
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp margerine, cut into cubes
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
2 bananas, mashed or other egg substitute equivalent to 4 eggs
1 cup sugar
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) oatmeal stout beer

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease a 9 x 13" baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa and salt together until evenly combined then set aside. In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt the margerine and chocolates, stirring constantly and being careful not to burn or scortch the chocolate. Once fully melted, remove from heat immediately and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using electric beaters or a spatula, combine bananas (or other egg replacement) and sugar. Add in chocolate mixture and continue to beat until evenly combined. Add dry mixture in batches, stirring until it's clumping, then slowly pour in beer, stirring only until just combined. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

(* This recipe was adapted from a Guiness Brownie recipe. The original recipe and Guiness are not suitable for vegans)