Black Lager with Candied Pretzels

If you follow our weekly explorations, you know that a few weeks back we cranked out a flavor derived from the classic beer cheese soup. Working with beer in ice cream has been pretty enjoyable, so I decided to tackle another classic combination involving beer; beer and pretzels. Not just beer though. And not just pretzels. We bring you this week’s flavor – Black Lager with Candied Pretzels.

 

 

1554 Black LagerBlack Lager ReducingBlack Lager ReductionBlack Lager Reduction and Cream

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About a month ago, we were asked to make a New Belgium 1554 Black Lager ice cream for a beer and food pairing event sponsored by New Belgium Brewing. It turned out so well, that it just made sense to pair with the candied pretzels for this week’s flavor. Although not a local brew, the 1554’s dark malty caramel quality works extremely well in ice cream. For the ice cream, the beer gets reduced to nearly nothing. By the end of the reduction, a 12 ounce beer becomes about a tablespoon of syrup. After doing a side by side taste test using cane sugar in one base and brown sugar in the other, the 1554 with brown sugar crushed. Not surprising, the brown sugar helps accentuate the deep caramel notes in the beer. The beer reduction is added to our brown sugar ice cream base, and after cooking, is cooled, and then ready to churn.

 

 

 

PretzelsHope Creamery Butter

 

 

 

Candied Pretzels ready to bakeCandied Pretzels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, candied pretzels. BTW, candied pretzels…they’re the shizz. To make our candied pretzels we modified the “Pretzel Crunch” recipe from the great pastry chef, Christina Tosi, of Momofuku Milk Bar fame in NYC. With the pretzels, her recipe calls for malt powder, brown sugar, and butter. With the black lager ice cream, the flavors couldn’t be jive’n any better than that. The pretzels get crushed, and all ingredients are mixed together. Our version is going to get baked about twice as long as the original to achieve ultimate crunchy candied pretzel status. Either way you have it, these crunchers are worth their weight in gold. They’re broken up and added into the Black Lager ice cream at the end of the churn.

 

 

 

Black Lager with Candied Pretzels

 

 

It’s a classic combination that meets present day ice cream. And by present day, I mean future. Rich caramelly black lager ice cream with crunchers of malty candied pretzels. It’s beer and pretzels at their best.

 

 

 

Black Lager with Candied Pretzels

2 12oz. Beers – New Belgium Black Lager
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk
3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 cup pretzels, crushed into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
4 Tablespoon Butter, Melted
3 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoom Milk Powder
1 Tablespoon Cane Sugar
1 teaspoon Malt Powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

 

Instructions:

1. Beer Reduction: In a stock pot, add the beer and bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally, keep your eye on reduction until foam has died down. You may need to lower the heat occasionally to avoid boil over. Once foam has died down, beer can be reduced on high until beer is nearly gone and approximately 2-4 Tablespoons of syrup remain. Remove from heat and set aside until ice cream base ready.

2. Make ice cream base: Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully.  Add brown sugar and whisk. Add heavy cream, milk, and salt. Whisk until ingredients are combined. Pour into stock pot with beer reduction.

3. Cook/pasteurize ice cream base: Over medium heat, whisk or stir base continuously. Keep stirring continuously until temperature reaches 165-170 degrees. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes). Put base in a clean container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.

4. Prepare Candied Pretzels: Preheat oven to 275 degrees and line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. Break up pretzels into small pieces and toss with other dry ingredients. Add melted butter. Toss until combined and spread out onto lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until dark golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet. Break up candied pretzel’s and freeze in airtight container until needed.

5. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Add 1/2-1 cup of candied pretzels to black lager ice cream at the end of the churn. Store ice cream in air tight container in freezer until chow time.

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

 

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 4/24/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

 

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Beer Cheese

Recently, we worked on a beer ice cream for a special event, so naturally the thought was fresh in my mind. I pondered some beer and cheese pairings, but the obvious didn’t occur to me right away. I mean, we’re full blooded Wisconsin over here; cheddar in our veins, probably even beer, so when I finally got it, the pairing made complete sense. Let’s get started with this week’s flavor – Beer Cheese

 

 

Bauhaus Midwest Coast IPAbeer reducing

beer reducing

 

 

 

 

For the beer portion of the ice cream, I wanted to use a local brew, duh. For this flavor I went with Bauhaus Brew Labs, Sky Five! Midwest Coast IPA. It’s a full flavored IPA, hoppy for sure, with some nice citrus notes. The beer gets reduced in a large pot over high heat until only a tablespoon or two are left. Our standard organic cane sugar ice cream base is added to the reduction and pasteurized.

 

 

Sharp cheddar - Hooksbeer and sodium citratesharp cheddar going into beercheddar beer sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted a sharp cheddar for this flavor. Something that makes your lips pucker a little. So being from Wisconsin, I thought I should use a Wisconsin cheese. I decided on Hook’s 7 year aged sharp cheddar. Now getting the cheese into the ice cream is this week’s real challenge. Thankfully, is a secret to making this fool proof. Have you ever made mac and cheese from scratch and your cheese sauce turns out grainy? That’s what I wanted to avoid, and to do so, I am going to use a very small amount of sodium citrate. Sodium citrate is the sodium of citric acid and is more commonly used as a food additive for flavor or as a preservative. Here it is going to keep our cheese sauce from getting a grainy texture. A small amount of beer is brought to a simmer with the sodium citrate added in. The grated sharp cheddar is added, and stirred until the sauce comes together. This cheese sauce is added to the beer ice cream base, and after pasteurization, is cooled and ready to churn.

 

 

 

beer cheese

 

 

Whether you’re from Wisconsin or not, there’s no mistaking this ice cream when it hits your lips. Grab a pretzel and dig in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beer Cheese Ice Cream

2 12oz. Beers – Bauhaus Midwest Coast IPA
4 oz. Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded – Hook’s
1/2 teaspoon Sodium Citrate

2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk
3/4 Cup Organic Cane Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Sea Salt

 

Instructions:

1. Prepare the cheese: In a sauce pan, add the sodium citrate and cover the bottom of the pan with beer(~1/4 cup). Bring the beer to a simmer. Add grated cheese and whisk until incorporated. Remove from heat and set aside until ice cream base ready.

2. Beer reduction: Pour remaining beer into an 8 quart stock pot and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Keep your eye on the reduction until foam subsides(may need to turn down heat intermittently to avoid boil over). Reduce beer to approximately 2 Tablespoons(it will be a syrup consistency). Remove from heat.

2. Make ice cream base: Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk fully.  Add sugar and whisk. Add heavy cream, milk, and salt. Whisk until ingredients are combined. Pour into stock pot with beer reduction.

4. Cook/pasteurize ice cream base: Over medium heat, whisk or stir base continuously. Whisk in reserved beer cheese sauce between 110-140 degrees. Keep stirring continuously until temperature reaches 165-170 degrees. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (an ice bath will do this in about 15-20 minutes). Strain base through a fine mesh strainer and put base in a clean container, cover, and chill in refrigerator overnight.

5. Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.

*Yields approximately 2.5 pints

 

If you’d rather not make it, you can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Two winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 3/27/15 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally in Minneapolis. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

 

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Stout with Irish Coffee Syrup

St. Paddy’s Day party favor preparation is in full swing here at FrozBroz central headquarters. Last year it was our Irish Soda ice cream, and similarly, this year we are throwing down another beer flavored ice cream for the party. Let’s get started with this week’s flavor: Stout with Irish Coffee Syrup…

 

 

Central Waters - Imperial StoutImperial Stout Reducing Stout Ice Cream Base

 

 

 

 

For this week’s flavor we decided to back to our roots; Wisconsin, to find a smooth, easy drinking stout to flavor our ice cream base. We chose Central Waters Brewing Satin Solitude Imperial Stout. It’s not a traditional Irish stout, but it possess those deep dark malty qualities that we were looking for. For the ice cream, we reduce the beer down to a syrup like consistency and add it into our organic cane sugar ice cream base. The ice cream is ready for the churn.

 

 

 

Coffee Syrup Simmer2 Gingers Irish WhiskeyIrish Coffee Syrup

 

 

 

 

Next, Irish coffee syrup. Like many of our components, coffee syrup has been on the list of conceptual possibility list for some time now. It began with concept of a black cherry ice cream with a coffee syrup, but at that time, cherries weren’t in season so the idea got pushed aside. Recently, ideas surrounding St. Paddy’s Day came up including creating a flavor based on a coffee stout, and that’s when the coffee syrup came back into the fold. And since it’s the Irish holiday, why not throw in some Irish whiskey for good cheer! I mean come on, its St. Paddy’s day! It’s meant to be. For the Irish coffee syrup, we start by simmering down some Peace Coffee Yeti Coldpress with cane sugar. After our desired flavor and honey-esk consistency are achieved, we take it off the heat and spike it with another Minnesota original, 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey. The result is a nice balance of bitter coffee and sweet Irish whiskey. The syrup is layered into the pints during packaging.

 

 

Stout with Irish Coffee Syrup

 

 

Stout with Irish Coffee Syrup! It’s malty caramely stout ice cream with ribbons of sweet Irish coffee. Party preparations complete! It’s not just ice cream, its St. Paddy’s Day all churned up and frozen into a pint…of ice cream.

Like to try some? You can be one of two lucky winners of this fabulous, scratch made craft ice cream in our weekly pint giveaway. Enter your name in the comments section here, or on our facebook page under the posted contest. Winners will be drawn randomly on Friday 3/14/14 at 4pm. Winners must be able to pick up locally. Prizes must be claimed by email within one week or we will redistribute. 🙂 Good luck!

This flavor will be  offered along with a few others, in limited quantities, at our next pint sale, Thursday March 20, 2014. Click HERE for details.

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