Mussels with Hebden Wheat

With the current cold snap, I've been eating so much heavy food that I found myself craving some seriously tasty, warming, yet light meals this weekend. So, like a comfy pair of old slippers, I turned to somewhat of a classic standby - Mussels steamed in Wheat Beer. Mussels are excellent right now, so get yourself down to the market.

Although Hooegarden is commonly used (unless in Belgium, I would imagine), I've kept things local with Little Valley's Hebden Wheat. Win Van Der Spek creates interesting twists on classic recipes, and I constantly find thier beers intriguing. The award -winning Hebden Wheat is more of a Wit, heavy on Lemon and peppery coriander, rather than the banana and clove accents of German style Wheat Beer. This makes it perfect for this dish.

The recipes is simplicity itself - buy a bag of Mussels, and de-beard and wash them all under a tap, discarding any that are gaping open. While drying in a colander, chop three cloves of Garlic, one medium chilli, and chop a load of fresh coriander. Please use fresh - you won't get the same flavour with dried.

In a heavy pan with a lid, melt a knob of butter, and add the Garlic and Chilli. when just sweated down (not burnt), add about a third of a bottle of Hebden Wheat, and the chopped coriander. Up the heat a little to get it nearly to boil, and then turn to simmer and add the mussels. Bang the lid on, and leave for about five minutes. When they are all open, shake around a few times to coat, and then lift the mussels into bowls. Turn up the heat, reduce the broth down a little, and then pour over.

What you'll get it is tender mussels and a fresh, vibrant broth, with enough kick to it to warm you up. Serve with warm bread for the broth, and enjoy the rest of your beer alongside it.

A Trio of Wheats

...Going through a bit of a Wheat phase at the moment... I'm not sure why, maybe it's a purge from all that heaviness over Christmas. So, in keeping with this, I decided to have an afternoon sampling all the Wheats I had sitting in the cellar.

First up, Little Valley's Hebden's Wheat. A regional brewery I'm really getting into recently: head brewer Wim Van Der Spek seems to have a canny knack for taking traditional styles and twisting them around a bit; making the ordinary seem a little more eccentric. Bottle conditioned, organic Hebden Wheat is a bright, straw colour with a fair bit of haze - as you'd expect. A quick sniff gives you a really earthy, almost horse-blanket (as i beleive the term to be amongst the professionals!) aroma; but the taste is pure coriander up front, and then followed by tons of sherberty lemon. I've never tasted anything quite like it; and to be honest I quite liked it. The spirit of adventure is alive and well in Cragg Vale, it would seem. Keep up the good work. Nice website, too.

It's across the pond now; of course it is - my love for American Beers knows no bounds - Blue Moon Brewing Co's Belgian White. And one look at this label had me sold; wonderful stuff. As for the beer - well, it looked the part: hazy, creamy yellow, and a great citrus nose. However, for me, the taste did'nt quite live up to the hype; very thin body and massive citrus - that all important spice coming on way too late and nowhere near prominent enough. Oh well.

Finally, back to the UK and the ever-ready Meantime Wheat. Pouring much more golden than the previous two, this was lesson in balance: a noseful of banana, vanilla and possibly cloves, and a much more warming taste than the previous two. Taste-wise, Citrus seems to play second fiddle to the full, tasty wheat body - but still managing to be a refreshing Wheat beer.

A good afternoon of tasting, that. I might try and group together more sessions according to style!