Turkey Yakitori with Rogue Dead Guy Ale

I love making Yakitori - little sticky bites of Soy Sauce-rich poultry goodness - but have recently dumped the traditional Chicken for Turkey. I find Turkey sweeter, tastier (because let's face it, Chicken is pretty bland) and it seems to marinate better. Turkey thigh's even better - with a deep, rich flavour. Because this dish is oven- grilled it's not massively authentic - but in terms of beer snacks it's a belter.

It couldn't be easier to make but does require a little forward planning - essentially it's a two stage process. Firstly, 24 hours before you cook it, marinate about 300g of diced Turkey in about 100g of Dark Soy Sauce, and 3 tbspns of Honey. To this marinade add four chopped cloves of Garlic, and a splash of Shao Hsing Rice Wine. This isn't hard to find in Chinese markets, and you can probably pick it up in supermarkets now. It's a little like sherry, and adds a unique bite and subtle smokiness to the marinade. Stir up, cover well, and leave to marinate in a fridge for the aforementioned 24 hours.

When ready to cook, make a basting sauce up from more Dark Soy sauce and Honey. You can make it as thick as you like; in fact, the thicker and stickier the better. Set your grill on high, lay out your turkey pieces on a grilling tray, and baste with the sauce. Grill for about 5 minutes, then re-baste. Repeat this every five-ten minutes, turning the meat and basting as you go. You want to build up a good coating on the meat, which should take about 20 minutes to cook. To finish, sprinkle with chunks of sea salt, and serve on a bed of rice.

It's natural to want to serve something like this with a pilsner or decent lager as you would do in a noodle-house, but I find that sweeter, more malt-led beers actually match the sweetness of the Yakitori in a much more interesting way. I enjoyed Rogue's Dead Guy Ale with mine; loads of caramel and crystal malts in the body, a smooth taste, with the hops only coming on late in the sip as a refreshing bitter bite. A sweet beer for a sweet meal.

Rogue Brutal Bitter & Amber Ale

Ok. The sun’s shining, there’s a smell of barbecue in the air, I’ve looked at about as many wedding venue brochures as I can take and i’m going to see Fleet Foxes in a couple of hours. Time, I think, for a beer. So it's out into the garden I go with a brace from Rogue.

I do like Rogue's beers, even if they do have a habit of tasting similar. Saying that, I don't drink enough of their stuff to really get a hold on 'their signature', so maybe that last comment was unqualified.

Anyway, it's a taste I like and the intriguingly named Brutal Bitter (6.5abv). You wouldn't get an English brewery deeming their bitter 'brutal', would you? It'd be something like 'Morally Questionable Bitter', or 'Bitter That's A Lot Nicer Once You Get To Know It'. It's not that brutal either (Those playful Americans!) - it's a nice beer, albeit a standard US Pale amped up to 11. Bitter, in the traditional English sense it ain't, but it does have a nice creaminess to the body that is sometimes missing from the more hop-leaning US brews. Copper in colour, and with a massive, high bitterness, it's a refreshing, decent beer despite being a little thick - it's surprisingly balanced, too.

Next up, American Amber Ale (5.6abv). One of my favourite styles; and it doesn't disappoint. Lighter in colour than the Brutal Bitter, but much sweeter, and with a less pronounced malt backbone. The hops come through on the nose and at the end of the sip, leaving a slight pepperiness. Ultimately, for me, it'd be too sweet to drink a lot of, but for lovers of US Crafts (ie Me), it's a pleasure to drink.

I like Rogue. I like their beers (a lot of them; over 150, I reckon), their image, their ethos. I liked them even more after finding an enlightening profile of Rogue Leader Jon 'More Hops' Maier on Youtube. Still hands-on despite his age, Jon embodies the spirit of American Brewing - especially for Rogue. Check it out.