Beer Ice Cream?!?

Boundary Bay Brewery‘s Recipe for Barley Wine Gelato!

Here is a delightful twist on a Italian tradition. Zabaglione gelato is made with Marsala (fortified wine). In this recipe I replaced Marsala with Old Bounder Barley wine.  The Boundary Bay Old Bounder is a rich, full-bodied barley wine.  Copper in color with a smooth caramel sweetness, warming alcohol content, and balanced hop character.  We use Colombus, Mt. Hood and Amarillo hops along with Chocolate, Crystal, Carastan, Munich, and Premium 2-row malts.

The first step in this recipe is to head on down to Boundary Bay Brewery and have a pint (and maybe some nachos) and pick up a 22 oz. bottle of Old Bounder. Once you get home, gather all your ingredients and crack open the 22 (you want to let the beer go flat before you add it to you cream, so let it sit out while you make your custard). The basis of this recipe is a creme anglaise (cream English), which the backbone (or maybe a tail end) of many “fancy” desserts. The main thing you need to know about creme anglaise is that cooking temperature where it will thicken is between 156 degrees F and 185 degrees F. The higher the temperature the thicker the cream. If you have a thermometer it is helpful, but the most important thing is to stay with the pot the whole time you are heating the cream, stirring gently and keeping an eye on the thickness. Recipes often quote “6 minutes” as the time it takes for the custard to form, you are not chained to this number, just heat it slowly and watch the pot. Once the cream doesn’t run back into a track made by your finger over the back of a wooden spoon it is generally ready. Once it has thickened and you have poured it in a bowl, its time to add the Old Bounder, rum and vanilla. If you haven’t drank the rest of your 22 by now you can save it a jar in your refrigerator until the next time you want to make gelato.

*  4 large egg yolks
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 6 tablespoons Old Bounder Barley wine
* 2 tablespoons dark rum
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Whisk yolks and sugar in medium bowl until thick, about 2 minutes.

Heat milk and cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until mixture bubbles at edges.

Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture; return to saucepan.

Stir over medium heat until custard leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across and temperature registers 170°F, about 6 minutes.

Immediately pour custard through sieve (you only have to do this if there are chunks in your cream) and set over another medium bowl.

Stir Old Bounder, rum, and vanilla into custard. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Process custard in ice cream maker, follow manufacturers instructions, if you have no instructions for your ice cream maker process for about 50 minutes.

Transfer gelato to container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.)