What do you do with leftover winter beer when the weather turns nice? I know, I know, what leftover beer?
Well, you’d be shocked to know, we still had some Twice Checked by Railway City Brewing. Twice Checked is a seasonal porter available only between November and January.
But Porter holds up well over time, so if you have some, you can just drink it! You don’t have to cook with it. Or you could just do both. Which we did. And if you are with friends, you can have this one, knowing that when they ask where they can get it, you can tell them with mock sadness, that they just can’t get it. They’ll have to wait until next November.
But I wanted to make waffles. We’ve made beer waffles before (where you can get an interesting little history tidbit on Porter). They are so good with the right beer that we wanted to make them again. Beer gives waffles a malty richness, and a depth normally lacking in waffles.
Last time we used Clifford Porter, which was also delicious, so we thought we’d try another beer.
We did a recipe taste test between Twice Checked and another brown ale (that shall remain nameless – it was good but not right for waffles). It’s always a good idea to taste your beer before cooking, In fact, it’s always a good idea to compare a few different ones. Especially before brunch, am I right? Just sips, of course.
Put your hand over the glass leaving just enough room for your nose. This helps concentrate on what you’re smelling. Breath in quickly through your nose and evaluate – that gives you the dominant aromas. Next, wait a minute and then breathe in through your nose slowly. That gives you the more subtle aromas. The tasting part I’ll leave to you.
Twice Checked won by a landslide. A delicious rich-chocolatey-with-a-hint-of-cherry landslide. Perfect for waffles any time of year!
I experimented with two recipes. One with more butter which tasted better, and only 2 teaspoons of baking powder because I am not crazy about the taste of baking powder, and one with no butter and a bit more baking powder. The ones with butter didn’t rise as well, but the taste made up for it. The recipe below is a compromise with adding more baking powder. Add less milk to start with until you are sure your waffles are not turning out soggy! Make sure your waffles iron is hot every time!
Now you really don’t need this much syrup on these (if any), but since this time I made them with beer and non-whole wheat white flour, and my photography assistant was a little over-zealous, I thought, heck, why not?
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour (can substitute whole wheat, too)
- 1/2 cup of melted butter
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk (depending on how they cook up)
- 1 cup of porter beer
- 1 tablespoon brown or white granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Berries such as strawberries (optional – not shown here)
Makes approximately 10 x 4-inch waffles
Directions
- Heat waffle maker – make sure it comes to full temperature for each set of waffles you are making as the plates cool down after cooking
- Separate eggs and beat yolks
- Beat in remaining ingredients until just smooth – don’t over beat
- Whisk eggs whites and then carefully fold into batter
- Bake about 5 minutes or according to the directions that come with your waffle maker
About the beer
Twice Checked is a seasonal porter by Railway City Brewing only available between November and January.
Style: Porter | Body: Medium/Full | Aroma: Chocolate truffles, dark cherries, earthy coffee
ABV: 5.2% – IBU: 23