A 1554 Dark Ale, Coffee and Cocoa Flan With Orange Zest

A month ago when the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program sent out a request to review and post about New Belgium Brew, locally brewed in Colorado, well… that was a no brainer.

My husband and I really enjoy Fat Tire.  So right away when this opportunity came by, my husband was the first to say, “are they sending us Fat Tire?” Followed by, “go for it!”

It’s not just all about the brew with New Belgium.  They had a passion that started as a man riding on a bike with fat tires through European villages known for good beer.  A dream ignited and the owner Jeff Lebesch pursued his dream of brewing world class beers in his basement in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Together with his wife, now CEO, they marketed, sold and took their basement brewery commercial in 1991.

It’s these kind of stories that are remarkable.  To see someones hard work and determination turn to fruition gives you a glimmer of hope that you can do the same with whatever is driving your passion.

This company brands itself with nostalgic watercolors of cruiser bikes and vintage labels.  Never taking themselves too seriously they have a devoted facebook fan page with well over 150,000 fans.

New Belgium is a culture and a community but one thing is for sure, they know how to take care of their employees, consumers and are proudly the first wind powered brewery in the United States.  One of their core values and beliefs is Environmental stewardship: Honoring nature at every turn of the business.

Everything about this business, I endorse.  And… when I saw this brew on the shelves of my local grocer….

HECK YES!  An organic wheat brew by New Belgium, my new favorite beer!  Love the name!

All right, enough gushing about this company, but I was excited.  I’ve been drinking Fat Tire since college… okay, maybe I shouldn’t get into that.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program we were asked to either pair New Belgium beer with a meal or come up with a recipe using their brew.  I thought it would be a fun opportunity to get creative and decided on using 1554 Enlightened Black Ale in a dessert.  A Spanish dessert… a flan.

I wanted to create an elegant after dinner dessert that could pair with a sweet dessert wine or a dark roasted coffee.  The 1554 dark ale is smooth with rich undertones of chocolate. After “taste testing” the brew, I knew it would be perfect to use as the base for a dark, rich caramel over a classic Spanish flan.  To compliment its flavors I infused it with coffee, cocoa, and a hint of orange zest.  To sweeten it up, real maple syrup.

The flavors melded beautifully and what I really enjoyed was the subtle aftertaste of orange.

To brighten up the classic flan, I also added orange zest to the custard.

This flan would pair beautifully with a Spanish moscatel, dark roasted coffee or even a 1554 Enlightened Black Ale from New Belgium.

A 1554 Dark Ale, Coffee and Cocoa Flan With Orange Zest

Ingredients:

For the Caramel

• 2 bottles of 1554 Enlightened Black Ale from New Belgium
• 3 tbls ground coffee
• 2 tbls unsweetened cocoa
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup real maple syrup

For the Custard

• 3 cups whole fresh milk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 farm fresh eggs
• 6 farm fresh egg yolks
• 1/2 cup real maple syrup
• zest of one orange

Method:

Caramel:

1. In a deep pan, bring the beer, ground coffee, cocoa, maple syrup and orange zest to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer over medium-low, stirring often to prevent from burning.  You want to reduce the mixture by about half until you are left with a thick syrup that coats the back of a spoon.  Depending on your heat, this can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

3. Once the syrup has reduced, strain through a cheesecloth.  This will leave you with a smooth syrup void of any coffee grains or orange zest.  Do this right away as the mixture will thicken as it cools.

4. Once you have strained the syrup, add enough to the bottom of your flan molds to coat the bottom.

Custard:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 F.

2. In a ban bring the milk and vanilla extract just to a boil.  Do not scorch the milk.

3. While the milk is coming to a boil, In a bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks and maple syrup.

4. Once the milk has come to a boil, turn off the heat, and gradually stir in the hot milk to the egg mixture.

5. Pour into the flan molds.

6. Put the individual molds into a baking dish or roasting pan and pour in enough hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the molds.

7. Bake for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

8. Remove the individual molds from the baking dish or roasting pan and let cool.

9. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

10. Turn onto a dish and serve.