Lobster Tail Ale & Lobster Rolls

Throughout our beer brewing adventure, we've enjoyed getting creative and making beers you wouldn't normally be able to grab at your local market. Our inspiration came from a book of beer recipes that our friend Aaron gave us as a gift. The thought of a Lobster influenced beer inspired day dreams about hosting a clam bake later in the summer when its ready to drink. Lobster in beer? You're gonna have to trust us on this one.

All we needed for the brew was the shells, so we were "forced" to eat lobster rolls to consume all that lobster meat. Life is tough as a brewer :)

Lobster Tail Ale

Ingredients: 

Grains: 1lb Vienna, 1lb Pilsner, 1/2 lb Aromatic, 1/4 lb Flaked Barley

6 1/2 lbs Malt Extract

5 Bay Leaves

2Tbsp White Peppercorns

Shells from 3 lobsters (tail, claws and body)
2 oz E.K. Goldings Hops
Belgian Ale yeast

This beer is a Belgian Ale, with white peppercorns, bay leaves, and lobster shells added to the boil. We went to the store and purchased three 1.5lb live lobsters. Once boiled, all the meat was removed and placed in a bowl for the rolls. The shells of the claws, tail, and body were cleaned thoroughly and then baked in the oven to dry and sanitize them.

Midway through the boil the lobster shells were added along with peppercorns, bay leaves and hops for the the remaining 30 minutes of the boil. After cooling the wort, the shells and spices were strained during transfer to the fermenting container. We added Belgian yeast and will have to wait six weeks for the finished product. This may be our most anticipated beer!

p.s. Thanks to Lindsay's dad for suggesting the name, "Lobster Tail Ale"!

Lobster Rolls

Ingredients:

Serves 4

Meat from three 1.5lb lobsters

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp fresh chives

Salt and pepper to taste

8 slices sourdough bread, toasted and buttered

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Optional- lettuce, tomato and avocado

We wanted to keep the flavors simple to allow the lobster to be the star in this recipe. I am not a fan of the mayo-heavy versions of lobster rolls so once all the meat was removed from the shell, it was tossed with a mixture of 2 Tbsp melted butter, fresh chives, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Everyone dressed up their "rolls" with all the fixin's. 

They were more of a sandwich than a roll, since Lindsay is a California girl and made sure there was avocado and sourdough bread, rather than the traditional hot dog bun. This was definitely better than the usual take-out we get when brewing. We are already fans of the Lobster Tail Ale and haven't even had our first sip!