We’ve hiked the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps in the winter when the mountains are covered with snow and in the spring, when waterfalls cascade off cliffs and meadows are full of wildflowers. On a spring hike in the Lauterbrunnen Valley (above), the grass was so green that it looked almost as tasty to us as it obviously did to the herds of Swiss milk cattle. Either season, we had worked up an appetite and often ended the day with a satisfying pot of cheese fondue.
When we decided to use a can of Lamplighter ‶Giants Under the Sun″ as the base for a fondue, we set aside lightly steamed pieces of vegetables and slices of sausage to dip into the cheese along with the classic cubes of bread. Americans tend to think of wine as the chief liquid in fondue and kirsch (cherry liqueur) as an accent added just before serving. But we’ve been making a foolproof recipe with beer for decades.
Any light beer will do, but we liked using one from our neighborhood brewery, Lamplighter Brewing Company (lamplighterbrewing.com). It’s just a few blocks down the street in a former VW repair garage. ‶Giants Under the Sun″ is a Helles Lager — a fruity golden beer finished with noble hops. It has a nice malty biscuit flavor that complements the cheese. And while Lamplighter makes a wide range of styles, ‶Giants″ is almost always available at the brewery. Since the cans are 16 oz., the cook gets a bonus sip.
BEER FONDUE
‶Cooking″ doesn’t get much simpler than this fondue recipe, which calls for melting cheese in beer and dipping bread and other tasty bites in the hot cheese. It’s helpful to have fondue spears or forks, a nice ceramic fondue pot and a chafing dish stand to keep the mixture warm at the table. In a pinch, the cooking pot on an extra-thick insulated pad will work just as well. This recipe, popular decades ago, was given to us by a German home cook. Traditional Swiss fondue would use Swiss alpine cheese, similar to Gruyère.
- INGREDIENTS
- small boule of country-style bread, cut in 2-inch cubes
- 2-inch segments of carrot, steamed 5 minutes
- broccoli florets, steamed 90 seconds
- sliced pre-cooked sausage
- 1 clove garlic, cut in half
- 12 oz. beer
- 8 oz. Swiss cheese, coarsely grated
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 2 tablespoons flour
DIRECTIONS
Prepare and set aside the bread cubes, carrot, broccoli, and sausage.
Rub the inside of fondue pot with garlic, then discard garlic.
Over very low setting on the stove, heat beer until carbonation is gone. Toss together the cheeses and flour. Add to warm beer, stirring constantly to melt the cheese. Continue heating until mixture begins to thicken. Serve.