campfire / deer lease / hunting season brew

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wgonfan

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I'm an avid hunter & spend almost ever other weekend from October until Feburary (east texas so its not that cold) camped out at the hunting lease. My lease is a more family oriented lease and there aren't many campers & not a lot of drinking. I normally cook some wild game (duck, venison, rabbit etc..) while I'm camped. Typically I drink a Sam Adams with dinner and maybe a Glenfiddich 15 before bed (always need the extra help sleepign well with all the racket the yotes make) . Occiasionally we will have guest & they will knock back a few (2 or 12) BMC beers. I'm looking forward to enjoying homebrew aroudn the campfire this year. Can anyone recommend a brew that will pair well with venison, have a 6 to 8% abv & could be appreciated (maybe not prefered) by my BMC buds? What is your traditional hunting camp brew?

also, a lote of what I cook while out there is marinaded in beer or is simmered in beer. If you were to brew a "cooking" beer, what would it be?
 
I haven't been brewing long enough for hunting season to kick back around yet but I'd imagine that a nice IPA would pair well with venison. Something nice and grassy to go with a delicious grass and corn-fed deer steak! Either that or a wheat (not a hefe).

You wouldn't want anything dark like a porter or stout, that'd be too much malt and roasted flavor.
 
For marinading, an Oktoberfest my work OK depending on how the rest of the seasoning is and also what you're pairing it with, veg and carb wise. Saisons may also go well too, I don't know. It all depends on your spices/flavorings.

Plus, that time of year, I drink oktoberfests, spiced winter ales, and stouts and plan meals accordingly.
 
Hunter/angler here, I would think a nice nut brown type of ale would be enjoyable in camp. You could slow simmer brats in them, use the beer in pancake batter, marinate a chicken/venison in it. Lots of people I know first foray into something other than BMC was Newcastle brown ale. It's a crowd pleaser, can be thirst quenching, and fairly easy to make.
 
I'm gonna have to agree with Bighorn here. A brown along the lines of Newcastle would work well I think. A wheat beer (other than maybe weizenbock) I think is too light...game is not a light flavor in my experience. Perhaps a scotch ale or dopplebock, but these may not be accessible to a BMC crowd. Saisons are pretty open, and you could certainly brew one to match what you eat I think.
 
Hunter and fisherman here too. I would have said IPA at first but hearing what bighorn just said I would have to agree. I just bottled an American brown. Would probably do well with some deer or duck. Its only a 5% beer though. The IPA would be my choice if you are gonna be spicing the meat up quite a bit. Of course I dont know many BMC people that can stomach some good IPA's.
 
There are lot of brews that go well with venison (a few of which people have already mentioned). Personally I like a nice IPA with my grilled backstraps, but since you are talking about having something for those that prefer BMC I would maybe recommend a cream ale as that seems to be less assertive but still pairs well with venison.
 
An Irish Red, a Porter, a Brown or maybe a Dubbel if you want something a bit bigger. Your choices become rather limited when you have a BMC crowd. A hefeweizen is usually a crowd pleaser, but it just doesn't fit for me with a cool fall evening.

By the way, porter and venison are like peas and carrots. Some grilled backstrap or roundsteaks with porter in the marinade, and gravy made with porter and baby Bella mushrooms is just one floor down from Heaven.


Happy Hunting. Pez.

Almost forgot, you need some grilled asparagus as a side......:rockin:
 
I just popped open my first bottle of Revvy's Kentucky Common recipe, and it's delicious and appealing to non-beer folks (that is--my sister likes it). It was my first attempt at AG, and I ended up being much more efficient than I planned, so I had an OG of 1.056 instead of the 1.046 in his recipe. Beer finished out a hair over 6% ABV, but it's remarkably smooth and easy to drink. I can't say how it pairs with venison, but I wouldn't really imagine any problems. At any rate, it's at least worth a look.
 
Pezman1 said:
By the way, porter and venison are like peas and carrots. Some grilled backstrap or roundsteaks with porter in the marinade, and gravy made with porter and baby Bella mushrooms is just one floor down from Heaven.
Almost forgot, you need some grilled asparagus as a side......:rockin:
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OK, I'm sold. I don't hunt but I might have to chase down the occasional deer I see on the side of the road if it's as good as you make it sound.
 
Malty beers do best when used in cooking. Concentrating highly hopped beers will clash with most foods. Now drinking them with the food is a different story.
 
Another east Texas hunter here. As far as cooking beer, my go to cooking beer is shiner bock. Works well with marinades and reduces down to make a very good sauce. The guys I hunt with drink more mix drinks than beer, but do drink the occasional shiner bock to start happy hour when we first get back from the stand. I just brewed what I'm calling an American bock to take up this fall for them to try. I went for something close to shiner bock but about 1% ABV more.
 
I say porter but you could go the Belgian route with pretty much anything (dubbel, blonde, trippel, quad) although your BMC drinking friends may not be into much of that. Gratzer might be an interesting pairing...
 
WesleyS said:
Another east Texas hunter here. As far as cooking beer, my go to cooking beer is shiner bock. Works well with marinades and reduces down to make a very good sauce. The guys I hunt with drink more mix drinks than beer, but do drink the occasional shiner bock to start happy hour when we first get back from the stand. I just brewed what I'm calling an American bock to take up this fall for them to try. I went for something close to shiner bock but about 1% ABV more.
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Shiner makes a killer braised pork chop.
 
I love Cooking!! And I Love Shiner!! I am interested in using a Shiner Marinade for beef, chicken and pork... :)
 
ASassyBeerChick83 said:
I love Cooking!! And I Love Shiner!! I am interested in using a Shiner Marinade for beef, chicken and pork... :)
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Me to, but if I were amking one for camp I'd do a malty Scottish ale. A little venison wrapped in bacon on an open fire, some grilled onions and a baked potato washed down with an 80/- would be a great end to a day in the field.
 
I'm thinking porter or American brown. Both are great fall beers, IMO and both work well as marinade or to braise dark meat. I use porter for my beer braised short ribs and for roasts and stews.
A wee heavy would be another great choice for the cool (ish, since you're in east tx) weather, and IMO few things go better with, or after a meat and potatoes stew.
 
Whoa!! Both sound so Delish!! Venison! Love me some Venison!! My hubby & I smoke a lot of things... But honestly, I do not think the man has marinated any of our meat in beer.. However, my daddy always soaked his steaks & chicken in a nice tasty (BLAH - Miller Light) liquid... But since the hubby and I drink lots and lots of different kinds of beers, I need to just try one out... Ha. I have some Dos Equis in the fridge... Could do a chicken in some Dos Equis out on the grill tonight! Humm....
 

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