Soured beer for marinade??

[ThreeDogsNE]

Has anyone tried using a soured beer for a marinade? I have about a gallon of scotch ale in a Corny keg that lost it's seal before the keg kicked. It got set aside and forgotten about 4 months ago. I just opened the keg and poured out a bit, and it has a soured flavor that is sort of vinegar-like, but fairly mild. I wouldn't want to drink it, but it seems like it might make a decent marinade. I was just looking at a marinade that called for cooking sherry, pineapple juice, and vinegar... It made me wonder if I could use this. Has anyone tried this?

 

[jbreiding]

Rule of thumb I use when cooking with beer or anything else I have fermented. If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it.

 

[SPLASTiK]

I've had salmon that was pickled in La Folie. Turned out really nice... Maybe not quite the same as what you propose though.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Rule of thumb I use when cooking with beer or anything else I have fermented. If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it.

I wouldn't drink vinegar but would certainly use it in a marinade. Same with soy sauce.

Not saying that OP's sour beer would make a good marinade though. I always sort of assumed that's why vinegar is common in german food...they had a lot of spoiled beer to get rid of.

 

[Cape Brewing]

I would absolutely try it. Our club does a "beer/food" meeting every year and we alternate from year to year. One year it is "cooking with beer" and the next year it is "pairing food with beer".

We just did a "cooking with beer" meeting two months ago that only used soured beers. We used a flanders red that went WAYYYYY too sour. Basically vinegar and it was undrinkable.

All we did was substitute the flanders red in any recipe that called for vinegar and the food came out fantastic.

 

[EoinMag]

I have an old stout kit that got a mild soured infection right from the get go, I use it for cooking now and again. That said it is a mild souring and it's drinkable when I add some blackcurrant cordial, but to be honest, I'm not that desperate and have good beer there. It makes a lovely beer bread

I'm thinking of mixing it with an all grain porter I have brewing at the moment to get the old school soured porter effect, that'll be mixed when serving and at proportions of about 70% good new beer to 30% soured, I reckon it's worth the experiment.

 

[jbreiding]

I wouldn't drink vinegar but would certainly use it in a marinade. Same with soy sauce.

Not saying that OP's sour beer would make a good marinade though. I always sort of assumed that's why vinegar is common in german food...they had a lot of spoiled beer to get rid of.

I good vinegar shouldn't be horrible to sip. And in my quote I said things I have fermented.

Besides there is a difference between vinegar and a soured beer.