Yuengling -

by snebbu

100 Ways to Use Beer in Food and Drink #8 and #9: Black and Tan Beer-Infused Garlic Pesto

To all you naysayers out there: you lose! Yet again I accomplish both #8 and #9 of my quest to use beer in 100 different dishes. This time, I wanted to make something versatile, that could go with various meals, so I opted for a pesto that is amped up with flavor of a black and tan beer….plus beer-infused garlic, so I knock two items off the list.

Hopefully you realize that black and tan is a reference to a mix of two tasty and contrasting beers. The mix of beers varies depending on where you get it and from whom, but is generally a dark beer with a pale ale or lager. This time, I used Yuengling’s version: a mix of their porter and their premium beer. I was hoping the porter part of this would bring out the nutty flavor of the pine nuts, but because it’s only half porter, wouldn’t turn the pesto dark.

The black and tan did bring out the pine nuts, while also giving the pesto a bit of the bite when mixed with the garlic. I put one slice of sun-dried tomato in the mix and it lent a very subtle taste that again, I believe was brought out by the beer. I served this as a snack on toast, topped with a slice of sun-dried tomato. Then, for dinner we put it on our burgers, along with the beer-infused ketchup! OR you can make an open-faced tuna sandwich and top it off with some pesto (see above). You’re welcome.