Something exciting has been brewing… literally. I always get excited about combining flavours that result in something slightly off the beaten track – and while it’s often a matter of hours in the kitchen for me, this one had a bit of difference. Five months difference, to be exact. And if you can imagine the sense of satisfaction I feel after nailing an hour’s long recipe concept, you can imagine just how excited I was to crack open a can of my brand new collaboration stout: Drought Breaker.
That’s right – a collaboration stout, made by Taupo’s award-winning brew legends: Lakeman.
I was approached by Lakeman in late March about a stout collaboration. The team knew I adored their Ghost Ship stout, which I first tried at their flagship bar Jimmy Coop’s, on Taupo’s lakefront. Ghost Ship features flavours of bourbon (thanks to being aged in bourbon barrels), as well as caramel, chocolate and coconut. It’s a luxurious drink – something that makes you feel all warm inside – yet refreshing at the same time. I knew this stout would inspire what I wanted to create.
THE IDEATING
We drummed up our first meeting at the Lakeman brewery, out in the beautiful Taupo countryside. The brewery site was quintessential of Taupo – humble, nothing showy, but delivering to a high standard (with several excited dogs, a few tractors and miscellaneous bits of metal scattered about).
The brewery has capacity to brew 400,000 litres each year, with an onsite canning line to package the beer before it heads out to restaurant fridges, bottle shops and supermarkets.
Something I really love about Lakeman is their sustainability focus. Brewery wastewater containing old yeast and hops is irrigated onto the paddocks – and my favourite one: spent grain is fed to the Lakeman Farms cattle (taking the form of a hot grainy mash – porridge for the cattle is pretty cute). The beef is served at Jimmy Coop’s; Lakeman’s flagship bar.
I met with James (owner) and Jem (marketing & creative genius) to put ideas together. As the foodie in the equation, I had the ability to brain-dump flavour combinations that I thought would be epic in a stout. The key here: big cosy wintry flavours. My process often begins with “what-if” combinations of wild and out-there ingredients, before reigning myself in and turning my attention to the consumer. For a saleable beer, we needed to consider first what the market is familiar with; and then factor in enough quirkiness to get people curious.
I went home with cans of stout and a list of flavour concepts. What ensued were sessions in the kitchen with beakers and syringes; I experimented with brown butter, maple syrup, ginger, walnut and orange – among others. A key takeaway: bourbon with stout is incredible (again, coming back to that Ghost Ship stout I fell in love with last year).
We met again for another idea session, doubling down on the bourbon. James mentioned that they had experimented adding cardamom to a previous beer, and loved the brightness and different flavour notes it brought forward. That was an a-ha moment. My brain immediately went to my favourite middle eastern dishes combining cardamom with orange, and therein lay our new idea: a stout brewed with bourbon, cardamom and orange.
THE BREWING
After sourcing ingredients, I was invited again to the brewery for the beginning of the brewing process. There’s a whole heap of science, trial and error behind creating the perfect brew – I watched in amazement as brewers Rory and Laura got to work on the new stout.
The malt is first milled; which gives off the most incredible sweet, nutty, toasty smell.
The milled grain is then manually added to a tank of water and mixed; a long and laborious process called mashing. It’s quite the workout – I didn’t bother attempting.
The mixture is then transferred to another tank, where it is boiled with hops. After that, it is transferred to one of the many fermentation tanks that line the brewery.
The fermenting process took place while I soaked up the sunshine in Bali for a few weeks. Once I’d returned to Taupo (and a shock-to-the-system frost), the cardamom, orange and bourbon had since been added to the brew, and I paid a visit to the brewery for the canning process. This process was oddly satisfying to watch; as cans were moved in unison along the conveyer belt and forcefully filled with stout.
James concocted the name “Drought Breaker” as an ode to the end of Dry July – which was, at that stage, the proposed release date. But as good things take time, a few disruptions to label printing extended the drought a little longer.
Eventually, the beer was rolled out to Jimmy Coops’ taps, which is where I had my first (legitimate) taste.
THE BEEF
Simultaneously, I’ve also been working to create a rich and cosy slow-cooked beef dish that makes use of our special stout. I’ve done a bit of playing around to create a recipe I’m really proud of – a dish that totally embodies the flavours of Drought Breaker and its warm, cosy personality.
The dish: Slow-Cooked Beef Rump with Stout and Orange.
This dish has big, bold flavours, tender meat and a succulent buttery sauce. Taking inspiration from the stout, I’ve used orange peel and cardamom for flavour, as well as onion, garlic and mushrooms which provide aroma and earthiness. The stout packs a punch; its savoury notes are complemented by a good splash of worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar.
I used Lakeman Farms beef rump for this recipe – beef that was fed using spent grains from the brewery.
We wanted to showcase the dish not only as a delicious main to serve as part of a meal, but also as a pizza topping and burger filling. For this, I pulled the meat and stirred it through the broth to make a pulled meat sauce, which can be filled in long rolls, dolloped on your sandwich or, like we did, slapped on pizza and inside a burger.
For the pizza, I made a beautiful pillowy crust, which I spread with a sweet smokey barbecue sauce before layering on the pulled meat. I grated over some mozzarella cheese and let it bake in a super hot oven, before removing and giving it a final dusting of grated parmesan.
As for the burger, I started with brioche and slathered the buns with a delicious dill & parsley aioli – two herbs I adore. I also (generously) used this herbed aioli as a dressing for a carrot and cabbage slaw, which was layered in the burger with that delicious pulled meat.
Now the braised beef – I served it with a side of crispy, well-salted roasted potatoes, charred broccoli with a nice bit of parmesan, and more of that delicious dill aioli slaw, which would make a well-rounded meal.
We set up a cosy photoshoot to showcase all of these dishes, paired with a few of Lakeman’s delicious stouts of course. The food was enjoyed swiftly thereafter!
You can find the recipe for my Slow-Cooked Beef Rump with Stout and Orange here.
We are so happy to finally launch Drought Breaker to the public. It’s a fun collaboration between local brewer and local foodie, that will hopefully stir up excitement around this brew and the creativity behind it!
You can purchase the Drought Breaker stout here, or enjoy it on tap at Jimmy Coops.
