Tea Beer on Tap, this Thursday

Head Brewer at Left Hand Brewing Company, Ro Guenzel, has created a new Weizenbock with our Lapsang Souchong tea. He first launched it at the Big Beers, Belgians, and Barley Wine festival in Vail earlier this month and it was a hit! They'll be pouring a keg of this beer for the first time in their tasting room this Thursday, January 28th. They'll be tapping the keg at 3pm and pouring it until it's gone. We'll also be there, sampling our lapsang souchong tea alongside so you can experience this unique pinewood smoked black tea in full form. Please stop by and introduce yourself.

Brewmaster's Tasting Notes:

The beer is a strong wheat beer or Weizenbock. It is fermented with a special Bavarian yeast strain that produces strong ester and phenolic aromas. The beer pours dark hazy brown with a rocky white head. Aroma is of banana and faint clove with a interesting spicy smokiness. The beer tastes of banana, soft wheat and chocolate. It starts sweet and then is dried out by the tannic smokiness of the tea. The 6.2% ABV is well hidden amongst the interplay of malts, tea and yeast.

Keg Tap Event:
Thursday, January 28th, 3pm-8pm
Left Hand's Brewery & Tasting Room

1265 Boston Ave., Longmont CO 80501 Google Maps

Lapsang Souchong Tasting Notes & Origins:

This unique black tea is smoke dried over pinewood, giving it a heavily smokey aroma and a deep, rich liquor. The tea leaves are first withered over pine root fires, then panfried, rolled and oxidized. The leaves are finally placed in bamboo baskets and hung on wooden racks over smoking pinewood fires to dry and absorb the smoke. This results in a powerfully smoky aroma coupled with a smooth taste.

Legend has it that the process for smoked tea came about during tribal times when a village burned all their possessions and inadvertently smoked the tea. Another story states that during the Qing Dynasty, an army unit passing through a village occupied a tea factory filled with fresh leaf awaiting manufacture. When workers could get back into the factory, they realized that for their tea to arrive at market in time, it was too late to dry the leaves the usual way and open fires of pinewood were lit to hasten the drying. When the tea reached the market, the smoke flavor created a sensation and a new product was born.

View Lapsang Souchong Details

Lapsang Souchong Braised Lamb

To celebrate Celestial Seasonings 40th year anniversary, Cindy Sutter, food editor for Daily Camera, wrote a tea-licious article entitled Kitchen teatime: Cooking up some tea-full recipes. She featured my Casanova Sliders, Green Roasted Tea Smoked Salmon, Corn off the Cob Quinoa Salad, Mango Tango Grilled Pineapple & Boulder Blues Muddler. 

Photo by MARTY CAIVANO

Along side my recipes were a few from Lenny Martinelli, proprietor of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, an amazing hand-crafted teahouse, presented to Boulder by Mayor Maksud Ikramov, as symbol celebrating the establishment of sister city ties. Although the city of Boulder owns the building, Martinelli operates the restaurant. Martinelli is well-known for cooking with tea and has inspired me quite a few times during his annual cooking with tea class at the Rocky Mountain Tea Festival. 

Photo by Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

One of his featured recipes in the article is a Lapsang Souchong Braised Lamb, which sounds enticing and intriguing. At first glance, it seems like a stew since the lamb is cut into cubes instead of being cooked in larger pieces. You might also think about to brining the lamb overnight if cooking with tougher parts of the meat. 

Due to lack of time, sleep and energy, I'm posting the recipe before testing it. I plan to test it Sunday. So, tune in next week for a verdict. 

Lapsang Souchong Braised Lamb

For the rub:

2 tablespoons Lapsang Souchong tea leaves, ground

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the braised lamb:

2 pounds lamb cubed

Salt and pepper to taste

1 onion diced

1 carrot diced

1 celery diced

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

3 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups water

Directions: Combine all rub ingredients. Toss with meat and let sit in refrigerator for half a day. Heat oil in a dutch oven or large saute pan. Season lamb with salt and sear. When you turn the meat to sear on the other side, add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and cook 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and brown lightly. Add water, cover pot and cook on low heat for about 11/2 hours. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Source: Lenny Martinelli

Let me know how it is if you test it before me...