Pumpkin Beer Bread Recipe {With DuClaw 31 Pumpkin Spiced Lager}

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by DuClaw Brewing Company and a 6-pack each of 31 Pumpkin Spice Lager and  was provided to me for review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I'm not a fan of cold weather and therefore am not Fall's biggest fan because, let's be honest, the magical light jacket, brisk Fall weather only lasts maybe a month before Old Man Winter takes over and refuses to leave for months on end. 

Besides candy corn and Halloween, the only things I like about fall are pumpkin foods and Fall beers, including pumpkin beers. 

I have a lot of favorite pumpkin beers and love supporting local breweries so I was excited to try out the latest seasonal offering from DuClaw after enjoying their Naked Fish Stout so much this past Valentine's Day.  I was sent their 31 Pumpkin Spiced Lager and the 62 Imperial Pumpkin Ale. 

Both beers were excellent but the Imperial Pumpkin Ale was my personal favorite.  This 8.2% ABV beer is infused with cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg to round out one of DuClaw's most hop-loaded beers to date! I loved how flavorful the beer was and how much the spices came through. It's a delicious, just hoppy-enough fall beer. 

The 31 Pumpkin Spiced Lager is packed with cinnamon and nutmeg flavor, sits at 5.7% ABV, and is frighteningly delicious. Don't worry, I thought of some more corny Halloween puns. You can find either the 31 Pumpkin Spiced Lager or the 62 Imperial Pumpkin Ale at a store near you for a limited time.

I decided to experiment with a pumpkin bread recipe using the 31 Pumpkin Lager. It would work with either of these pumpkin beers, but I ending up using the 31 Lager because my boyfriend and I had already drank most of the 62 Imperial Pumpkin Ale six-pack-whoops. 

This pumpkin bread is my twist on a classic beer bread. It's not a super sweet bread, and I see it as being the perfect side to a hearty dinner like my turkey pumpkin chili. 

Pumpkin Beer bread

Author: breathedeeplyandsmile.com

Total time: 60 mins

Makes: 1 loaf (8 slices)

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 12-ounce bottle of pumpkin beer (I used DuClaw’s 31 Pumpkin Spiced Lager)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp of salt     

             

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a bread loaf pan with cooking spray. Mix all the ingredients except beer together in a bowl until combined. 

Next slowly add in beer and stir until combined. Pour batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until lightly no longer wet in the middle (test with a toothpick after around 30 minutes of baking) .  

Allow bread to cool and firm up before slicing up. Enjoy!  

DuClaw Brewing Company is a Baltimore-based craft brewery that was founded in 1996 and has released over 65 unique beers, producing over 25,000 barrels per year to keep pace with it's always-expanding beer lineup and demand. They outgrew their initial brewpub space in Bel Air, MD and relocated their brewing facility to Rosedale, MD.  You can find DuClaw in select liquor stores, restaurants, and bars through MD, DC, NJ DE, VA, PA, NC WV, and most recently-Cleveland, OH as well as their brewpub restaurants in Arundel Mills, Bel Air, Bowie, and BWI airport.  

Be sure to check out DuClaw on Facebook and Twitter! 

What is your favorite pumpkin food or drink? 

This post was linked up with Weekend Snapshots and  MIMM 

Treat Yourself to DuClaw's Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout this Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by DuClaw Brewing Company and a 6-pack of Naked Fish was provided to me for review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

While red wine paired with chocolate is the obvious romantic choice to go along with your Valentine's Day plans, you might want to reconsider. 

I was lucky enough to be approached to try Baltimore's own DuClaw Brewing Company's seasonal release of the Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout.  I love trying new craft brews and seasonal beers so I was really excited. I'm especially a fan of DuClaw's Mysterium and Dirty Little Freak beers. While I am all about red wine and dark chocolates, I also love the pairing of stouts and chocolate. 

I'm not just saying that because I love pretty much anything with chocolate either!  

This Naked Fish Stout was first brewed in 2002 and inspired by a hot cup of raspberry coffee DuClaw Brewmaster Jim Wagner was drinking while fishing. He homebrewed the first batch later with the same coffee and a new beer was born.

It is a pretty standard medium-bodied stout with a tan head and 4.6% abv, but then gets fun with gourmet chocolate raspberry coffee added to the grain bill to produce the distinct flavors of roast coffee, raspberry and dark chocolate at the finish.  

Despite the sweet flavors, this Naked Fish Stout is surprisingly very drinkable. I know some flavored,sweeter beers are sometimes trying to do too much or aren't everyone's cup of tea. I was worried this stout would be too sweet or that the raspberry flavor would get lost.  At first sip you taste the chocolate and coffee flavors and then get a subtle hint of the fruity raspberry.  It's not overwhelming and also has a nice, slightly carbonated mouth feel that isn't too heavy either. 

Dogfish Dash 2014 Race Recap

Okay so I'm an awful blogger and got totally behind on race recaps from last spring/before Chicago.  There's just too many races and not enough time in my day to blog about it all!  So in the new year before the spring racing starts, I thought I'd go back and finish some race recaps.  

I'm starting with the Dogfish Dash 5K/10K from September 2014. 

I had been really wanting to visit Dogfish Head Craft Beer Brewery because my boyfriend are huge fans of the beers they put out. We also were enamored with a series called Brew Masters about them we found on Netflix which had episodes built around specific beers from concept to creation and problems encountered as a brewery.  

I randomly stumbled upon the registration link on Twitter the day of registration and since I knew it would sell out that day(it's capped at around 2000 runners), I signed my boyfriend and I up on a whim! 

We ended up making the trek to Rehobeth Beach the day before the race and went straight to packet pickup at the Dogfish Head Brewings & Eatery. Of course it was super packed, but after some waiting around we eventually snagged a couple seats at the bar and got to tasting beers. They have all of their usual beers on tap, plus specialty beers you can't get anywhere else!  I was also REALLY happy that they had their Punkin Ale which is one of my favorites, on tap.  

Our food and the beers were great!  I had the pub salad with falafel and a beer sampler.We even saw the owner Sam come in to eat with his family. It was awesome to see he was so down to earth, even when my boyfriend stopped him on the way to the bathroom to gush about how much he loves their beer. 

We ended up enjoying ourselves a lot and since hotels in the area were all booked for the race, we stayed at local campsite in between Rehobeth and Milton. It's definitely a race you need to plan ahead for!   We had left Baltimore later than we liked so after dinner and many beers, we pretty much got to the campsite, pitched a tent, and went to sleep. 

The next morning we woke up bright and early to a sunny, clear sky.  We drove to the actual brewery in the small town of Milton, Delaware, parked the car and got ready to race. 

As seen in the parking lot!

Thinking Out Loud: Boston Recap

Since it's been a while-HEY I'm BACK, linking up with Amanda's Thinking Out Loud post is perfect for me to talk about random things from my little trip up to Boston along with lots of photos! I have lots of feelings about the marathon and various things so there will be multiple Boston posts!

1. Being back from vacation is one of the worst things ever. The only good thing is that my we did wash before we left so I only have to unpack a massive suitcase of clean clothes. We had some apartment issues while we were away so now I need to deal with repairs. Oh and dealing with a million emails and snail mail is always fun too. I need some coffee to get through work today! 

2. I would totally live in Boston if it wasn't so cold/expensive. It is a fabulous city, and I can't wait to get back. I really loved all the marathon/runner love too.