Nothing signals my brain “HEY!!! WE ARE ON VACATION!!” quite like a beer for breakfast does. Whether it be a holiday, a family trip to the beach or those painfully early pre-dawn arrivals at the airport, the simple luxury of a beer in the morning is never lost on me. After water, malt is the second largest ingredient in beer. All of that roasty toasty grainy goodness (how’s that for technical?!), truly makes beer a welcome addition to the morning cocktail scene. Bloody Mary’s, Champagne, sure, but beer is such a natural fit from a flavor profile standpoint, that I’m not at all surprised to see it popping up more often on brunch menus. And in my opinion, the best way to fancy a beer up and invite it along to join your lobster huevos rancheros or caviar blinis, is to turn it into a beermosa.
Heighten your beer experience with some OJ and a decadent breakfast
We were first introduced to the brilliant concept of the beermosa back in 2009. Friends from Colorado were visiting and it also happened to be Lance’s birthday. The bottomless champagne brunch at the Renaissance Cafe in Dana Point was absolutely in order. But low and behold, if our friend didn’t order a BEER with his OJ! Honestly, it seemed blasphemous at the time. But after one sip, I was a true believer. At the time we exclusively used wheat beers when making or ordering a beermosa. The Kellerweis from Sierra Nevada was a go-to favorite for a while (and is still a terrific pick). But now that I’m older and more confident in my flavor choices, I find a great Saison to also be a lovely accompaniment to the orange juice. Captain Stardust from Yellow Springs Brewery is my current favorite beermosa beer. Yellow Springs Brewery is just down the road from us here in Ohio, and they brew some terrific beers. And this Saiason of theirs is at the top of that list. Having just joined the canning game, I am looking forward to seeing their beer in more retail locations, as they take their place in the very happening Ohio beer scene.
The Saison from Yellow Springs Brewery is joins the brunch crowd.
Music Pairing
To go along with our beermosa I picked two albums of Jay Bennet’s, The Beloved Enemy and Bigger Than Blue. Both albums came out in 2004 and if you took the best tracks of these two, brought in Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, Wilco would have had made a great fifth album*!
Neither album stands on their own, but the following selections flow as well as our Captain Stardust Saison this morning.
Reasons for You to Love Me (Cars Can’t Escape) – The crunch guitars and a solid drum beat is the most solid track on this album.
My Little Wicked One – Just Jay with an acoustic guitar. Sad lyrics and key.
It’s Hard – A song about regret, and during this time in his life I’m sure he had plenty!
Charming and Plastic – Upbeat song for this album might have been a throwaway from Summersteeth
Pretty Good Year – Production on this song is very Pet Sounds and is a great ending for The Beloved Enemy.
*Bennett was kicked out of Wilco after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2002 and later passed away. Sam Jones’ I’m Trying To Break Your Heart sheds the breakdown of the band on that awesome album.