elBulli's Beer: Estrella Damm INEDIT

By JULIETTE ROSSANT More then a few American chefs have embraced beer as an alternative to wine. Breweries have followed suit with more sophisticated beer, with microbreweries catering to the desire for more unusual tastes. Even large breweries have figured out that there is money to be made in teaming up with chefs. Think of Boston Beer working with chefs like Todd English and David Burke. Even Anheuser-Busch hired Todd to come up with beer compatible recipes, and recipes that include beer. It should come as no surprise that Ferran Adria is getting in on the action. INEDIT, an oddly named beer (it sounds a bit too much like inedible) by Barcelona brewer Estrella Damm was created by Ferran Adria, Juli Soler, elBulli sommerliers, and Estrella Damm. According to the press release: “INEDIT was developed from the belief that there was a need for a beer that could complement a dining experience," said Ferran Adrià, elBulli Executive Chef. “INEDIT is the fruit of more than a year and a half and 400 trial iterations between the master brewers of Estrella Damm and the team of sommeliers at elBulli." The new beer was launched in the US at an event hosted by Dan Barber at his restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns in May. INEDIT is available in Europe, and specific places in the U.S. now (restaurants and off-premise retailers), and will be distributed nationwide this Fall. What does it taste like? Super Chef has not tasted INEDIT yet, so here is the description from the web site: Inedit is a unique coupage of barley malt and wheat with hop, coriander, orange peel, liquorice, yeast and water. After bottling and capping, a secondary fermentation in the bottle occurs, leading to a more complex product. INEDIT comes in a bottle that is shared among diners. The beer is supposed to be poured in wine glasses. And we are instructed: "It is important not to fill the glass more than half full so as to appreciate all its virtues." Expect to see more chefs endorsing and brewing beers in America. Many chefs already have their own wine label – Charlie Palmer and Daniel Boulud to name two of many – so expect some chefs to bottle their own beer, hard cider, and other liquor. Previous articles: Ferran Adria: A Day at elBulli Branding: Todd English, Beer Gourmet [Ches & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews --> back to Super Chef