The best attribute beer brings to this world, as does wine, liquor and almost anything else that prohibits sobriety, is that you can drink and cook with it. So this month’s beer I’m focusing on is George Killian’s Irish Red. It has been one of my favorite beers, long before I could legally drink it.

I’ll try every beer once, no matter how dark it is or how hoppy it is- the damn thing deserves a shot like everything else in the world. I’d have to say the beer competitions in America are rising at the same rate as barbecue sauce competitions. Every one has a different flavor and when you find one you like, you feel the difference.

Since I reached my quarter-life ‘crisis’ at 25- being broke, wanting to travel the world, wanting to own fifteen restaurants- I’ve had to cut back on how much beer I was actually drinking. By the way, my ‘crisis’ right now is that I live in southeast Georgia, not the most intellectual of places to reside, but 90% of my days are cloudless. The average temperature over winter is 70 degrees. The sunsets are like Oxford, MS- always different, but just as beautiful as the day before. I work right on the water and really don’t have a care in the world except for student loans and long overdue credit card payments, along with the lack of any type of social life.

However, with my metabolism slowing and my passion for indulging in the food and beverage industry, I can’t drink a six pack a night. Instead I’ll settle for a Mich Ultra, which is lowest in calories and highest in alcohol content. I don’t actually have somewhere to send you to prove that’s correct, but if it is- two of those after work and I’ve satiated by hunger for beer. If not, a good ole Yuengling always hits the spot.

Now, Killian’s Irish Red is nothing you want to impress your “bro’s” with- it looks dark, it smells more than it taste, and it’s an easy beer to guzzle. I enjoy it because it’s asier to drink and it doesn’t leave that ‘damn my burps are going to reek after this’ taste in your mouth. It’s got a slight sweet malt in it and you can almost taste caramel, but it’s nothing true advocates of brewing beer prefer. It’s not a denser-than-lead IPA by any means. When a friend brings you a case of beer as a nice gesture, even if you don’t like it, even if it’s your least favorite beer- you shake their hand, smile bigger than on Christmas, and send me an email asking how you can use that beer in some other way. For example, Milwaukee’s Best- I will not drink, but I’ll use it in a beer batter, which is honestly the only place it should be used.

SaltwaterChef used a Killian’s to braise some pork ribs. The ribs marinated in the beer, hot sauce, soy sauce, Central BBQ Sauce (which is my absolute all-time favorite bbq sauce) and a multitude of seasonings from our pantry for about 2 1/2 hours.

We put the oven on 200 degrees, and slow cooked the ribs for about five hours in a Le Creuset. They came out delicious, fork-tender and full of flavor. We paired them with some classic southern favorites: collard greens, mac and cheese, and black eyed peas. Tip- add a little hoisin sauce on your ribs for an additional burst of flavor. Good way to fuse Asian with some damn good southern cooking.

Avoiding nasty beer burps,
Coleman