What could I use in a receipe instead of american pale ale?!

DaisyMoo

Hi folks,

I wanted to try the recipe for pulled pork that was on the Fabulous Baker Brothers the other night - It looks so good and will probably cover 3-4 meals for us and possibly some lunches too!

The recipe calls for 330mls of american pale ale - I have searched on-line, but cant find it, it is definitely not coming up on my on-line shopping. We are not big on alcohol anyway, so was wondering if anyone had any ideas of what I could use as a substitute?

Also, (being cheeky now!) if I were to do it in the slow cooker (to save money) instead of the oven as per the recipe, do you think I should reduce the amount of liquid?

Thank you for all your help, and apologies if this is in the wrong place x

squeaky

I think the nearest you'll find in the UK is India Pale Ale. Nice stuff

Aha! Wiki says...

American Pale Ale

American Pale Ale (APA), was developed around 1980.[10] The brewery thought to be the first to successfully use significant quantities of American hops in the style of APA and use the name Pale Ale, was the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company,[11] who brewed the first experimental batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in November 1980,[12] distributing the finished version in March 1981.[13] Anchor Liberty Ale, a 6% abv ale originally brewed by Anchor Brewing Company as a special in 1975 to commemorate Paul Revere's midnight ride in 1775 which marked the start of the American War of Independence, was seen by Michael Jackson as the first modern American ale.[14] Fritz Maytag, the owner of Anchor, visited British breweries in London, Yorkshire and Burton upon Trent, picking up information about robust pale ales, which he used when he made his American version using just malt rather than the malt and sugar combination common in brewing at that time, and making prominent use of the American hop, Cascade.[14] The beer was popular, and became a regular in 1983.[14] Other pioneers of a hoppy American pale ale were Jack McAuliffe of the New Albion Brewing Company and Bert Grant of Yakima Brewing.[15][16]
American Pale Ales are generally around 5% abv with significant quantities of American hops, typically Cascade.[17] Although American brewed beers tend to use a cleaner yeast, and American two row malt,[18] it is particularly the American hops that distinguish an APA from British or European pale ales.[19] The style is close to the American India Pale Ale (IPA), and boundaries blur,[20] though IPAs are stronger and more assertively hopped.[21] The style is also close to Amber Ale, though Amber Ales are darker and maltier due to use of crystal malts.[22]

So the American version is modelled after UK ones anyway

As for slow cooking... you can either use a thickener of your choice - or pour off the liquid after cooking and reduce it in a saucepan.

short_bird

From what I can find on t'Internet, you can use an India Pale Ale or IPA instead; they're available at most supermarkets from a lot of different brewers.

Not sure about the slow cooking side of it though.

ETA: Squeaky beat me to it!

Idiophreak

What to use instead of American beer?

Water?

Stephen_Leak

The idea is to use alcohol to tenderise the meat whilst it's cooking. Any beer will do that. I drink and cook with those 250ml "stubbies" of supermarket French lager, and they've worked just fine in countless beef and steak & kidney pies.

DaisyMoo

Wiki!!! Why didn't I think of that! Thanks squeaky!

Thanks short_bird, I've heard of IPA, might give that one a go :beer:

I was kinda hoping for something a bit more flavoursome than water, but hey, I guess I could use it if I had nothing else

Ohh, looking forward to trying this now - thanks everyone

Nicki

DaisyMoo wrote: »

I was kinda hoping for something a bit more flavoursome than water, but hey, I guess I could use it if I had nothing else

I think a real ale drinkers little joke just zinged over your head there!

adouglasmhor

Jokes aren't funny if they are explained but i will try a different angle from Idiophreak.
Why is drinking american beer like sex in a canoe?
It's Effin close to water.

Stephen_Leak

I agree that India Pale Ale is the closest alternative.

Having drunk some American beers, the water could have a higher alcohol content.

Actually, in any of my recipes that use beer or wine, I also specify using the same quantity of water as an alternative, in case the end-user has a medical or religious issue with alcohol.

spike7451

I'd use an IPA or any good quality ale will do like Marstons Pale Ale,but if you want a more intense beery flavor,a stout.BUT don't use one of the cheap chemical beers like Bass ale,use a bottled beer like Bishops Finger Strong Ale or Bombardier English Ale....BUT it's VITALLY IMPORTANT than you have a couple of extra bottles of the same ale to quaff along with the meal,if you want a more robust drink,I recommend Hobgoblin or Black Sheep Ale.

adouglasmhor

spike7451 wrote: »

I'd use an IPA or any good quality ale will do like Marstons Pale Ale,but if you want a more intense beery flavor,a stout.BUT don't use one of the cheap chemical beers like Bass ale,use a bottled beer like Bishops Finger Strong Ale or Bombardier English Ale....BUT it's VITALLY IMPORTANT than you have a couple of extra bottles of the same ale to quaff along with the meal,if you want a more robust drink,I recommend Hobgoblin or Black Sheep Ale.

If you are drinking Hobgoblin use Goliath for the cooking.