Can i put Ale in the slow cooker?

WantToBeSE

I am making a beef and ale stew in the slow cooker. Can i put the ale in at the start, or can it not be put in a slow cooker at all?

WantToBeSE

SOS...anyone? I am making it now, so any help would be appreciated?

Impromptu

I put it in at the beginning- haven't had any complaints!

WantToBeSE

Ahh, brilliant, thanks Impromptu, i'll chuck it in now

SailorSam

I Wouldn't put a can of lager in but i put real ales in.

shell2001

When i do pork in cider i always add it at the start, never had any problems
:-)

emilykf

I do gammon in cider in the SC and never had a problem!

lobbyludd

the only caution I'd have is not to use anything out of a can: it always ends up tasting metallic to me, whereas the same brand out of a bottle tastes fine - this isn't a slow cooker thing though so if you've used the recipe before just do the same thing, add at the beginning and take the lid off towards the end so it can reduce down a bit.

WantToBeSE

Thanks everyone. It's not cider, its real Ale from a glass bottle. I haven't made the recipe in the SC before, so we'll see how it goes.
Thanks for all the advice.

Oh, and how long before the end should i put the dumplings in?

room512

I always put the dumplings in 30 mins before I want to eat it and turn the slow cooker up to high.

peachyprice

Oh dear, wish I'd have seen this sooner

I'd say no. I put a bottle of ale in to a beef stew and it was absolutley disgusting, the alcohol didn't burn off because it wasn't hot enough which resulted in a very nasty, bitter stew.

I had to take it out of the slow cooker, drain the gravy part and attempt to boil the alcohol out, it was still very bitter so had to keep adding different ingredients to get rid of the taste.

Not my finest moment and I would never do it again!