Using The Last Beer

Recipes

Don't you hate it when you end up with one or two weird beers in your fridge? Or you go to your buddy's house, and he's like "Hey, try this great beer," but when you go for another he says, "Sorry that was the last one left from a party I didn't invite you to." These are the beers that should end up on the Island of Misfit Toys with a gun that shoots grape jelly.

These beers can be from a night when someone came over with own their six pack and drank five. Or when you discover a beer that accidentally became hidden behind the Zima in the fridge. Or the worst of all, the dreaded gift box. You know, it's the one that has six or 12 different beers in it. "Hey that guy likes beer!" someone says. "A great gift for him would be to get him 12 beers from Belgium or the beers of Sam Adams!" Too bad that the giftee is someone who normally only drinks Bud and now has one stout, one porter, and one chocolate beer. Gee, thanks! Look: Do not offer me one beer. I like beer in quantity. Who drinks one beer and goes, "Great thanks, do you have any water?" But I digress.

Recently I had some misfit beers from Oktoberfest. I had one Hofbrau Oktoberfest and two Paulaner Hefe Weissbiers hanging around. So for Thanksgiving, I decided to put them to use. The Paulander was used to baste our turkey. This works well with almost any beer, though — it adds flavor and also keeps the turkey nice and moist. Last year I think we used Rolling Rock. I'd suggest maybe skipping the holiday chocolate beer, though.

The Hofbrau, meanwhile, was slated for cranberry sauce. My daughter Mia and I have a tradition in which we get up on Thanksgiving and watch the Macy's parade while making cranberry sauce. This year we made three different kinds, including a fresh cranberry salsa, a fig and port version, and finally, our Oktoberfest style. We started into this one right when Miley Cyrus was singing on a float, just after the Picachu balloon went by. God, I love that parade. While we used an Oktoberfest beer, feel free to substitute any lone beer, and serve the sauce up with Christmas dinner.

Tyler Wilson drinks beer. Email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Mia's Hofbrau Cranberry Sauce, from Tyler and Mia Wilson.

1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
5 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon cardamom
1 bottle Hofbrau Oktoberfest beer (Other beers will work if you have a different misfit)
1 bag fresh whole cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar

First fry up the ginger and scallions for a couple of minutes until they are fragrant. Then spread on the cardamom. Then pour the beer and cranberries in. Watch it until it boils. Once boiling, bring it down to a simmer and add the brown sugar. Simmer for about a half hour, stirring every five minutes. The berries should begin to break down as it cooks. Let cool and then put into jars. Should last a few days to a week.

Photos by Tyler Wilson, "DIY" photograph by John and Eliza Forder/Getty Images, "Pantry" photograph by Áslaug Snorradóttir.