Makes: About 1 gallon (3.78 liters)
Fermented White “Beer Soy” Sauce
4 cup wheat berries
8 cup warm spent grains from your brewing project or a local brewery
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 gal (3.78 l) water
160 grams sea salt
Roast the wheat berries and coarsely grind them. Mix with the warm spent grains. Toss with the yeast and let ferment for 48 hours in a still environment. Stirring every 4 hours will keep the yeast alive and happy. Heat the water to 88°F (31°C) and add the sea salt. Mix well.
Combine the salt water/grain mash in a container. If you have access to barrels safe for food or drink, use them; if not, use a nonreactive container such as stainless steel or durable plastic. Char a piece of oak, drop it in with the mash, and cover the container. Store at room temperature (65–70°F/18–21°C). Mix every other day for about a week. Then mix every week and then every month depending on how long you want to ferment. Four months of fermentation will yield a delicious white young “soy,” but one year will yield a great, rich darker type “soy.” At the 4-month mark, the “soy” is great for a stock to use in the White “Beer Soy” Basil Broth.
Strain the “soy” through a muslin cloth and press to get all the liquid out. Bring the “soy” to a boil for 10 minutes and strain again.
White “Beer Soy” Basil Broth
1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) hot white “beer soy”
1 jalapeño, cut in quarters lengthwise
Juice from ½ lime
Juice from ½ lemon
6–8 basil leaves
Just before serving, combine all the ingredients in a French press pot.
Hamachi
4 oz (113 g) Hamachi, skinned, cut down the blood line (the reddish line that runs lengthwise down the fish)
With the Hamachi skin side up, slice against the grain diagonally into lovely sashimi slices that will put the local sushi chef to shame (it’s not easy, but do your best). Lay the Hamachi slices in a bowl. Press the broth in the press pot and let sit for 30 seconds, then pour over the raw Hamachi. Serve immediately with Jalapeño Apple Slaw.
Jalapeño Apple Slaw
1 jalapeño, seeded and sliced crosswise
1 crisp apple, julienned
1 shallot, sliced
1 Tbs (½ fl oz/15 ml) olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
Combine the jalapeño, apple, and shallot in a small bowl. Mix the olive oil with the sugar and pour over the slaw. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Beer suggestions: Pairs well with a clean lager with a milder hops profile, such as Anchor California Lager (San Francisco, California).