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Beer Soup (German Method)
Simmer 2 quarts of mild beer (it should not be bitter) with the thin rind of a lemon, a few cloves, and a stick of cinnamon; sweeten with sugar, and add it, through a sieve, to the well-beaten yolks of 6 eggs and half a pint of cream. Whilst pouring into the tureen, stir into a froth with a wire whisk. The beer should be very hot, but not boiling, when stirred into the eggs. Serve hot with toast. Time, about half an hour to simmer. There will be sufficient of this for eight or ten persons.
A German Biersuppe — essentially a warm beer custard, thickened with egg yolk and cream rather than flour. The whole dish turns on one point of temperature control.
- The hinge: temper, do not scrambleThe beer must be hot enough to cook the yolks but never boiling, or the soup breaks into sweet beery scrambled egg. Pour the strained beer into the yolk-and-cream mixture in a thin stream while whisking hard, then keep the finished soup below a simmer.
- Bring it to a safe custard temperatureThe original relies on residual heat alone. Take the combined mixture to 165-175F (74-80C) over low heat, stirring constantly; it will thicken very slightly and coat a spoon. Above about 185F it curdles.
- Which beer"Mild beer" means a low-hopped, malty ale — a Munich dunkel, a mild ale, or a light lager. Modern IPAs and anything dry-hopped will turn aggressively bitter as the beer reduces.
- Quantities in modern termsBy US measure, 2 quarts is 8 cups (about 1.9 litres) of beer and half a pint of cream is 1 cup (about 240 ml); if the source is British, imperial measure makes it nearer 2.3 litres of beer and about 285 ml of cream. Sugar is unspecified — start at 1/3 cup and taste after the spices have infused, since malt sweetness varies widely between beers.
- Lemon rind"Thin rind" means the yellow zest only, pared with a peeler. Any white pith adds a bitterness this soup cannot carry.
- The half-hour simmerThirty minutes at a bare simmer infuses the spices and drives off most, though not all, of the alcohol. Keep it gentle and uncovered; a hard boil will concentrate hop bitterness and reduce the volume too far.
- Strain and frothSieve out the zest, cloves and cinnamon stick before the eggs go anywhere near the beer. The whisking at the tureen is not decoration — the foam is the texture of the dish, so serve it immediately.
- Yield and servingEight to ten small bowls as a first course, or four to five as a supper dish. Serve with plain toasted white bread or dry croutons rather than anything buttered.