Here I go baking again… with beer! I’ve baked with beer before – Banana Beer Bread and Milk Stout Chocolate Chip Cookies – both turned out perfectly! I am constantly looking for new ways to add beer to my cooking and baking. When we picked up this Belgian Style Fruit Beer – Cherazz – from Big Rock Brewery, I instantly thought the sweetness of the beer would be perfect in a dessert – and that’s the story of how these Belgian Fruit Beer Brownies came to be. 

Big Rock – Cherazz – Belgian Style Fruit Beer

I’ll start with my usual review of this beer. Big Rock Brewery isn’t a stranger to my fridge. I’ve even done a huge review of a bunch of their beers in the past. They are from Alberta, so they are easy to find on our liquor store shelves; and they are always trying to come up with new brews, which I love. My go-to beer for all occasions happens to be their Traditional Ale, which is part of that Big Rock review. I used a can to make beer can chicken, which you will be able to see in the coming weeks. 

A – a clear, dark red pour with almost no foam, and lots of tiny bubbles

S – smells of fresh picked raspberries, cherries and some biscuits

T – tastes more like raspberry jam, tart cherries, tangy, like a wine cooler

M – high carbonation, fizzy, very light bodied, some slight jammy stickiness

O – refreshing and sweet, a lot more like a wine cooler than a beer to me, but there were some graininess to it that gave me the beer sense. I did actually enjoy it on a very hot day, and thought it would be a great addition to baked good, like these Belgian Fruit Beer Brownies!

Belgian Fruit Beer Brownies

For this recipe you can try a different beer if you can’t get your hands on a Belgian Style Fruit Beer. A dark chocolate stout would be a great alternative; or even a fruity lambic would be neat. 

Start by gathering the ingredients. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Pour the beer into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil the beer until it is reduced by half – about 5 – 10 minutes. Let the reduced beer cool. 

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add chocolate to the butter and melt over low heat, continually stirring until combined – about 5 minutes. 

In a mixing bowl, add eggs and sugars and whisk to mix well. Add in the reduced beer, vanilla, butter and chocolate mixture and salt and stir well to combine. Add in the flour and continue to stir until the mixture is combined. 

Pour brownie mixture into a greased baking pan and put in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Let cool and serve with fresh berries and a beer!