Beer. It’s for the baby… really!
There was a period of time when I believed that I wouldn’t be consuming any alcohol until Griffin was weaned. But as it turns out my consumption of beer is almost “prescribed”.
I, sadly, am not one of the lucky moms who produce a great deal of milk. G gets what he needs for his weight group and nothing more. I’ve tried Fenugreek supplements, the teas, the oatmeal, the extra pumping, but I gotta tell you out of all of the above what’s worked (surprisingly so) has been beer. Yeah, no joke. Beer!
Beer is supposed to help with breast milk production. More specifically, if you want to get nerdy, the polysaccharides in barley stimulate prolactin.
Yet I don’t like beer. Tequila, wine, cocktails… yummy… but beer? No thanx! It has a bitter taste, that I just don’t enjoy.
Still, I was out with some colleagues for lunch yesterday and everyone ordered a beer, so I figured… “Sure, why not? I’ll give the “old-wives tale” a shot!” I drank half of my “lunch beer” (yes, that’s how it was ordered) and at my next pump — immediate response. Nothing miraculous, mind you, but enough for me to be able to tell. I repeated the experiment at dinner with another half a glass, and again I had some good results.
I’m surprised! I never thought I’d be finding myself consuming alcohol in the name of my child, yet here I am.
I’m not getting drunk here, to be clear, but it looks like I’ll be integrating half a pint of beer to my diet once in awhile.
Now the trick is finding out what beer I tolerate. I feel so immature really because I don’t know what to order. I just don’t really know what’s out there. Tonight at dinner, due to the lack of “menu” of beers, I ordered one based on the highlighed sign at the window of the restaurant. I got lucky, it was fine (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale if you’re curious), but I gotta study up on my beers. So, if there’s anything a beer-novice should try, give me your recommendations.
Try wheat beers. They are generally unfiltered and don’t have that hoppy bitter taste. I also liked Fat Tire. I’m not a beer drinker but every once in a while one sounds good.
A,
I did told ya about this positive beer quality some time ago, but you don’t listen.
Same thing about the BOZA drink. Even though S strongly expressed his opinion about this drink, G growth needs sacrifices from both of you, so you should look around for some boza 😉
The beer have some side efects though.
1. It’ll generate long organic molecules wrapped round your waist, affectionately known as 6-pack belly .
2. It may cause G to sing adult songs at tender age
Boza
1 cup bulgur, washed several times
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Starter:
7 gr instant yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp sugar
Garnish:
Roasted chickpeas (leblebi in Turkish)
Cinnamon
Soak the bulgur in water overnight in a large cooking pot. The following morning add more water and cook until the grains are softened over low heat. It takes about 3 hours and add some water little by little time to time. Place a strainer on a large porcelain or a glass bowl. Pour in the cooked bulgur spoon by spoon, and using the back of a tablespoon strain it (picture). Discard the deposit over the strainer every couple of times.
In a small bowl, melt the yeast with water and sugar. Let it rest for 10 minutes so it will be bubbly. Pour it into the strained bulgur and mix well. Cover the bowl with a piece of cloth to ferment (picture). During fermentation, mix it from time to time. It takes about 3 days to get the right smell and sourness.
After the three days, add the vanilla extract and sugar. While mixing, add water little by little to get the right thickness. Consistency should be like soup or 35% cream (whipped). Keep it in the fridge for a night before serving. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top and serve with roasted chickpeas. Store Boza in the fridge.
Makes 6 servings.
* If you want to make more Boza later, keep 1/2 cup of leftover Boza in a glass in the fridge. Next time use this instead of the yeast.
* You can also make Boza without using yeast. But it takes more time to get the bulgur to ferment.
History of Boza (from Wikipedia)
Its origin dates back form the ancient populations that lived in pre-Ottoman Turkey. The formula was taken by the Ottomans and spread over the countries they conquered. It is a drink of great antiquity, first originating in Mesopotamia 8000-9000 years ago. Boza enjoyed its golden age under the Ottomans, and boza making became one of the principal trades in towns and cities from the early Ottoman period.
Not a beer drinker either, but Peter likes IPA’s a lot. Plus if hard ciders have the barley think, that’s what I drink when we go to a beer place.
Here are some of my favs:
Widmer Hefeweisen (Pyramid’s Hefe is good too, but I love Widmer)
Fat Tire
Trumer Pilsner
Gordon Biersh Blonde Bock and Martzen
Mexican beers: Pacifico & Negro Modelo
Umm…. I guess I like beer!
Ack, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is bitter. Fat Tire is good, English ales like Bass are quite a bit lighter and yummy. Or you can go real simple and get Coors or Bud light, they aren’t bitter.
A, I am LOL here at your dad! I don’t have any advice we aren’t beer drinkers either.
Do you know how excited I am to know this?! How cool!
As for beer advice, I’ve realized that I don’t like India Pale Ales (IPAs), so Sierra Nevada is not one of my faves. My favorite is Pyramid’s Apricot Weizen. Delish! I also like Guinness, but it’s a heavy one! Fat Tire is good, so I’ll ditto the recs for that one. If you want super light, try Corona. Enjoy experiementing. Cheers!
That just perked up my ears? Beer while breasfeeding? Sign me up for this baby thing quick!
Some personal faves you might enjoy: Blue Moon (it’s a wheat beer) with an orange slice (this is a must-squeeze a little of the orange or even lemon if you have it…)
Apricot Ale is a good one, too. Fat tire is pretty light…summer seasonal beers are around the corner. Those are usually light and sometimes a bit more citrusy than not. keep your eye out for “Summer Ales” like Sam Adams Summer Ale.
Drink up!
ditto the others! I bought a 6 pack of Apricot Ale (pyramid brewing company) on Sunday. DH had a beer a night, I ended up having a beer a night, too! We were sadly out of beer on Tuesday. That stuff is good. Ditto the wheat beers, I like Lagers, too. I’m not a fan of ‘bitter’ beer, so I stay away from the IPA’s.
And, this week my supply has been abundant, thanks to my nightly beer!
I’ll second the wheat (hefeweizen) beers… with a squeeze of lemon… yummy! Any of the fruit ones are decent, too… apricot, blueberry, raspberry… they’re sweeter than more traditional beers.