HB&B Blog — Sussex

The Beer Lover's Table: Persian Lamb and Quince Stew with Burning Sky Saison Automne

Beer Lover's Table Burning Sky Claire Bullen Saison Sussex

The Beer Lover's Table: Persian Lamb and Quince Stew with  Burning Sky Saison Automne

I know it’s autumn, even without looking out the window or checking the forecast. My body knows, because almost to the day that the calendar ticked over to October 1, it began to crave pumpkins and sage, chestnuts and mushrooms, bitter greens and browned butter. What I want to eat right now is stew. I’ve had a recipe for this particular stew – called khoresh-e beh – open in one of my zillion tabs for months, just waiting for this time of the year to hit. I like Persian stews like this one because they go beyond mere stodge; they tend...

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The Beer Lover's Table: Warm Fig-Wrapped Goat Cheese and Tomato Salad with Fig Oil and Burning Sky Saison Ete

Beer Lover's Table Burning Sky Claire Bullen Saison Sussex

The Beer Lover's Table: Warm Fig-Wrapped Goat Cheese and Tomato Salad with Fig Oil and Burning Sky Saison Ete

I don’t remember when I first fell in love with fig trees. I just gradually became aware of a sweet scent that would occasionally overpower me on my walks around London. It was intoxicating, both musky and powdery, pungent like tropical fruit and sweet like coconut. Eventually, I discovered its source: fig trees – not the fruits, but the leaves themselves. Since then, I’ve become fig-obsessed. All my favourite perfumes smell like green, sappy fig leaves; I dose glasses of sparkling wine with Parafante Liqueur; I have a mental map of all the most fragrant fig trees in the city. Yet...

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Fundmentals #82 – Burning Sky x Brasserie de la Senne New Alliance

Belgium Brasserie de la Senne Burning Sky Fundamentals Matthew Curtis Pale ale Sussex

Fundmentals #82 – Burning Sky x Brasserie de la Senne New Alliance

I approach this beer with a deep sense of anticipation. And rightly so – it’s not often the giants of Sussex’s Burning Sky and the titans of Brussels’ Brasserie de la Senne come together, making them both seem normal size… Mitchell and Webb references aside, I am genuinely thrilled to be able to review this beer. Those who follow me, either through my writing or on social media, will know that I’m a huge fan of both breweries, and before I dig into New Alliance – the beer they have come together to brew – I’m going to remind you...

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Fundamentals #73 — The Beak Brewery Parade IPA

Fundamentals IPA Matthew Curtis Sussex The Beak Brewery

Fundamentals #73 —  The Beak Brewery Parade IPA

If the Beak Brewery isn’t on your radar yet then it should be, as it’s one of the most exciting breweries that will be opening its doors in 2020. Finally, some good news! I hear you cry. For regular readers of this column, that name may sound familiar, and that’s because I’ve reviewed Beak before, way back in July 2018. Back then owner Daniel Tapper was contract brewing to get his tasty beer out into the world, and that’s true in this case as well, as this beer was made by his friends at Burning Sky (you might have heard...

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The Beer Lover’s Table: Chinese-Spiced Lamb Burgers and Burning Sky Petite Saison

Beer Lover's Table Burning Sky Claire Bullen Saison Sussex

The Beer Lover’s Table: Chinese-Spiced Lamb Burgers and Burning Sky Petite Saison

When I lived in New York, I used to go to a local restaurant chain called Xi’an Famous Foods. And when I went to Xi’an Famous Foods, I always ordered the Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger. Lamb burgers may sound most reminiscent of the Mediterranean, but they’ve long been a staple of central and western Chinese cooking. Typically, when making roujiamo, the lamb (or, frequently, pork) meat is marinated and slow cooked with a range of spices and aromatics before being roughly chopped (instead of minced) and served inside a flatbread called baijimo. In adapting this recipe, I sought a way...

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