My personal highlight: I always find some new red Spanish Redwines. I absolutely love their soft and crispy croquetas

Spanish tapas

My favorite tapas bar is in Wiedikon close to Idaplatz at Ämtlerstrasse 86.

The tapas are just delicious.  The tapas I like most are crispy soft fried croquetas or an outstanding avocado tatar. Order some real good Spanish red wine. Or try some of their local Spanish craft beers. So no need traveling to Spain for celebrating a tapas night!
Book Tapas & Friends for a catering or attend one of their cooking classes.

www.tapasandfriends.ch

My personal highlight: aromatic craft beer can be brewed in your own cellar – few equipment, passion and right portion of creativity: The story of a Zurich based Craft Beer Brewery

I was not a big beer connoisseur back in time. Dedication and curiosity taught me how to recognize the variety of flavors and tastes that beer can offer. That is how I fell in love with Craft Beers first. Their taste is aromatic, strong and full of different flavors. Some are sweet and herb, some fruity and sour.

This article shall bring you the choice of craft beer closer and introduce you to a brewery I discovered in Zurich. Just by case I got introduced to the Zurich Beer Brewery called Bear’N’stein. Pierre and Urs the owner of the brewery shared their story and passion with me.

Where everything started, who are Bear’N’Stein

Bear=Urs, Stein=Pierre, so “Urs & Pierre“ are brewing beer together for five years. In 2016 they founded Bear’N’Stein, a microbrewery in Zurich. Very soon they received positive reviews (award: Best Newcomer 2017 from the renowned beer critic Bov (www.bov.ch).

Some people store bikes in their cellar, other brow their own beer. Pierre and Urs have this passion in common since several years and I am very happy to have been invited to see these tasty drops flowing out of a big metal tank. Making beer seems a bit complex to me. Pierre reveals about the instruments needed as a hydrometer to measure the alcohol value for example or several simple cans and bowls. A crucial ingredient I found out is having chemistry knowledge and creativity!

Your individual taste for Beer?

Brewing beer means individualizing the amount of alcohol and taste for the batches you create. Pierre experiments with citrus fruits to create a sour and fruity beer. Interested to know more about the blending of beer with fruits? I found this very interesting article online.
Out in his garden grow herbs and ingredients he integrates in the beer brewing. This is where I catch a picture of hops and understand how much sophisticated work is needed.

The basic ingredients of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted barley, able to be fermented (converted into alcohol); a brewer’s yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavoring, such as hops, to offset the sweetness of the malt.

Which ingredients are needed for Home Brewing Beer?

• Water
  Water is the most varied chemical substance we have. Elements dissolved in pure water make big contributions to beer.
• Malt extract
  This is the lifeblood of home brewed beer. Choose a malt extract based on the variety of beer you desire to brew: amber, pilsner, or wheat?
• Yeast
  Hello live organisms! They turn sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol and are available in dry and liquid form. They top or bottom fermenting, depending on the type of beer to be created.
• Hops
  Find them as whole leaf hops, pellets and plugs in dozens of varieties. Ask specialized suppliers for the best products to choose of.

Modern brewers rely on tools developed in the field of chemistry to achieve their goals. That explains the exact and thought-out approach applied. Tools used to measure the alcohol content of beer will help ensure that an India Pale Ale doesn’t develop alcohol levels more suited to an Imperial IPA, and thus compromise the balance of the brew; tools borrowed from the chemist also ensure that the next bottle of IPA from a given brand will taste and feel the same as the one enjoyed yesterday.

Let’s have a look at the offered beer types at Bear’N’Stein

Blond Ale, Pils, IPA, Bitter Ale, Stout or for example Belgian Style the a wide range of delights are available to spoil your palate. I love the variety of flavors that every single beer offers. There is a beer sort for everyone. And they are all made locally.

Your favorite beer is…

Usually I love aromatic wit beers that are bit sweet. Pierre introduced me to a beer with a really light, fruity and sour taste that is ideal for hot summer days! The names and labels of their beers tell a story.  Some take you into a movie, some into a famous music song. Enjoying a beer evolves into a special moment of pleasure.

Two favorite beers I suggest

Smooth Criminal: Blond Ale

Taste: Fruity – bitter – herb – refreshing

Formidable: Belgian Style

Taste: Strong – sweet – fruity

Find more on their selection here

Coming soon BearN’Stein Brew Pub called BIER LAB in Zurich

Thanks to all the positive feedback and because the ambition to offer local products brewed onsite, Bear’N’Stein decided to open the first brewpub Bier Lab in Kreis 4 – Zurich. It will be located at Grüngasse 7.It is now in the middle of the preparation. Find a friendly and cozy atmosphere where people can meet for a fresh beer and admire the brewing procedure from close.

Interested in discovering the Lovefoodish food guide in town? Get some inspiration here.

My personal highlight: Enjoying premium coffee from Ethiopia and a tasty coffee flavored craft beer

What makes a coffee place special? Do you like interaction with the barista? Are you looking for tranquility to work or exchange a word with other guests? Maybe even a tasty craft beer after work?

I found all of these at Alehouse Palmhof close to the university in Kreis 6.

About Desta’s coffee

Desta’s Coffee is a premium coffee roasted of single origin arabica beans. The flavor of my flat white was nutty and mild. These coffee beans are cultivated around 1’900 meters above sea level among a totally natural environment in the rainforest of southwestern Ethiopia. Desta Daniel Kebede is half Swiss and half Ethiopian and has a strong relation to his origin. That is how the passion for coffee brought Desta’s coffee to life. The company cooperates with local partners and offers them conditions that they can develop themselves. How do they do that? 20 percent of the gains which is generated flows back directly to the worker. Transparency and respect are important values that are lived here.

Desta’s coffee is available at The Alehouse and distributed nationally to other coffee spots. You can also order their quality coffee online.

20 taps and 1 hand pump of craft beer

If you are into craft beer after your coffee break stop by for a glass. The Alehouse is practically located close to the university. Find local Swiss beers and international ones. Sit at the bar and let the big screen on the wall suggest you the actual beer offer. I tried an excellent coffee craft beer Espresso Stout from the Japanese brewer Hitachino and a sour beer called La Vertu Autumn Sour. The staff is well skilled to tell you a story about every single beer. Are you curious? Find the actual selection of craft beers here.

All about my food experience will follow soon in a separate story! Their brunch is waiting for me.

Address: Universitätstrasse 23, 8006 Zürich, Kreis 6

Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 8.30 am to 12 pm,  Saturday 11.30 am – 12 pm, Sunday 11.30 am – 5 pm

Thank you for using the Lovefoodish Coffee and food guide Zurich!

www.alehouse.ch

My personal highlight: observing my friend getting attacked by the feeling of pure delight while swallowing a piece of tender meat

As a foodie apparently my job is to search new places for a great food experience. This time we stopped by at Fork & Bottle. Andreas, a friend of mine, had the pleasure to join me. He finally understands why a foodie never touches the food before taking at least 5 pictures. All the dishes were looking amazing. The labels of all the craft beer bottles were exciting to shoot.

Our dishes obviously did not only look good, the taste of every bite was an unforgettable food experience. Every course came paired with a delicious craft beer. At F&B you find over 80 different craft beers sourced by the owner, Mike Goguen, some of them are local, too. What made me very happy was the attention we got from Rena (events and marketing manager) and the staff.

Being a food blogger is contagious, too. My friend Andreas started to describe his food experience after every single bite! This flatters me and gives me the chance to exchange my impressions, too. Thank you, Andreas!

Let’s get a bit into the courses served

The Starter

I recommend to share the starters, if you choose a menu with more courses.
The first starter is a Warm Winter Root Vegetable Salad. It comes with fresh salad greens topped with grilled Halloumi cheese, roasted root vegetables, mango & chilli salsa and a Balsamic Dressing. Fingerlick’n good and really fresh.

The craft beer paired with this course was Gamma Ray by Beavertown from London. A killer American Pale Ale rammed with juicy malts and huge tropical aromas.  The can is cool and exciting to boot! A great picture for your instagram account!

After the first starter the show went on with some Asian Wings battered in a medley of Asian flours and spices and deep fried in duck fat. Drizzled with sweet chili reduction and topped with sesame seeds and mango and chili salsa. The duck fat gives that amazing tasty flavor.

The craft beer paired was the local beer “Corporate Monkey Lager” by Bier Factory, Jona. It’s a lightly hopped lager beer.

The Mains

This a 10 hour House Smoked BBQ Pork Ribs accompanied by hand cut fries and a cute pot of smoked beans. The fries were outstanding. They get fried 3 times and are really fingerlick’n, too. The best fries found in Zurich so far. The pork ribs are so juicy that they melt on your tongue.

This main course was paired with Gin Inspired Gose, made in collaboration with Pohjala from Estonia and To 0L from Denmark. The taste is mildly sour has a gose with pink Himalayan rock salt, coriander, juniper berries, spruce tips, rosemary, ginger, and rose petals. It’s an explosion of flavors. It was bit too much of flavors for me but a good choice for a summer beer I think.

The F&B Classic Burger was waiting on the second plate for us. It’s a 200 gram Swiss Premium Beef with cheddar, house corn relish, tomato, gherkin and lettuce.

This course was paired with a Tipopils by Birrificio Italiano from Northern Italy. It’s my absolute favorite beer here. The taste is fresh. It’s a crisp hoppy pilsner with a hint of sweetness.

The dessert

As you can imagine our bellies felt quite satisfied after, but it’s a duty of a foodie to go through the dessert menu. Rena suggested a traditional desert of the house: the Chocolate Brownie Sundae. It’s a crumbled brownie with homemade Daim ice cream, chocolate ganache and a marshmallow fluff. The pistachio in the chocolate brownie was an exotic and excellent combination.

Rena and her staff spoiled us with super delicious food and drinks. The atmosphere at F&B is very cozy and invites you to stay for a few hours and forget home.

I like their farm to table concept that will be expanded in future to more local products. F&B works with local farmers. I like the idea of supporting local suppliers. And we will definitively hear more about this farm to table concept in Switzerland, too.

My personal highlight: Fingerlick’n crispy chicken wings deep fried in duck fat and fries fried 3 times!

Farm to table in Zurich country setting style

Fork & Bottle is spoiling our city since a while with their menu. It’s located a bit out of the city centre but easy to reach by car or bus. By bus get out at Brunau walk 2 minutes to Allmendstrasse 20.

If you love craft beer, great pieces of meat or a generous brunch you are right here. Choose from over 80 different craft beers, some are local, too. My heart beats for an Italian beer called Tipolis brewed from Birrifcio Italiano.

Meat and dessert lover

Try the 10 Hour House Smoked BBQ Pork Ribs with hand cut fries. Need a sugar love bomb and adrenalin boost? Go for the Chocolate Brownie Sundae. It’s a home made Daim ice cream with chocolate ganache and some exotic pieces of pistachio, on top a marshmallow fluff. Very sophisticated and worth every spoon. Come hungry or just share dishes, portions are American Style!

The food is prepared fresh, ingredients mainly from local farmers and suppliers.

The atmosphere at F&B is cozy, nice light and ambience due to the great space. Its open space invites to stay and have good conversations, it’s never too loud. Their beer garden is the biggest in town I guess, so absolutely inviting during nice summer days. The staff is lovely and happy to explain you the whole menu.

Try it, you will be satisfied.

www.forkandbottle.ch

My personal highlight: The seasonal craft beer selection and the bieramisu that gives a special note to the dessert

Craft food and craft beer experience in Zurich

Every course is paired expertly with a selected craft beer. That is why it is called the “Grain craft experience”.

At Grain’s you find a great selection of craft beers. Choose the local brewer Bachweg from Zug or an international brand as the Grimbergen Blanche from Belgium. Try some clear fruity craft beers, dark aromatized ones with vanilla or special saisonal ones where you taste roasted pumpkin.

The food is super tasty, Chef Patrick Leuenberger brings you to an other level of food experience. He uses different techniques as sous vides for example to prepare an tender chicken breast. Craft beer is used for food preparation, too, this to give a special note to every course. The team is happy to spoil you with a real craft experience.

Check it out, it’s at Zürichbergstrasse 71, just behind the tram stop Kirche Fluntern. Explore the very cozy and warm ambience in a bar setup. For a more romantic ambience choose the elegant dining area and try a complete menu.

How to explain in few sentences what you can experience at this new craft beer and food place in town?

Let’s dive into the craft beer & food experience

I am bit new into craft beer and craft food, so for me what I tasted was indefinable magic. An aromatic explosion! Every course is paired expertly with a craft beer. That is why it is called the “Grain craft experience”. I confirm. It is a very tasteful experience prepared and served with plenty of love.

Amy welcomes guests with a surprise, a delicate craft beer. The “Ichabod Crane Pumpkin Ale” from Bachweg Brewery in Zug contains a juicy fresh flavor of roasted pumpkin, Butternut squash and a light cinnamon aroma.

Starter

To start the food component of our Grain craft experience Chef Patrick Leuenberger sends out a starter of tangy cured Arctic Char accompanied with the light and fresh craft Belgian beer Grimbergen Blanche. The beer has a light yellow color, fine bubbles and aromas of fruits, citrus, cloves and coriander. The arctic char is house cured in sea salt and sugar, the hazelnuts and the fresh radish are the cherry on top of the fish. Absolutely amazing combination!

By the way: this is the little secret here at Grain’s, beer is used to give the certain touch to every menu, even in the dessert!

The main course

A Coq au Biere, with a fantastic Italian couscous called “fregola sarda” and yummy duxelle of mushrooms and coco beans, aromatized with Zwickel beer. The chicken breast is brined before, than prepared sous vide and then pan seared to crispy perfection. The chicken leg is salted overnight with fresh herbs and then cooked confit with goose fat for a few hours. This Coq au Biere comes extremely crispy and incredibly tender and super mouth-watering. I just love it!

The beer that comes with this course is a special edition from the brewery Bachweg named: Sweet Brewby Jesus Jubilee (their Winter Ale). The flavor has hints of cinnamon & clove… what a holy taste.

The dessert

Get a Bieramisu super refreshing and light. The combination of coffee ice cream and mascarpone mousse melts on your tongue once in your mouth. I love the decoration of this plate including the little jelly drops made with Bachweg’s Porter House craft beer. The matching beer: a porterhouse vanilla porter with an intense vanilla aroma and dark chocolate and coffee flavor.

I hope you are hungry and thirsty now! It’s time to stop by at Grain’s. The chef and his team will offer you a one-of-a-kind culinary experience you will not forget.