Yes, Soup For You!

Beer #67 Bittersweet Symphony / Brouwerij t'Gaverhopke, Stasegem, Belgium

After a long day, it's nice to come home and relax.  Which explains why after work I went to Wegman's, then came home and immediately went to work on making soup for dinner.  And no, we're not talking about opening up a can of Campbell's, we're talking about soup from scratch.  Time consuming? Sort of.  Delicious?  Yes.  Rewarding?  Yes.  Easy?  Eh, this one wasn't too bad.  More on that later.

Tonight's beer comes courtesy of a collaboration project between t'Gaverhopke from (surprise!) Belgium and a small American brewery, Tired Hands, which hails from the nearby town of Ardmore.  Tired Hands will get their day in the sun soon enough (with a visit, I hope), but we're crossing t'Gaverhopke off the list today.

I tried this one on draft at The Farmer's Cabinet, and it pours a hazy orange color with a pleasing citrus and yeast aroma.  The taste combined malt and hops, with some citrus notes and a faint hint of caramel.  Really, a very enjoyable beer that I hope to drink more of in the future.  One of the challenges of this beer blog has been when I find a good beer, I might not get to drink it again due to the need to cross breweries off the list. A risk is that really good but temporary collaborations like this one will disappear from existence before I ever get to drink another one.  Say what you want about macro beers, but I can guarantee that Miller Lite is going to not only taste the same, but also be on tap for years to come.  Bittersweet Symphony?  You better drink it while you have the chance....

Things to Think About Today:
Seems too easy to go with the song Bittersweet Symphony from The Verve, right?  I'll skip it and share with you the recipe for tonight's meal, a healthy take on baked potato soup, which we picked up from smittenkitchen.com:

1 head garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white & light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and chopped small
5 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (start with 5 cups, save the extra if you want your soup thinner)
2 bay leaves
Salt & pepper
2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup sour cream

Let's do it:
1. Rinse the head of garlic to remove dirt/loose skin, cut the top third out and discard.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat, then add leeks and cook until soft (but not brown), about 5 minutes
3. Add the garlic head (whole, not chopped), broth, bay leaves, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.  Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes, until garlic is very soft.
4. Add potatoes and continue to simmer partially covered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Discard bay leaves and remove garlic head.   If you like garlic, take a few soft cloves and mash them with a fork, then return to the pot
6. Add sour cream, cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Use immersion blender (or transfer a portion of potatoes & broth to food processor or blender) and process, leaving chunks of potato for texture.
8. Top with something like chives, shredded cheese, bacon bits, or sour cream (or all of them, or none of them), and serve.  Preferably with beer!