Beer Pickles

My garden has felt unusually slow this year. My green beans and snap peas came and went quickly without producing much. Arugula and lettuce did ok and I have some kale but my broccoli and cauliflower are only leaves and my root vegetables and tomatoes, peppers and eggplants seem to be taking their time. The one thing I have an abundance of is pickling cucumbers. While looking up spent grain recipes I also came across a recipe for pickles brined in beer on on the Brooklyn Brewshop website.

cucumbers
12 oz beer
1/4 cup water
2 cups vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 T salt

Seasoning
1 T peppercorns
1 T mustard seeds
2 cloves of garlic smashed
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

In a saucepan combine beer, water, vinegar, sugar and salt, heat and stir to dissolve sugar.
Bring it to a simmer and then turn off the heat.
Put seasonings in the jars, add sliced cucumbers and fill with liquid from saucepan. Feel free to use your own favorite seasoning combinations, I mixed it up and did a few jars with the seasonings listed and then a few with fresh dill from the garden and garlic and pepper.
Keep pickles in the fridge - leave for at least two days before eating.