Spicy Brown Mustard

When we initially tried to think of some homemade ingredients to create over the fall and winter months, we rejected the idea of mustard. Mustard conjured up images of sunny, summer barbecues. But then we realized that mustard is by no means seasonal, and there's just as much need for a spicy winter mustard to slather on sausages during those chilly months.

We stumbled upon a recipe for spicy mustard using Guinness over at Saveur which sounded great, except we wanted to use a stout beer from one of our awesome local breweries. Our town, the lovely Longmont, CO, is home to two excellent breweries that have been receiving much national attention lately: Oskar Blues Brewery and Left Hand Brewing Company. We used a bottle of Left Hand's Milk Stout Nitro in our spicy brown mustard.

As it turns out, mustard is super easy to make, but you do need a few days to let the mustard seeds soak up all that beer and all the flavors to meld together. But the active time is practically nil. This mustard was spicy and zesty and way more exciting than the other off-the-shelf mustards hanging out in our fridge.

Spicy Brown Mustard

• 6-oz. stout beer of your choice (half a bottle)

• 3/4 cup brown mustard seeds

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

• 1⁄8 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1⁄8 tsp. ground cloves

• 1⁄8 tsp. ground nutmeg

• 1⁄8 tsp. ground allspice

1. Combine ingredients in a nonreactive mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1–2 days so that the mustard seeds soften and the flavors meld. 2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor and process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until the seeds are coarsely ground and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a jar and cover. 3. Refrigerate overnight and use immediately or refrigerate for up to 6 months.