Nathan Calis tries his hand at making dinner time beerable.

It is fair to say that beer and chocolate are two things that rarely gotogether. Like alcohol and exams; bare feet and dog poo; Britney Spearsand underwear, chocolate and beer are rarely associated together.Hence, this was the reason that I was surprised to see Chris fromMasterchef putting a bottle of beer into a chocolate cupcake recipe thatultimately put him in the top three contestants. The mere idea turned my world upside down. Everything I thought I knew was a lie, so I went to do some investigating.

Chris, the gay hat guy [or not so gay after all…apparently he was having it off with one of the female contestants…biiig Australian scandal. Why do I know this? *Shrug*… - Ed] , was adamant that beer is a legitimate cooking ingredient that, if used properly, can take the flavour of many foods tothe next level. Beer is also a valid substitute for rising agents like yeast, and therefore makes it suitable for baking. Due to my ultimate devotionto this sacred publication, I turned my hand to a bit of Masterchef- Nathan Edition.

 After doing some research on the Internet, I decided to start my beerbaking career at the most basic level; beer bread. With a simple recipe, consisting of flour, sugar, salt, eggs, and beer, I was destined for beer bread glory and the loaf looked the part.

 I enjoyed the taste of my maiden beer loaf, however the consistency wasmore like a scone than any loaf of bread I have ever had. I had clearlyaced the first challenge of Masterchef- Nathan Edition, and it was timeto move onto something more challenging.

The Guinness Chocolate cake was more in the realm of what I wantedto experiment with. Modelled by Nigella, the uber annoying cooking goddess, the recipe featured flour, sugar, salt, eggs, cocoa, bakingsoda, powder, and very dark stout beer. The beer tasted like grey water carbonated with farts, which made me cynical about what the cake was going to taste like. However, the end result was delicious. It was the richest, most intensely moist cake to have ever caressed my taste buds. With barely the slightest hint of barley and hops, the cake was a hit, and I had passed the second round of Masterchef- Nathan Edition, with flying colours.

Having mastered the art of baking with beer, I decided to venture into unknown territory and try some cooking with beer. I looked up a few recipes and decided to try making beer bacon mussels with a side of beer battered fries.

To prepare the mussels, steam them open in sautéed bacon, onion, and garlic, mixed with a bottle of your favourite beer. The brewskie battered chips are just as easy: simply chop up potatoes then deep-fry them in a batter comprised of beer, flour, salt, and paprika.

The mussels were lovely, though not a great deal better than when conventionally steamed, however, the beer battered chips were to die for. With crispy golden jackets and fluffy centres, they were a winner on the Calis dinner table, and I can definitely recommend trying them.

Cooking and baking with beer has been a revelation to me. According to various websites, beer is very versatile and can be used in countless different recipes from dinners to desserts, to icings and even baking. So try a few simple recipes like I have, and then you can start experimenting for yourself. For those of you worrying about the alcohol content of the finished products, in most cases it evaporates completely.

Just remember guys, baking a nice batch of beer bread is better than just loafing around.