From beer varieties like toasted coconut porter to vanilla porter, a duo of local brewers is cooking up their own concoction of golden nectar.
"I love to cook, and I love beer. So why not cook beer?" said local brewer David Birdwell, who with his partner Nick Bolton cooked up a batch of spiced Belgium for sampling Friday night at the first Edible Art Show, hosted by Dreamer Concepts Studio and Foundation, 324 E. Main St., in conjunction with the closing of Dreamer 22: Slippery When Wet art exhibit, which featured the works of five Oklahoma-based ceramic artists.
And it doesn't matter how much the pair botches their recipes, like the coconut version that Bolton adapted after concocting a brew that combined his love of coconut and beer.
"You can have a batch go awry, but it's hard to hate your own child," Bolton said, adding that it's just like making sugar tea.
And then there's the vanilla porter that Birdwell said is a crowd favorite, adding that he likes to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, creating a beer float.
"You can make it as simple or as complicated as you like," said Birdwell, adding that the duo, exhausted from paying the escalating prices for beer, began brewing their own beer, which they love to serve to friends, together about a year-and-a-half ago.
Birdwell said he has been tinkering with brewing the golden nectar for about nine years.
Amber Clour, studio executive director, said an artist suggested the Edible Art Show, which showcased the culinary arts of local restaurants like Blu's display with chocolate-covered cherries skewers poking out of an orange like a sun's rays dangling from a silver rod above a tray of cucumbers with raw tuna on top.
"I thought Oklahoma can totally do this," said Clour, who is trying to draw public attention to the local, underground artist network in Norman, slowly but surely, she said.
Clour said the food art, featuring unique samples not found on the everyday menus of Fancy That, Pink Elephant Caf?, the Iguana Mexican Grill, Othello's, In the Raw, Victoria's Pasta Shop, Dara Marie's, O-Asian Fusion and Blu, might return in two years.
She doesn't want the culinary arts, however, to be an annually anticipated event like the Chocolate Festival; she wants to keep things fresh.
Rebecca Chambers, 22, of Norman said she came with her friend Jackie Garrison, 24, of Norman, who works with Birdwell and Bolton, to support local eateries along Main Street.
Garrison said she attended Western Concepts in Oklahoma City, which featured work of restaurants along Western Avenue, and thought the food and experience was a win-win. And when she heard Norman was hosting a similar event, she was there, adding that supporting local businesses and artists, overall boosts the economy as the local venues draw people into the city and bolster creativity, leaving a unique footprint in a community predominately known for the university.
"It's good to support the local," said Chambers as she dug into a plate of samples, deeming the bacon wrapped shrimp from Othellos her favorite. "If they're having something, I'm there. We're all about the local."
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The tasty side of art
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