Beer-Simmered Beef Roast

My husband and I love beer. Not just any old domestic, however, but specialty, craft beers. We especially enjoy local beers and have been blessed with a handful of small craft breweries in our area. One of our favorites is Nimble Hill Brewing Company, which offers tastings at its wine/beer tasting room in Tunkhannock. Did I mention they started as a winery? They have great wine as well. If you're ever in the area, you should check them out! 

We always bring home a growler when we visit the tasting room (in addition to a few bottles of wine). Growlers of beer only are fresh for several hours. I've been told they can last longer, but I have yet to find one that lasts more than a day. This time, we took home a growlette (a half-sized growler) of their lager (Flinke Hugel) and their porter (Midnight Fuggle). If you mix them, you get black and tan (Midnight Flinke). Their porter is my favorite. It's smooth with hints of coffee and chocolate. It's the best porter I have tasted.We were unable to finish our growlettes this particular day, so instead of dumping the almost-flat beer down the drain (I know it's a sin to waste beer!), we used it to make beer-simmered beef roast. Along with the beer, I added onion soup mix, garlic, black pepper, and mushrooms. The results were heavenly. The beer complemented the other flavors to yield a perfectly tender roast with a slight beer flavor.

Beer-Simmered Beef Roast

4-pound beef roast (any cut)
1 package dry onion soup mix
1.5 cups dark beer such as a lager, stout, or porter (I used Nimble Hill Midnight Flinke, a black and tan.)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1–2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup mushrooms (chopped)

Sear beef roast on all sides.
Whisk together onion soup mix, beer, pepper, and garlic.
Transfer roast to a slow cooker and dump beer mixture over roast.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Add mushrooms during the last 2 hours of cook time.
Optional: Strain the beef drippings to make gravy.