Giovanni,
I haven't tried that specific recipe but I have made a beer-based crust following the recipe posted below. Before making the pizza, I did some research to see what was really in beer and how it might affect a dough. What I found is that beer is mostly water, but it also contains yeast, reducing sugars, protein, carbohydrates, minerals, lactic and other organic and inorganic acids, alcohol, and carbon dioxide, all of which appear to be compatible--and possibly even complementary--to the various ingredients used to make pizza doughs. My experience using the beer is that it will result in a nice flavor in the crust, but the beer flavor per se will not be detectable. A drawback of using beer, of course, is that it considerably more expensive than water, even the fancy bottled waters.
Here is the recipe I used, along with the notes I prepared after having made a pizza using the beer-based dough. I liked the pizza quite a bit. The recipe calls for producing two dough balls. I made one for immediate use and refrigerated the other and used it a day or so later (see the notes below).
Hearty Beer-Based Pizza Dough Recipe
1 1/4 c. warm beer (115 degrees F)
1 t. sugar or honey
1/4 t. instant yeast
3/4 t. olive oil
1 c. bread flour
1c. all-purpose flour
1 c. cake flour
1/4 c. yellow corn meal
2 t. sea salt
Mix the bread flour, all-purpose flour, cake flour, corn meal, and the instant yeast in the bowl of a food processor. Combine the warm beer, sugar (or honey), and olive oil in a container. Gradually add the yeast-beer mixture and process, using the "pulse" switch, until a rough dough ball is formed, about 1 minute or so. Let the dough ball rest in the bowl of the food processor for about 5-15 minutes (autolyse). Add the sea salt and continue to process for about another 45 seconds, at normal operating speed (using the "on" switch), or until the dough ball is smooth and fairly elastic and passes the windowpane test (you should be able to flatten a small piece of the dough and stretch it in all directions and see light through it). The dough will not be quite as elastic as one using only white flours, because of the presence of the corn meal. Place the dough ball in a container, cover and let rise at room temperature (70-75 degrees F) until about doubled in volume, around 4 hours. Punch down the dough and divide into 2 equal dough portions. Let rise again until doubled again, about 2 hours. When ready to make pizzas, shape each dough ball into a round about 1/4-inch thick. If the dough resists shaping, let it rest for about 5 minutes to allow the gluten to relax, and then continue to shape into a round. The dough should be elastic but not quite as elastic as a dough that does not contain corn meal. Consequently, care should be taken that the dough does not tear while being stretched, turned and shaped into a round. Top each pizza round as desired and bake on a pizza stone that has been preheated for 1 hour at the highest oven temperature possible, usually 500-550 degrees F for a home oven.
(Peter's Note: This is an interesting dough recipe for several reasons. First, it makes use of beer instead of water; second, it makes use of three different white flours: bread flour, all-purpose flour and cake flour--that provide a degree of softness to the dough; and, third, it calls for corn meal as well. The beer will add coloration to the dough (usually an amber color if a lager beer is used), and the corn meal will add to the coloration as well and also add a degree of coarseness to the dough that would not exist if only white flours were used. The oil and honey, if used, provide for increased extensibility of the dough. When the crust is baked, it will be chewy (with added chewiness being added because of the use of the corn meal), crispy and with a hearty flavor. Because of the use of sugar (or honey) and olive oil in the dough and the effects of caramelization and the Maillard reactions during baking, the baked dough will be golden brown in color. There will be no evidence of the beer in the finished product, although the crust will be flavorful. There is no reason why the recipe cannot be followed using a stand mixer instead of a food processor (using pretty much the standard techniques), or making the dough by hand. As with many dough recipes, a period of refrigeration at almost any stage along the process of making the dough will also be beneficial. For example, refrigerating the dough for 24 hours after kneading and then letting it rise until double in volume--which will require several hours if a small amount of yeast is used--will produce a more malleable dough that is easier to handle and shape into a round, and it will result in a somewhat lighter, softer and more bread-like crust, but still with good chewiness, crispness and flavor.)
Peter
