beer and food

[pebblez]

I dont know if this is the right place to post but I have a friend that claims that beer and certain foods can be paired to make the food taste better just like you can do with wine. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[cheflayne]

One of the towns in my area has an annual "Blues & Brews Fest", a music and microbrew event. When I owned my restaurant and that event would roll around I would always do a five course beer and food pairing dinner. It was always well received and a lot of fun!

[heavyG]

Yes there are beer and food pairings, as well as cheese... in fact some cheese goes better with beer than wine.

There is lots of info out there on this topic, as it is now (finally) getting the press it deserves.

G.

[TJGoSurf]

Beer is more versatile than wine with food. Proven fact, ask any beer guy.

[bbay]

i work at a brewpub. i'm not a big fan of 'cooking' with our beer (it's incredibly hoppy, which = bitter when cooked down (marinatining is another story, though)), but we've done cheese and beer pairings in the past.

most notable was Saint Agur (double cream blue) spread on a crostini with some locally farmed honey drizzled on top paired with our imperial oatmeal stout. it was what heaven will taste like.

we paired five of our beers with different cheeses at that time and i found almost too much information online about beer pairings (mostly beer and cheese pairings).

it's not weird, just not widespread at this point. give it a couple years.

[heavyG]

Originally Posted by bbay

i work at a brewpub. i'm not a big fan of 'cooking' with our beer (it's incredibly hoppy, which = bitter when cooked down (marinatining is another story, though)), but we've done cheese and beer pairings in the past.

That's something that almost every Brewmaster that I have spoken with has commented on... The race in the Pac NW to 'overload' with hops.


G.

[Pete]

Just like wine beer can definately be paired with food to make both taste even better. In recent years beer and food pairing has come into its own (though people have been pairing beer and food since the beginning of brewing). With the resurgence of good beer people rediscovered just how versatile beer can be. There is a lot of information about beer and food pairings out there nowadays, but to get you started, when thinking about pairing food and beer, pick out a beer style, find out what part of the world that style comes from and then pair it with foods from the same area. Beer and foods evolved hand in hand so it is no coincidence that German style beers go well with German beers, Belgian beers go with Belgian food, English beers go with English food etc. Of course this is a very simplified way to create beer and food pairings but it will get you started. But just like with wine and food pairings you can get quite deep, breaking down beers and food into their basic flavor components and pairing those components either by complimenting them or contrasting them.

[Harpua]

Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter - Beer Pairings

[bbay]

Originally Posted by heavyG

That's something that almost every Brewmaster that I have spoken with has commented on... The race in the Pac NW to 'overload' with hops.


G.

i agree. BUT, the public adores it! i can appreciate an 'overloaded' hopped beer (our imperial IPA is liquid heaven), but this summer when i wanted to make a beer batter, i almost off-sighted the beer. (instead i half beered, half 7-uped instead.

but i see that hoppy-ness in california, colorado, and NY too in some IPA's.

i'm interested in the words that the brewmasters that you have talked to said, verbatim; for longetivities sake if nothing else.

i DO like beer hoppy, but like i said, it's hard to cook with...

[heavyG]

Originally Posted by bbay

i'm interested in the words that the brewmasters that you have talked to said, verbatim; for longetivities sake if nothing else.
.

If you look closely, you may find the place where I post the brewmaster interviews.

G.

[Ramon]

I found this, check it out:

Pairing Beer With Food

[jigz369]

For many years, beer was a staple to serve with cheese and sliced/smoked meats. Proof of this is the traditional English "Ploughman's lunch". It wasn't until someone in marketing got the idea of pairing wine and cheese that it went mainstream. Beer is good food!
Just my opinion though....

[DMT]

I pair beer with food.

"Gimme a pair of beers to go with this steak, woodja??"

Actually, I prefer beer to wines on a general basis, and prefer a particular type of beer, which tends to dictate which type of food I will order.

I like a good pilsner, such as Warsteiner, or Bittburger. Good with beef. Not bad with fish. Sort of washes the "fishy" taste out of your mouth. Pale ales might work, but I tend to stay with a Germanic style pils, if given the chance. Hence the beef...

Also like some amber ales, such as Fat Tire. Also good with beef.

Don't much care for stouts, as they tend to distract you from eating.

As will Trappist Monk's brews.

And Bunghoser/Shlitzy/Koores won't even qualify as beer...

I could go on, but I think there's a beverage in the fridge calling my name...

[Jim]

This was a recent topic. You may want to check out this thread: Pairing food and Beer

[Psynaptik]

Originally Posted by DMT

Don't much care for stouts, as they tend to distract you from eating.

As will Trappist Monk's brews.

I agree, although stouts can work with an extremely heavy meal.
As far as trappist beers goes, I haven't tried all, but I have noticed that for instance Orval works very well with sweet things, including chocolate, actually.