MdV: Merchant du Vin beer e-newsletter – Thursday March 17, 2005:  Pairing Fine Beer With Food

 

This newsletter is designed to promote joy, delight and confidence in good beer.   Every month it covers beer history, brewing techniques, beer culture, or beer flavor. Please forward it to anyone who buys, sells, or enjoys fine beer!  All we ask is that you keep it complete and unaltered.

 

If you are receiving this as a forward, you can sign up at: http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/guestbook.html

 

We are extra proud of our portfolio this month, because we have added two wonderful new items:  Ayinger Brau-Weisse, the world benchmark for Bavarian wheat beer, in 50-liter kegs:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/ay_brau_w_draft_3_15_2005.pdf

and Westmalle Trappist Tripel, the style prototype & world standard for Belgian tripels, in 750 ml silk-screened bottles:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/westmalle_750ml_3_1_05.pdf

 

A visitor from Aying to Massachusetts; . . . tastings & festivals in Omaha, Oregon, and Olney MD; . . . .  beer articles in the press . . . it is a great time for fine beer!  Full national event listing at:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/news.html

 

 

 

Beer Chat from the Beer Court Jester: Pairing Fine Beer With Food

 

Last month, we discussed “beer flavor evaluation” and the elements that determine how a beer tastes.  Check the archive if you missed it:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/enews_archive.html   

 

The next step to enjoying a fine beer is pairing it with fine food – a trend that fine chefs all across America are embracing with great joy and enthusiasm.  In fact, many knowledgeable writers and gourmets will state that beer is a better match for fine cuisine than wine: vinaigrette salad dressing that will kill the flavor of any wine?  Hoppy India Pale Ale or Berliner Weisse.  Pungent cheese?  Tart and crisp Saison or Gueuze from Belgium.  Chocolate dessert?  Belgian Fruit Lambic.  Spicy food?  Snappy, effervescent Pilsner, Pils or maybe Weiss beer.

 

Some good news: there are no firm rules about pairing beer with food, only a few suggestions & guidelines:

 

  1. Tradition:  Some recommend lagers with “white wine” foods like fish and ales with “red wine” foods like red meat.  That can be a starting point, but remember that lagers and ales each cover a very wide range of flavors.  A pale-colored, medium or light bodied lager will be very likely to have a refined, balanced flavor that will go with “white wine foods.”  To pair with “red wine” foods, look to the bolder, stronger ale styles.
  2. Compliment:  Subtle-flavored vegetarian dishes or chicken may call for a nuanced beer – possibly a Bavarian hefe-weizen, with its yeast notes.  Extreme beer flavors – whether of deep malt flavor, high alcohol, extreme bitterness (especially!) or a combination of these – may call for extreme food flavors.  Rich, reduced sauces; fatty dishes; wild game; high levels of spice: these are the dishes to serve with American IPAs or Imperial Stouts.  Serving an extreme beer with a refined vichyssoise will overwhelm the chef’s subtlety.
  3. Contrast: Flavor contrasts can work, so experiment!  The “pure ocean” flavor of oysters on the half shell combines magically with the roast-malt notes of dry stout or oatmeal stout.  Likewise, a highly-carbonated effervescent German pils or export-style – usually with fairly light body – is just the ticket for rich cream soups, clearing the palate for the next bite. 
  4. Order: If you are serving or tasting more than one beer with more than one dish, move from lighter flavored pairings to heavier or more intense pairings to avoid taste-bud fatigue.
  5. Cooking with beer: As well as beer shines on the table, it also is wonderful in the kitchen.  Any dish that calls for wine can be made with beer, and often shows well if served with the same beer.  Belgian Gueuze and Saison make a fantastic steaming liquid for mussels; strong dark ales are magnificent in roasts; amber lagers and ales make great bases for marinade.
  6. Glassware: The appropriate, traditional glass will enhance the flavor of any beer: the bouquet is expressed, the head blossoms, the taster can enjoy the myriad colors in fine beer.  For the taster who may not have every glass style, an oversized wine glass is a better choice than a mug for bigger beer styles.

 

So host a beer dinner!  Have a pre-tasting and be thinking of food as you sample.  Serve vinaigrette dressing – there is a beer that matches it.  Put asparagus and artichokes on the menu – strong Belgian ale will compliment them.  Serve nut brown ale with roast, and wind up with a fruit lambic and chocolate cake.

 

And smile, as you experience a world of great food enhanced by the world of fine beer.

 

Merchant du Vin, America’s Premier Specialty Beer Importer Since 1978

www.merchantduvin.com