5 minute read
Food pairing
Putting beer on the menu for the next generation
Katie Wiles whets her appetite for beer and food with a tasting of American brews designed to inspire tomorrow’s top chefs
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Anyone who’s lucky enough to take
part in a fine-dining experience will know that the drinks offer rarely extends beyond the categories of ‘red or white’.
In fact, opening the drinks menu at most restaurants – fine dining or not – tends to leave the seasoned beer drinker properly disappointed, as you flick through the various options of greenbottled imported lagers.
Wine is historically best known for pairing – and with good reason. Its tannins and acidity help balance salt and fats, allowing other flavours to shine brighter. Yet beer can play an incredibly powerful role in the kitchen and at the table, and in many instances, pick up where wine leaves off.
Furthermore, the beer industry has increased its scale, size and variety over the past two decades, with nearly 2,000 breweries up and down the UK. There is more than enough to choose from – and to pair with.
According to the craftbeer.com’s Beer & Food course: “Beer has varying acidity and tannins from both malts and hops. It has unsurpassed flavour harmony potential with grilled, roasted and smoked proteins thanks to the flavour of kilned and roasted malt. It has additional flavour echoes from hop’s floral, herbal and citrus notes.
“Beer’s bitterness from hops and roasted malt counters both sugar and fat. Its yeast character’s fruity esters and personality-filled phenols find further flavour connections to food. Beer’s residual sugar pairs and plays well with hot and spicy food. And carbonation scrubs the tongue, getting it ready for the next bite.”
Right:
Fine-dining partners: cannelloni of Brixham crab, mango and chilli salsa with Joint Resolution and Weekend Vibes on the side
Beer and food matchings can clearly provide an elevated experience for fine diners, yet take-up for it is still relatively low. Beer seems to have retained a century-old stigma of being a workingclass drink and enjoys a lower status than wine, especially at fine-dining restaurants. But it’s high time to take beer more seriously, and it’s clear that, in this regard, the US is forging ahead with impressive speed.
I had the opportunity to join the Brewers Association (BA) at Westminster Kingsway Catering College for a special four-course pairing event, where I had a sneak peek at some of the work the BA is doing to help put beer back on the menu.
The BA encouraged student chefs at the college to build a four-course menu based on America’s finest highquality craft beers. Participants were asked to think about the paired beer as a supporting ingredient and consider how it will interact with different characteristics of the dish.
BA American craft beer ambassador for Europe Lotte Peplow says: “We want to encourage catering students to experience the amazing flavour combinations and versatility of beer when paired with food to gain familiarity with beer and use such knowledge and experience in their future careers.”
Its menu consisted of: salad of heirloom tomatoes, pickled watermelon, wasabi and ginger granita paired with
Left: Perfect pair – Aylesbury duck, roast and confit, potato press, heritage carrots, veal and blackberry sauce with Virginia Baker’s Ordinary Bitter and Upslope Kriek
Chuckanut Asian Lager (4.8 per cent ABV) and Paradox brewery Paradox Pilsner (5 per cent); cannelloni of Brixham crab, mango and chilli salsa paired with Coronado Brewing Company Weekend Vibes (6.8 per cent) and DC Brau Joint Resolution (5.5 per cent); Aylesbury duck, roast and confit, potato press, heritage carrots, veal and blackberry sauce paired with Virginia Beer Company Baker’s Ordinary Bitter (4 per cent) and Upslope Brewing Company Kriek (5 per cent); Josper charred pineapple, coconut ice, lime meringue paired with Maui Brewing Company Pineapple Mana Wheat (5.5 per cent).
The BA is making headway with
this concept in the US and has worked with craftbeer.com to design a specific course on beer and food pairings. This is something that is urgently needed here in the UK, with the only accredited beer and food programme run through the Institute of Brewing & Distilling currently on hold for more than two years.
If chefs are rarely exposed to the amazingly versatile drink that is beer during their training and coursework, how can we expect them to pair or upsell it in our restaurants?
Reading through the American coursework, I soon discover what a massive impact the explosion of craft beer has had on the sector, with the entire US beer category reaching more than $100bn in sales. Comparing these numbers to wine ($50bn) and spirits (almost $70bn), it’s clear that beer is not a drink to be ignored.
Of particular interest to me was the encouragement for chefs to focus on flavour styles – such as dark and roasty or fruity and spicy – rather than predefined styles. This process can be challenging, as every palate will taste and react
differently to the same flavours. However, it encourages chefs to take time to develop a descriptive vocabulary so that they will find reference points that make the language of beer more accessible. Clearly, it’s a fine balance between science, art and personal preference when it comes Fortunate few – beer and food writers at exclusive tasting to food matching. There’s a lot to learn, but it’s a huge opportunity for retailers who are ready to break the rules and give beer the leading role it deserves in restaurants. Here’s to hoping the next generation of chefs are up for the challenge. ● You can find out more about
beer and food pairings by visiting CAMRA’s Learn & Discover platform at camra.org.uk/learn-discover/ learn-more/learn-more-about-beer/ beer-and-food-pairing
Katie Wiles is CAMRA’s communications manager and keen real ale fan. Read more of her work at wilesaboutbeer.com or @wilesaboutbeer
