8 minute read
Beer & Food Matching The Brewers Association’s Lotte Peplow looks at the power of pairings
USA vs UK beer and food pairing approaches
Lotte Peplow, the American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe for the Brewers Association, compares the culture around beer and food matching in the US with that in the UK, and offers advice on getting it right…
Walk into any bar, diner or restaurant in the States and American craft beer is often the dominant beverage of choice. Many venues list beer pairing suggestions alongside food dishes on the menu, as well as a separate and extensive beer list. American is a nation of beer lovers!
According to a Nielsen survey nearly half of craft beer drinkers in the States say they drink beer with food always or often, 63% of people select beer based on what they’re going to eat and 88% enjoy a beer with their meal at least sometimes.
Pairing American craft beer with food can elevate both to a whole new level and offer something innovative and different. Beer has a wider flavour spectrum than almost any other beverage and can accompany almost any food partner. Brewpubs with food offerings should consider these top tips: 1 Match strength with strength. Pair delicate dishes with lighter craft beers and strongly flavoured dishes with intense, more assertive beer styles 2 Think of beer as one of the flavour components of a dish, the only difference being it’s in a glass not on the plate! 3 Use the dominant flavour or ingredient in a dish as the starting point. Hops are very food-friendly and will go with just about any food. 4 Consider what cooking methods and techniques to use because this affects the end result. Grilling, roasting, smoking and baking when done at high temperatures will accentuate the beer’s malt flavours, while braising or frying adds fat that will coast the palate and protect against the ‘bite’ of the alcohol
5 Hops can mimic the flavours of herbs and spices. Hops with herbal, spicy, pine, citrus, tropical, fruity or woody flavour notes will complement similar herbs and spices used in the dish 6 Avoid incorporating American craft beer within a recipe because the cooking process drives off the flavour, and depending on the beer in use, may enhance bitterness. There are exceptions, of course, such as mussels in a smooth witbier or a beef casserole using stout, but pairing a beer with a dish allows the diner to taste all the flavours in both the food the beer.
Foods with spice, heat, acid and complex flavours are a great way to showcase and utilise certain beer styles. Hops can calm heat and spice, carbonation can cleanse the palate and malt in beer balances acidity on the palate. There are three main interactions with beer and food pairings, as follows:
Complementing
Look for harmonious flavours between the ingredients and the beer eg. roasted duck breast with a brown ale or Dubbel, or the light acidity of a witbier with a salad and vinaigrette dressing. Roasting or grilling will complement the malts used in beer and bring out the Maillard reaction (a non-enzymatic browning that occurs in hot, moist environments like the char on a beef burger or roasted duck breast). In a recent survey, 71% of craft beer purchases gave ‘complements my meal’ as a very or somewhat important selection criteria in their beer choice when at a bar or brewpub.
Contrasting
Contrasting is the most challenging interaction on the palate and works best when the dominant flavour of the dish contrasts against the main flavour profile of the beer eg. sweet v sour or bitter v sweet. A classic example is the tropical flavour notes of an American IPA with an intensely, hot pepper spiced dish or curry.
Cutting
Craft beer cuts through the fat of rich, succulent and creamy foods to cleanse the palate after every mouthful and leave it feeling refreshed, clean and ready for the next bite. The bitter strength and astringency of hops lifts fat from the palate and a sweet finish cuts away acidic flavours leaving a pleasant sensation in the mouth. Sour and tart flavours can cut away sugary and fruity notes and the scrubbing effect of carbonation diffuses the richness of the food.
Pairing beer with food in the States is far more prevalent than in the UK. Prestigious, high demand events take place regularly and draw huge interest from across America, and further afield, where the worlds of gastronomy and American craft brewing collide in unique sensory showdowns.
One such example is SAVOR, a one-off carefully curated beer and food pairing event organised by the Brewers Association, the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers. SAVOR is an annual showstopper taking place every June in Washington DC that pairs 110 American craft breweries serving 225 beers with 65 exquisite small bites. Each dish is masterminded by the Brewers Association’s Executive Chef and international beer and food pairing expert, Adam Dulye, supported by a talented team of award-winning chefs. Now it its 11th year running, SAVOR is a mecca for gastronomes and attracts 2,500 guests from all over the world. SAVOR is different to most beer events because it allows guests the opportunity to engage with the people behind the brewery and the beers. Brewers/brewery owners are present at each station to pour their beers while talking and interacting with guests. This allows beer lovers to get up close and personal with some of the ‘rockstars’ of the American craft brewing world which helps to heighten their whole SAVOR experience.
Continued on page 55
As Matt Lincecum, founder of Fremont Brewing Co put it: “SAVOR is a special event because the people who attend do so with real intention. They’re here because they really love craft beer and they pick out exactly what pairings they want to sample ahead of time.” The high quality and full flavour of American craft beer combined with a wide diversity of innovative beer styles, lends itself perfectly to pairing with food. In keeping with the ethos of SAVOR the menu features mostly organic ingredients from local producers. But beer and food events of SAVOR’s magnitude are few and far between in the UK. Does the issue lie with the UK’s longentrenched ‘pie and a pint’ mentality or are we yet to realise the boundless potential between high quality American craft beer and food? The Brewers Association recently addressed this question by hosting an American craft beer and food pairing initiative at Westminster Kingsway Catering College in Victoria, London that targeted students. The objective was to stimulate understanding and trial of American craft beer and food pairings at an early stage in the students’ careers to arm them with knowledge and experience as they progress through their professional careers. The event consisted of a four-course beer and food paired menu devised, cooked and served by third year students, under the leadership of the Brewers Association’s Adam Dulye.
Beer is highly versatile when it comes to pairing with food making it the ideal pairing partner and the Brewers Association wanted to prove this point to the chefs of tomorrow. The menu comprised: Salad of Heirloom tomatoes, pickled watermelon, wasabi and ginger granita with Chuckanut Asian Lager, Chuckanut Brewery and Paradox Pilsner, Paradox Brewery Cannelloni of Brixam crab, mango and chilli salsa with Weekend Vibes, Coronado Brewing Company and Joint Resolution, DC Brau Aylesbury duck, roast and confit, potato press, heritage carrots, veal and blackberry sauce with Baker’s Ordinary Bitter, Virginia Beer Company and Kriek, Upslope Brewing Company “Josper” charred pineapple, coconut ice, lime meringue paired with Pineapple Mana Wheat, Maui Brewing Company
Chris Basten, commercial development chef at Westminster Kingsway College, added: “Our students gained valuable knowledge and experience of pairing beer with food which will stand them in good stead for their future careers. They were intrigued by how the flavours in beer harmonised with those in food to create a heightened sensory taste experience. The event helped change the perception of beer from a beverage to an additional flavour component of a dish and opened their eyes to beer’s pairing potential.” India Pale Ale (IPA) is the biggest sector in American craft beer, driven by imperial IPA and hazy/juicy IPA. American craft brewers continue to innovative and create new flavours and styles such as fruit beers, sours, and lighter ales many of which are perfect partners for food. American craft beer is widely credited with pioneering the global craft beer movement we see today through innovative use of ingredients, technical brewing expertise and the relentless pursuit of quality. Such beers regularly win top honours at prestigious international beer competitions around the world judged by panels of experts. Brewers are invited to submit beers to the now annual World Beer Cup in Nashville, TN next year. Known as the ‘Olympics of Beer’, the World Beer Cup is the most prestigious beer competition in the world and is held annually in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Conference® and Brew Expo America®. Registration opens in November and beers will be consolidated at the UK hub in Hertfordshire before being air-freighted to the USA at the Brewers Association’ s expense. Winners will be announced in Nashville on 10th May 2023. For details please see www.worldbeercup.org The UK is the largest export market in Europe and second biggest individual market for American craft beer in the world, accounting for 8.4% of all exports. In the UK American craft beer is available from select national wholesalers or direct from www.cascadeclub.co.uk or www. uk.athleticbrewing.com Chefs and brewers are welcome to make use of the wealth of free, downloadable resources available on www.brewersassociation.org including the Craftbeer.com Beer & Food Professional Course, at www.craftbeer.com/ printedCourse
