Beer and Food - Our American ally
Garrett Oliver, a brewer and writer from Brooklyn, says wine can't match beer on the dining table. He reveals why to Sue Nowak, author of the Beer Cook Book.
The Campaign for Real Ale has declared that 2004 is beer with food year and it has put its message where its mouth is - literally - at a gourmet launch of The Good Beer Guide 2005. Instead of beer and a buffet, it was a fine-food and real-ale partnership when Brooklyn brewer Garrett Oliver urged us to swap the grape for the hop as he led a masterclass on matching a menu to British bitter, IPA and stout.
Garrett is the author of The Brewmaster's Table, a great fat feast of a book for anyone really serious about complementing a serious meal with serious beer. Hosts sometimes ask me: "How can we pair food with beer when we've only got the range from one brewery?" Well, in an upper room at the Lamb in Bloomsbury, London, Oliver demonstrated just how wide a flavour spectrum one brewer - in this case Young's - could produce alongside an eclectic menu. Garrett says: "Beer has an affinity with food that wine cannot match. Beer can deliver caramelised and roasted flavours,it can deal with spices and all those tricky tastes in a way that wine simply can't."
Starter of fresh grilled sardines with coarse sea salt and olive oil was accompanied by jugs of Young's ordinary draught bitter. The dish brought out citrus notes in the beer not normally obvious. "It really demonstrates what the bitterness of the hop does for oily fish - I think it works as well as wine and probably better," comments Garrett. For the main course of pork tenderloin with sautéed Granny Smiths and creamy polenta, the tipple was Young's Special. "I've never found wine entirely convincing with pork dishes," says Garrett. "There is something about beer that ties in with its flavours."
The polenta melded well with the roast flavours in the beer, and the apple alongside the pork brought out fruity notes as well. It was a satisfying match, but the next coupling was a marriage made in heaven. Young's powerful bottle-conditioned Special London Ale was spectacular alongside spicy beef tacos with loads of hot flavours, including jalapeno peppers. The dish brought out the spiciness of this India Pale Ale style and the hops were wonderful with the coriander and cumin, while a malty smoothness cooled the tongue. Dessert was a slice of dark chocolate sponge on a raspberry coulis. To sip, deepruby full-bodied Titanic Stout with strong coffee and chocolate flavours as well as dark fruit, was a sumptuous snifter. "When you choose the right beer, it is often a better match than a dessert wine," concludes Garrett.
Now, don't you think that if an American takes the trouble to come all the way from New York to point out to us the possibilities of our own British beer with our own pub food, licensees should sit up and take notice?
St Austell champions beer with food in Cornwall
Cornish brewer St Austell is to champion a gourmet food and beer-matching event at Padstow restaurant Pescadou in November. Pescadou head chef Gareth Eddy has teamed up with St Austell head brewer Roger Ryman to devise a menu showcasing Cornish food and drink. Each of the meal's five courses will be paired with a speciality beer selected by Ryman. The menu will include Cornish oysters served with pilsner beer and Roger's own brewed "Smugglers" to go with coffee and Cornish chocolates.
Gareth says: "Beer and food matching is the new rock 'n' roll of dining as the flavours work so well together. Roger's sourced some fantastic beers - both locally and from around the world - which work with the food perfectly." The event is designed to further enhance the beer with food campaign, says Roger. "Many people don't think about beer in the context of gourmet food but, just like fine wines, every beer has its own distinct flavour and other qualities that make it a perfect match with particular foods."
