A recipe for success

The fantastic opportunities offered by speciality beers have been highlighted at the latest Masterclass demonstration held at The Garrison Hotel in Sheffield. Licensees learned how the beers provide ideal matches for all kinds of food at the event organised by InBev UK and the Morning Advertiser

Beer with food supporters don't come with better credentials than Marc Stroobandt and Richard Fox. Belgian-born Marc is a beer sommelier, whose particular expertise is in the speciality beers market. Richard is a food writer renowned not only for his culinary skills, but also for championing beer as an alternative to wine. Both believe beer has been undersold for too long and told licensees at the Sheffield Masterclass how to turn the tide.

Take Richard's views. 'Jacques Chirac recently made the news by having beer with his lobster. He was roundly criticised, but he got it absolutely right, because the right beer can be as good for any fish or seafood dish as the right wine. Oysters and stout are ideal for one-another because of the very powerful flavours in the stout, and Japan has some fine, quality pilsner-style beers that are a perfect match for their cuisine because they cut through oily fish like salmon and tuna. Wheat beers like Hoegaarden also refresh the palate between mouthfuls.

'And what about Christmas pudding? If you have it with a dark beer or a stout, then you will taste fruit flavours in the pudding that you have never tasted before. Cheese and beer are ideal partners a quality beer will mellow the sharpness of cheddar, while the cheese will round off the inherent bitterness in the beer. Many New World wines are now heavily fruitified and lack the balance required to be good accompaniments to food.

Marc is equally convincing. 'Herbs and spices are used in Belgian beers in the same way as herbs and spices are used in cooking to bring out the flavours. The one thing that you won't find in beer is salt, because it would kill the yeast. When you drink beer, your brain detects there is no salt and sends a message 'I need salt'. That's why drinking beer makes you hungry.

Richard adds: 'Some lambic fruit beers possess a balance comparable with the best Burgundies. There is only one wine that will go with foie gras Sauterne, whereas a Belle-Vue Framboise or Kriek makes a superb accompaniment at a fraction of the price. When you consider the quality and craftsmanship that goes into making fruit beers, they are an outrageous bargain. So if your customers don't want another bottle of wine with their desserts, offer them a beer.

Types of speciality beers

Blonde Blonde beers are medium to strong in alcoholic content with a fruity-to-sweet malty flavour. Leffe Blonde has an abv of 6.6% and is an ideal partner for cured meats, fish, chicken or creamy desserts such as crame brûlee. Leffe Triple has an abv of 8.5% and is perfect for accompanying spicy sausages, curries and strong mature cheese. Hoegaarden Grand Cru also has an abv of 8.5% and can accompany most dishes, but is particularly good with white meat, fish, seafood and cheese.

White White or wheat (weiss, weizenbier, witbier) beers generally have an abv around 5% and most have a crisp, fruity lemon flavour. Most white beers are unfiltered and have a cloudy appearance, although Franziskaner Kristallklar is filtered to give a clear appearance. Hoegaarden Witbier is the most popular speciality beer in the UK and has an abv of 4.9% bottled or 4.8% on draught and its refreshing taste, thanks to seasoning with coriander and the zest of Curaçao orange peel, makes it ideal as an aperitif as well as accompanying seafood, spicy Asian dishes, curries and salads. Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier (Hefe meaning yeast to indicate the beer is unfiltered) has an abv of 5% and is best served at 5° to 7° Centigrade, unlike most other speciality beers that are best at 3° to 5°C. It is an ideal partner for sausages, meats and Asian dishes. Franziskaner Kristallklar has an abv of 5% and has the same hoppy dryness of Hefe-Weissbier, but with a crisper finish. It is also best served at 5° to 7°C and goes well with seafood, chicken dishes and salads.

Amber Amber beers have a smooth creamy texture with light roasted caramel and fruity yeast flavours and a lingering hoppy aftertaste. Artois Bock has an abv of 6.2% and is made from an all-malt recipe using Stella Artois yeast and Saaz and Tettnang hops from the Czech Republic and Bavaria. Artois Bock is tremendous with smoked food like salmon or cured meats, and grilled or roasted food including vegetables.

Fruit Fruit beers use a variety or a single fruit to give them their distinctive flavours. Lambic (or lambiek) fruit beer is made by adding fruit to the wort and leaving the brew to absorb 'friendly bacteria before being transferred into oak barrels to ferment a similar process to that used for making cider. The beers are left to mature for at least nine months. During this time, the natural sugars in the fruit help re-ferment the beer and produce a refreshing, soft, sweet taste. Belle-Vue Kriek has an abv of 5.1% and is made from macerated, fresh Morello cherries and elderberry juice that produce a beer, which is ideal with fruit-based desserts or with sweeter savoury dishes such as venison, game and cured meats. Belle-Vue Framboise is defined as the 'pink Champagne of beers and has an abv of 5.7%. It is made from raspberries and cherries and is billed as a great pre-dinner or pre-anything drink that also goes down very well with desserts, especially those made with fruit.

Dark Dark beers are brown-to-black coloured and combine dark-roasted malt flavours with a toffee-like bitter sweetness and a soothing, lasting, dry finish. Leffe Brune has an abv of 6.5% and is perfect company for many types of food, but is especially good with very rich casseroles, spiced sausages and chocolate. Leffe Radieuse is the richest of the Leffe range and possesses a wide range of complex flavours including the fruity taste of bananas and citrus fruits, coupled with coriander and cloves. Radieuse has an abv of 8.2% and is particularly suited to red meats, seafood and flavoursome vegetarian dishes.

Getting the best from front and back-of-house staff

One of the key elements in getting the beer with food message across is by getting both front-of-house (FoH) and back-of-house (BoH) staff working in unison. In many outlets, kitchen staff can be detached from the goings-on in the dining area and, therefore, have little influence over the choice of drinks on offer. InBev UK has developed a six-point plan to help FoH and BoH improve the level of service offered to customers.

Identify beers that can be matched with dishes on the menu. These can range from lagers and ales through to speciality beers blonde, white, amber, fruit and dark varieties.

Appoint a member of staff as the 'speciality beer ambassador and arrange formal training sessions for kitchen and FoH staff.

Introduce 'cuisine a la biere, where selected beers are used in preparing or cooking of meals. Generally, the beer used in a dish will also be a good accompaniment to the meal.

Prepare leaflets giving guidance on the selected beers, including tasting notes and explanations as to why a particular beer goes with a particular dish. For example, does it complement or contrast the flavour of the food or cleanse the palate?

l Hold regular meetings with FoH and BoH staff where information can be shared, especially when new beers or new dishes are being introduced.

Ensure new members of staff receive full training on the 'beer with food message.

Are you missing out on

speciality beers?

Research studies have shown that speciality beers are the rising stars of the drinks industry. The demand for speciality beers has grown 17 times faster than the overall beer market in the past four years, explains Julie O'Neill, InBev UK on-trade marketing manager for speciality beers. She adds: 'Research has shown that 61% of customers will pay more, within reason, for these beers. These beers, especially imported beers, are more imp