What I've learned so far about Food & Beer (aka "Noms" & "Brewskis") - Sales Class

Here we are back again on the Beer Learning journey. No, it’s not more recipe calculations (That will come later, I’m sure).  This time it's something I actually know a bit about: Eating stuff & Drinking Stuff! Everyone likes food of some sort (at least I hope or how the heck are you reading this?) and we all have our favorites. Not everyone likes beer (That's fine, more for me) but how can we nudge that to the next level. It can be very complex or simple.

When putting beer together with food, I tend to keep to some fundamental questions:

What is the occasion? Is there one? - This just determines how many notes I can take and the sorts of discussions I get to have. I may miss a lot of underlying details in the food and the brew if I'm at my favorite local brewpub during game night. If you can, reduce distractions.

What is the “baseline” of the meal? – Find the primary flavour component of the meal (ignore side dishes) and work from there. If it’s Fettuccine Alfredo, what about the dish do I like more? The creaminess or the herbality? Go with what works for you and pick your beer from there. I find this sort of pasta is a light meal so I’d likely avoid any of those heavier beers (Notice I said “heavier” not "darker".)

What is the “baseline” of the beer? - . Pick one thing about a particular beer that speaks to YOU and use that. As your knowledge grows, so will your complexity. If it’s an India Pale Ale, then you know it will be hop forward and likely possess edgy citrus notes. Would those strong components work well with grilled salmon? One can go into all sorts of complexity here.      

These aren’t “be all and end all” questions but it helps me with a process of elimination to make more informed choices.

Books – Gotta love ‘em.

As you know, I like books. Some of the ones that have greatly helped me are:

The Brewmaster’s Table by Garret Oliver – I’ve had a prior blog post about books and a ton of my friends go on about this book. This is a great resource that does have a beer focus.

Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher – One of my favorite books on the planet with a very comprehensive section about beer and food pairing. Pictures speak measures and this one has helped me visualize what I’m trying to accomplish in the food & beer pairing genre.

Artisan Beer by Gary Monteserosso – This book dedicates an entire chapter to a “Primer on Beer and Food Pairings” with a handy quick-reference chart.

Craft Brews: The Right Glass for the Right Beer by Robert Zollweg – Yes, we all know about my crusade for using proper glassware for beer styles. This book not only suggests 3 suitable glasses for your beer but also some solid food pairings. A reliable go-to. 

Books are good. Beer books are great.

Naturally, there are online resources such as this link that can give you a great overview. I’ve printed out this chart and put it one of my beer journals for quick reference.

You could also take all sorts of courses on the subject as well. In April 2013, I got my Level 1 Prud’homme course under my belt. Our facilitator Ken Beattie had beer and food pairings at the end of every session which was a helpful educational opportunity to talk about flavour components and how they interacted. It’s a fun course and you don’t have to be a beer nerd to enjoy it. Check out the site if you’d like to know more details.

Books are good, friends are better.

I’m blessed to have exceptionally skilled friends that lend unique insight. Here are some of the great people that have influenced this BeerLearner’s journey.

Dave K & Tamara Y –Dave has made wine and mead (honey wine) before. They have a healthy appreciation for local ingredients, BC wines, and most of all – exploration.  When they invite me over for dinner,  Dave and I tend to geek out about beer...a lot. Tamara is super patient with us and might be nodding quietly sipping her wine but she always samples the beer we’re discussing. What I really enjoy is that she effectively represents the female palate by pulling out taste sensations that either a) Dave & I are having a hard time pinning down or b)both of us guys miss completely.

These are enjoyable discussions as everyone learns.  Dave has termed this “BeerKlass” because what we learn is always the greater sum than of its parts.

DISCLAIMER: The preceding reference to Tamara’s palate is not intended to offend or sound sexist in any capacity. It is meant to recognize my own observations of tasting recognition amongst genders and that in my own experience, I’ve found that having a lady along tasting beer will always yield some new insight. So guys, this is where you listen to your gal. If she can see varying shades of color when choosing drapes or paint, she will definitely pull out unique insights to your beer tasting experience.

Noah  A – Noah is a different kind of foodie. This guy researches, as a hobby, what sort of bread Roman Legionnaires would eat at war encampments back in the day; then he makes it! Him and his wife Trista have a hearty love for wine and that carries over brilliantly. Trista doesn’t care for beer at all but she does smell different beers we’re sampling once in a while to pull out different notes. 

                This is another powerhouse pair that creates unique recipes in their kitchen and truly believes in the pursuit of tasting sensations. They have excellent views from their coffee (Man, I miss their lattes) to their homemade desserts.. They love subtlety and layers in their food and have helped me do the same with beer.

Mike V – Mike is a gracious, down to earth guy and is first person I ever homebrewed with a few years ago. He’s the sort of foodie that will dig a hole in an isolated beach, nurse lit coals for hours until they achieve the ideal heat, and cook a meal made with organic local ingredients right there just to see how it will go with a $15 bottle of beer he picked up. When I worked at the boutique liquor store, we spent a lot of time chatting in the walk-in beer cooler about the one beer (out of the almost 1000 on hand) that would be the ideal partner to the meal he was going to cook that night. Sometimes my suggestions worked, sometimes not. He was always gentle with the feedback.

Timmy B – A brewer who has been in the industry for years (Psst, check out his brewery: Surlie Brewing). Where do I begin? He opened up my world one evening when we paired Belgian beers with various chocolates and cheeses. His descriptors about flavours really encouraged me to be patient when I taste. Timmy has a very discernible palate and understands the science of how the beer marries well with the food you taste. I have yet to have a beer that will pair effectively with his dry wit.  

J.R. – JR is an adventurist in his cooking that combines 1 part mad scientist and 1 part military general.  He and his fiancee Michelle, are dedicated to delectable eats with the creation of their own garden at their house where they grow herbs & veggies.  He has a smoker that he puts to good use whenever he can. He’s also the guy that I help home-brew and be his “brew monkey”.  Many a time, he has invited me over for our “Style Pairings” (Which is JR cooks a meal & this BeerLearner drags over 4-6 beers that we try throughout the night to explore the style in question. Don’t worry – I PROMISE, I’ll do a blog post about this later) and we’ve come to some eye-opening conclusions.

Darin “The Metal Chef” – Imagine a 6ft plus ripped former power lifter with long hair that plays bass guitar in a stoner rock band...that’s also a French trained Red Seal Chef.  He looks like he’ll tear your arm off one minute and the other minute he’ll open up a wormhole in your conventional thinking about food and craft brew.  Is your mind blown yet? To me, Darin isn’t an Iron Chef, he’s the “Metal Chef”. This guy has such an incredible palate and insight into flavour that it’s uncanny; like a superpower that he only uses for good. Toss in that he’s also an accomplished home-brewer and beer nerd and you pretty much achieve food pairing Nirvana. Now I’m really fortunate to have a pal like this that I can bounce ideas off of.  My friend JR and I always learn something new every time he comes around.

                                      

The 3 C’s

One thing I learned in Prud’homme is the 3 C’s:

Cut – Using one flavour to reduce the intensity of another dominant flavour. Think milk with spicy food

Complement – Flavours that work well together in a tried & true fashion. I try and think of this as “Like meets Like”

Contrast – Think opposites. Sweet and Sour pork anyone?

Remember these are guidelines because some flavours overlap in those categories. What I mean is that there are flavours that but Cut AND Contrast. Confused yet? It took me a bit to wrap my head around. So what I’ve done is tossed together a quick chart of some of the more memorable food & beer pairings I’ve had.

My Successful pairings

Beer	Meal	Occasion	Take aways
Hoyne Voltage Espresso Stout (Hoyne Brewing, Victoria, BC)	Classic Bacon & Eggs (with thyme and seasonings) & whole wheat toast	At JR’s place before going to a Beer Fest with some buddies	CUT - Roastiness of the espresso & malt was like having a French pressed cup of coffee to go with this hearty breakfast.
WestmalleTripel (Belgium)	Homemade Cajun Boil (we’re talking the shrimp were still wriggling in the bag fresh before the boil sort of fresh)	Get together with 2 close friends (One is Metal Chef Darin & the other is JR)	COMPLEMENT - Savory of the shrimp (even the brains!), subtle textures on the palate, starchy potatoes, corn, all of these tastes needed an equally mouth coating brew. The tripel’s sweetness tied the underlying spice well. SO GOOD!
Granville Island Brewing Ginja Ninja (Vancouver, BC)	Homemade Dynamite Rolls (that’s Sushi, people)	My ex-girlfriend’s place with her 3 girls (All of them adorable sushi maniacs)	CONTRAST – I feel the beer is very lacking on its own. When partnered with sushi, one didn’t need pickled ginger to cleanse the palate. The smoothness and umami of the crab united with the pep of the beer. One could say COMPLEMENT too.
Saison Dupont (Belgium)	Homemade Pad Thai	Saison Tasting with my pal Dan (His 1st time cooking!)	COMPLEMENT - Spicy veggies and pops of flavour needed a palate cleansing brew with high carbonation with equal amounts of delicate nature to match the tastes in the dish. This was the benchmark for future Saison Tastings with Dan.
St. Bernardus ABT 12 (Belgium)	Chocolate	At my friend Timmy’s place.	COMPLEMENT – Richness of the chocolate and cheese brought out this Belgian Quadrupel’s rich dark fruit nature. Timmy really opened my eyes that day!
Alaskan Amber Ale (	BBQ’d Shishkabobs	At home at “Basement Sweet Pub” for a relaxed movie night with the ex-girlfriend and her girls	COMPLEMENT – Sticky rich bbq sauce and the smokiness from the bbq partnered well with the malt forward & underlying sweetbread nature of the amber ale.
Lagunitas IPA	Beer Can Chicken (with cayenne rub & hot pepper sauce mixed w/ hot & spicy bbq sauce)	At home on the BBQ, I was in the mood for something that would rip my taste buds apart with volcanic heat. Sometimes you gotta take care of that craving.	CONTRAST – I knew the IPA was going to crank up the spice and it did so in spades! This specific IPA was ideal due to its citrus brightness is always balanced with supporting role of sweet malt with hints of honey. Sweet meets spicy! Yowsa!
Walkin’ 47 India Session Ale	Grilled local veggies with chicken	At BeerKlass with Dave (celebrating my return from my 1st year at “Beer School”)	COMPLEMENT – the softness of the herbs on the veggies had delectable range and an approachable flavour. I had some homebrew left over and the pine & citrus hop in the ISA was relaxed enough to not overpower the dish and made for good sipping to go with the good company.

 

Note: I've had tons of success with food pairings at JR's place. Too many to keep track. 

What beer would you pair with this meal?

This is easily a subject that I could go on & on about because there are so many complexities. So I invite you to comment down below on what successful beer & food pairings you’ve had. If you’ve had any of the above dishes, what other beers have worked well for you? Or let’s look at it from the other perspective, what other food do you think would go well with those beers?

What it all boils down to at the end of the day is what you like and what makes you happy.

All this is making me hungry. What beer do you think would go well with A+? (Psst, because that’s what I think I should get on this assignment)

As always, thanks for reading.

BL