Beer and food
my journey over the last two and a bit
years as a delve into the world of craft beer has had an interesting
side effect. Before I started regularly drinking the craft beers I
would never consider sitting down and drinking one or two beers, to
enjoy the flavour, nor to enjoy with a meal. Beer to me was something
to be drunk when out with the lads or at a sporting event.
Thats changed now, and for the better.
I consider my craft beer to be comparable to wine in this respect. I
would happily have a glass of wine or two at home with my feet up and
watching a movie, or of course with a good hearty dinner. With the
complexity of flavours and styles now available in the craft beer
scene this has opened the door for a similar level of enjoyment.
As we come to the summer, one of the
things most of us will look forward to is a good barbecue. The
barbecue was always the exception to the rule, grill up some read
meat some chicken and fire on a load of salad, maybe a baked potato
and half a dozen lager in the fridge, that is my overriding memory of
summer parties at my parents, and then as I got older my own house.
These days with having a real job the sun doesn't always come out
exclusively when I've got a day or two to recover from the dreaded
hangover, so its nice to have a choice of beers that I can maybe have
one or two with a flamed steak or a chicken breast, and still be able
to get up for work the following morning. Beer goes with barbecue
like white goes with rice.
I enjoy spicy food. Mexican or Indian,
even certain Chinese dishes are among my favourite. I was always
told don't mix beer with spice its unpleasant. However Ive found
recently that certain intensely hopped beers, particularly IPA
varieties actually enhance the flavours and subtle spices of these
dishes, while the malt flavours help to regulate the heat.
Id recommend you try an Amber Ale with
an Italian dish such as Spaghetti Bolognese, and everyone has their
own weird and wonderful combinations. My own process for selecting a
beer to go with food is heavily influenced from my wine background
and the skills are transferable.
First think what it is you are eating,
what are the flavours, do you want to compliment these flavours or
contrast them to make it a more vivid experience? Irrespective of
what decision you make at this stage you have to think about the
weight of the meal you are eating, are the flavours light and
delicate, subtle? The select a beer whose body is lighter with more
delicate flavours. Is your meal full of complex overpowering
flavours? Then select a heavier beer that wont be over powered by the
flavours of your meal. Its a balancing act, you dont want your,
normally more expensive, beer to be wasted if it is lost against a
complex heavy dinner, on the other hand you don't want to spend hours
in the kitchen creating the culinary master piece with all the subtle
grace of a Russian Ballerina, only to completely over power it with
an Irish Stout or Porter!
Its about trial and error, there are no
wrong answers here, no combination is outlawed!
Bottling day:
An update on the
American Amber I am brewing at home, I let it ferment and settle for
quite some time and its currently sitting at a little over 5.4% Its
been dry hopped with Pacific Jade, Summit and Cluster. The aromas
coming from my dinning area of the flat are amazing. The alcohol
level will rise ever so slightly as I add approximately 100g of
priming sugar before bottling.
