Does craft beer pair well with fine dining?

Discussion in 'South Atlantic' started by daepnyc, Dec 11, 2013.

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  1. daepnyc

    daepnyc Initiate (0) May 23, 2013

  2. spicoli00

    spicoli00 Pooh-Bah (2,305) Jul 6, 2005 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

  3. matttauszik

    matttauszik Initiate (0) Sep 13, 2013 Utah

    I cook professionally, and I think beer is very versatile as an accompaniment. I do however, think that cooking with it gets stretched a little too far and is often executed poorly. You'll never see a menu where every dish is prepared with wine, but you'll see that with beer. For example, I don't think something like a Saison is big enough to stand up in anything other than maybe a poach, much the same way it's ill advised to use a Sauvoign Blanc to cook with. You wouldn't cook with a blush wine, but you'll see something like a Lambic used in dishes. It doesn't make sense to me from a technical standpoint to cook with beer just to say, "Look, there's lager in this sauce!". Stouts/porters for a stew/chili or a dessert sauce, ipa for deglazing a curry, lager for a mexican dish, but once people start to get a little too cute the results are more often quite poor.
     
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  4. Stugotzo

    Stugotzo Initiate (0) Jun 13, 2012 Florida

    @matttauszik - I'm having a huge tasting / holiday party at my house this Saturday, and have many cheeses, foods, etc. paired with upwards of 40 different beers representing about 25 different styles. I'm planning on making Bratwurst to pair with the German beers. There's a lot of relatively simple recipes that call for carmelizing onions in butter and beer, or adding beer at the end (after carmelizing) to absorb into the onions. Would you have any type of beer that you would recommend for such a dish, or just skip the beer completely? I'll be grilling the brats, and adding them to the onion mixture after grilling. German beers I'll have (but can add any if you recommend) are Weihenstephaner Hefe, Weihenstephaner Original, and Ayinger Weizenbock.

    Thanks!
     
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  5. WelshBrewer

    WelshBrewer Initiate (0) Mar 17, 2013 Oregon

    If you have never been to a brewers dinner you need to go to one to answer your own question, went to one at Fullsail and it was one of the best dinning experiences as far as food and beer pairing go.
     
  6. dinovis

    dinovis Initiate (0) Mar 1, 2013 Minnesota

    If you are interested in this topic, check out the Brewers Table at Surly Brewing Company. www.surlybrewing.com The entire concept is bringing the Pint to the Plate. Each dish on our menu is paired with one of our unique beers, there is also a 5 course tasting menu with beer pairings.
     
  7. greensparkplug

    greensparkplug Devotee (363) Nov 28, 2014 North Carolina
    Trader

    It can. It often doesn't.
     
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  8. brstls4drmrs

    brstls4drmrs Maven (1,396) Jan 30, 2011 North Carolina

    I believe that it does. And that's one of the things I admire about Fullsteam. When they experiment with a new brew, they often like to pair it with something. They had Chombers One a few years back that I paired with a grilled brat and it went perfectly. Now granted, 90% of beers go well with brats but the sage and lemon taste in this beer was really succulent & perfect for me.
     
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  9. nickfortune

    nickfortune Initiate (0) Jul 7, 2015 North Carolina

    Beer can pair well with any kind of food as long as its the appropriate style for the food its being paired with, they need to compliment each other without one overpowering the other.
     
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  10. wingnutter

    wingnutter Initiate (0) May 18, 2005 Florida

    Absolutely. The fact that there are way more beer styles than wine styles helps, as theres pretty much a beer somewhere that pairs well with just about any dish.
     
  11. ConradKenney

    ConradKenney Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2013 Maryland

    I don't believe this is true. There are over 1,000 varietals of wine grapes out there. There's a wine bar not far from my house that the wife and I frequent, and every time I go there is a grape I've never heard of.

    That's not to say I don't agree with the other half of your statement, as I do love pairing beer with food, and agree there is almost always a beer that will work with whatever dish I am eating.
     
  12. wingnutter

    wingnutter Initiate (0) May 18, 2005 Florida

    Back when I worked at ABC (huge liquor/beer/wine store here in FL), we had to take ongoing training classes about beer & wine, and this one one of the things we were taught...I dont have numbers, and havent attempted to look it up, but its one of the things that stuck with me...who knows though, maybe the guy teaching that class was full of crap. lol
     
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