Beer pairings bring new flavor to old dishes

Bert Boyce is on a mission: he wants to change the way Americans think about beer.

“Beer isn’t just for swilling anymore,” Boyce said. “We want to stretch the boundaries of brewing and encourage people to think of beer differently, as something more complex.”

There once was a time when beer was relegated to tailgating, pizza parties and backyard barbecues. No more. Beer is moving up in the world and finally getting some respect, thanks to people like Boyce, a brewer for Boston-based Sam Adams.

While most people are familiar with wine and food pairings, they may not think of beer in the same way. Yet “the spectrum of beer favors is much broader than wine,” said Boyce, “which opens up an amazing range of beer and food pairing possibilities.”

Boyce was recently in San Diego spreading his beer gospel. He partnered with Chef Matt Gordon of North Park’s Urban Solace and presented a beer dinner appropriately named, “An Exploration of Flavor.” The four-course feast featured Sam Adams winter brews as well as their exclusive “extreme beer,” Sam Adams Utopias (2009). According to Boyce, “extreme beers challenge the very definition of what a beer is, and Utopias is the pinnacle of extreme beers.”

You don’t have to go to extremes, however, to enjoy beer and food pairings. San Diego, along with other beer-centric cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, OR, is experiencing a burgeoning of beer-and-food tasting events, such as San Diego Beer Week. So whether you dine out or stay in, here are some tips for successfully pairing beer with food.

According to Boyce, there are two rules when it comes to pairing beer with food. Rule 1: Match intensity levels. Rule 2: Decide which flavors you want to showcase, and then either complement or contrast them.

“Beyond that, they’re aren’t any rules,” he said.

Let’s start with Rule 1: Matching intensity levels.

You don’t want either the beer or the food to overwhelm the other. Let’s say you’re serving a hefeweizen with citric or floral hops, then you might pair it with a seafood salad or lemony pasta dish. You’d want to avoid pairing such a beer with a hearty beef or lamb dish, for example, since the heaviness of those foods would easily out-do the beer.

Moving on to Rule 2: Complement or contrast.

When complementing your beer to a dish, aim for a level playing field. In general, pair heavy beers with heavy food and light beers with light food. The goal is to create harmony through shared flavor characteristics. For example, you might pair a citric pale ale with grilled fish or chocolate cake with a rich, black chocolate stout.

If you’re looking to contrast flavors, then think of opposites. For example, a soft, fragrant pilsner balances the heat of spicy Thai food, while a light-bodied pale ale enhances the depth of smoky barbecued spare ribs.

When considering contrasting flavors, both Boyce and Chef Gordon stress the importance of “cutting.” That is, how will a beer “cut through” the flavors of a food? Gordon pairs Sam Adams Old Fezziwig, a spicy, fragrant beer with notes of ginger, cinnamon and orange peels, with braised pork belly.

“The clean, fresh crispness of the beer cuts the fattiness of the pork belly, and you end up with a really well balanced pairing,” he explained.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of these two rules, Boyce and Gordon suggest you let loose and start experimenting. Although he is quick to say he loves wine, Boyce, like most beer afficiandos, believes that beer and food pairings are more open to interpretation than wine and food pairings.

“Beer and food pairings are less fraught with potential disasters, so it can be more fun,” he said.

Gordon offers this advice for pairing beer with food: “If you’re planning a beer dinner, then the beer needs to come first, so taste the beers and identify the dominant flavors in them. Then figure out how the food flavors can enhance them.”

When in doubt, go online. There are scores of websites that will help you with beer and food pairings. Gordon admits that even he checks them out.

“I like to see what a brewer has to say about a particular beer-you can learn a lot about the beer that way, like if it has floral, citric, or chocolate components.”

Ultimately, though, it’s more about subjectivity and sensorial experience than about rigid rules.

“For me, I like to close my eyes and let my thoughts about the beer go away,” Gordon said.  I just want to focus on the flavors and feelings in my mouth and really taste it. That’s when the flavors really pop up.”

Are there certain food-friendly or food-resistant beers?

According to Boyce, “Sam Adams Boston lager is extremely versatile. It’s sweet and complex and tastes great with everything from steaks and roasted turkey to burgers to pizza. It’s really a go-to beer.”

As for unfriendly food beers, Boyce warns against IPAs.

“Because they have a fair amount of bitterness, they’re more difficult to pair with food. You’d definitely want to avoid pairing a bitter IPA with an acidic tomato sauce, for instance. But it would be wonderful paired with an aged blue cheese.”

Use these tips to get started on your beer and food pairing journey, but don’t be afraid to wander into unchartered territory. You’ll discover complexities in beer that you never knew existed and ultimately begin to develop your own food and beer pairings.

Susan Russo is an SDNN contributing writer. She also writes the blog Food Blogga.

Follow Susan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/foodblogga

Tags: Add new tag, beer, Bert Boyce, complement, contrast, intensity level, Sam Adams, Sam Adams Utopias, San Diego Beer Week, SDNN, Urban Solace

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Food . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.