Impassioned Brewers United Food & Beer Pairing
‘Tis Friday! Sounds like a good day to talk beer! July was our month to host IBU, and in typical Jo fashion I turned the focus to food. Since Courtney and I were too cheap to go to Savor this year ($135 each to wait in line for small bites and sips? No thanks!), I decided to host our very own mini-Savor. I designed a menu that included four courses, and assigned 2-3 people to bring a beer that paired with each course. Instead of ranking the beers on aroma, flavor, mouth feel (!), etc. as we usually do, we voted on which beer paired best with each course. We were surprised to find it often wasn’t our favorite beer that won best pairing!
For our first course, we had roasted Brussels Sprouts with Red Pear and Blue Cheese, paired with the Rogue Farms Honey Kolsch, the Schlafly Kolsch and Oskar Blue’s Mama’s Little Yellow Pils. While our favorite beer of the round was the Rogue, Mama’s Little Yellow Pils won best pairing; we found that the crisp, refreshing pilsener complimented the sharp, pungent blue cheese nicely.
Our second course was everyone’s favorite: Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Manchego Cheese and Drizzled with a Chocolate Balsamic Reduction. We devoured these paired with the Cloak of Martin Quadruple Ale and the Collective Distortion IPA from Stone Brewery. These two beers are about as different as they come. A double IPA brewed with elderberries and coriander, the Collective Distortion is extremely hoppy and aromatic. The Cloak of Martin on the other hand, is a rich, boozy beer at 13% abv, triple fermented with three different types of yeast. While the crew thoroughly enjoyed both beers, we agreed that the Cloak of Martin paired best with the sweet and savory dates.
For our third course, we enjoyed Thai Shrimp Skewers with a Spicy Peanut Sauce paired with a San Miguel Pale Pilsen, an Ommegang Hennepin, and La Fin Du Monde Tripel style beer from Unibroue. While La Fin Du Monde easily won best beer of the round (and in my opinion the night!), we thought that Ommegang’s Hennepin, a spicy, complex farmhouse ale, paired best with the spicy peanut sauce.
And of course, we saved room for dessert! Our final course was Tahini Ice Cream with Honey and Candied Ginger, paired with a Shock Top Bourbon Honey Cask Wheat Beer, the Rübæus Raspberry Pure Ale from Founders, and the Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break, an imperial stout. All three of these paired quite well with the tahini ice cream – event the Shock Top, which we all agreed was a horrid beer. While the Evil Twin was by far the favorite beer of the round, it got few points for pairing. The hands-down winner for best pairing was the fruit-forward Founder’s Rübæus. We all loved the way the rich raspberry flavor complimented the rich nutty tahini ice cream, reminiscent of peanut butter and jelly.
We had a lovely evening of gourmet food and some seriously tasty beers. The only thing I can’t figure out… why doesn’t anyone want to host August?
