Considering the bounty of all that comes in spring, I’d like to suggest a pairing word for the season: Simple.

• Simply sautéed asparagus with a saison.
• Simply roasted beets with a wit beer.
• A simple salad of tender greens with a pilsener.

To keep it simple, limit yourself to no more than three or four ingredients and let your palate open up to the flavors of spring.

As an example, might I suggest you stop reading right now and put in front of yourself a shaved piece of Parmesan reggiano cheese and a pint of pale ale? Go ahead—it’s OK, I’ll wait.

Alrighty! Welcome back. Now that your palate is happy, let’s carry on.

Once you taste a pairing as simple as Parmesan with pale ale, your palate will begin to think of another word: Balance. The balance of the malt to the hops, of the nuttiness in the cheese to the carbonation in the beer, of the pop of the hops to the creaminess of the cheese.

There is something to be said for the chef or brewer who achieves balance. Simple and balanced pairings are often overshadowed by attention-grabbing, show-stopping, over-the-top, palate-wrecking dishes and beers. But in both the craft beer and the culinary worlds today, there is a general drive toward balancing the palate. In pursuit of the perfect pairing, chefs are now more likely to simplify—to take something off the plate—instead of over-indulging and overworking the pairing.

Today, chefs are highlighting the blissful simplicity of a vegetable in the height of its season, meat raised by the most caring hands, a fish caught by a small boat. All of these ingredients, when sourced properly, demand that the hands that cook them highlight their simple, clean flavors.

Achieving simplicity and balance takes focus, dedication, and perseverance. It means finding and creating relationships with the best possible ingredients to make the simplest bite or sip shine on the palate.

Now, to be clear, I am not saying that any beer or dish that is over-the-top or complex in plating lacks these qualities. I am saying: Let’s give some much-needed attention and recognition to what is often overlooked and underappreciated.

When a chef dips the freshest radish in butter and garnishes it only with salt, she’s not taking the easy way out. It is done to highlight a radish served at its best possible harvest time. It is done to tell a story, bridging relationships from farmer to chef to the diner’s palate. And when that simple radish, harvested at the perfect time, pops with a gentle sweetness and is paired with a saison that pops with hints of pepper…well, then that story turns into a moment, a complete experience. And as simple and balanced as that moment is, it is exactly what the first harvest of spring is about.

Here are some simple and balanced pairing suggestions for your palate to seek out this spring:

• Asparagus and prosciutto paired with a saison or farmhouse ale
• Roasted beets and fresh feta paired with a wit
• English peas and mint paired with a pilsener
• Ramps and goat cheese on toast paired with a pale ale
• Grilled spring onions and crème fraiche paired with an IPA
• Spring lamb and fava beans paired with a brown ale
• Fresh ricotta and radish paired with a tripel
• Radishes dipped in butter paired with a saison

The post Spring Means Simple and Balanced appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

The rules for pairing beer with pizza aren’t as definitive as the ones that apply to domestic pizza styles (e.g., Detroit, St. Louis, and Old Forge, Pa.), but, analogous to the craft beer movement improving the quality of beer, pizza has been vastly improved by access to better ingredients: 00 flour, tastier tomatoes, and locally made cheeses.

Full of Flavor

Leah Scurto, an award-winning pizza chef and member of the United States Pizza Team, spent over 20 years working in the Bay Area at Pizza My Heart before moving to Sonoma County to open Pizzaleah in Windsor, Calif. She now stretches pies only a couple miles up the 101 from Russian River Brewery. Pizzaleah is in the vicinity of great beer, but without Scurto’s supreme dough recipe, it would be for naught. Her crust is crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle, and super flavorful, like an artisan sourdough—achieved by a three-day cold fermentation followed by baking in high-temperature electric deck ovens. “The press focuses mainly on my toppings,” says Scurto, “but there’s flavor in our dough, too, which in and of itself pairs nicely with a saison’s funkiness.” (HenHouse Brewing Company in nearby Santa Rosa makes an excellent example.) Even Scurto’s pan pizzas, though thicker than her rounds, have a light airiness to them, more akin to focaccia than a deep-dish.

More than anything, it’s the array and inventiveness of toppings that make Scurto’s pizzas stand out. “I never make one-topping pizzas. I have a persimmon pizza finished with burrata and finger lime gremolata—which sounds like a lot, but there’s always something on a pizza that you can pair with,” she maintains.

In this corner of Sonoma County, IPAs essentially sell themselves—four of Pizzaleah’s tap lines are dedicated to them. Though IPA’s powerful punch of hops may seem like it would overwhelm the subtleties of certain pies, it’s the palate-cleansing bitterness that enhances each bite. Bear Republic’s Racer 5 is a mainstay, as is a rotating tap from HenHouse—its Incredible IPA highlights a quintet of hops: Cascade, Simcoe, Mosaic, Belma, and Hallertau Blanc. Scurto often carries beers from Fogbelt Brewing too, such as its flagship Del Norte IPA with aromas of pineapple and citrus and a malty finish that she loves to pair with her Triple Threat pizza (red sauce, mozzarella, pickled peppers, pineapple, and pepperoni).

“I’m not going to deter someone from drinking their beer of choice,” states Scurto, “but I often point them to a pale ale.” Cooperage Brewing makes a lineup of offerings called Curt that are crisp, clean, and less hoppy than an IPA, but with enough bitterness to complement the pizza. But it’s often beers that fall outside the hop-forward realm that Scurto finds more intriguing when it comes to pairing with pizza. For pizzas with spicy toppings like Old Grey Beard, a red sauce-slicked pie with mozzarella, fontina, Italian sausage, Calabrian peppers, hot honey, and orange zest, Scurto recommends a Pilsner or something lighter to quell the heat. Seismic Brewing’s Liquifaction Kölsch from nearby Sebastopol accents the citrus flavors on the pizza.

Pizzaleah also pours an array of Alvarado Street sours, which play well with fatty and salty toppings mainly due to their acid, reinforcing the notion that pairing isn’t all about straightforward assumptions. Scurto’s most popular pizza is called Roo’s, a fontina and mushroom medley with fresh thyme, roasted fennel, parsley, and shaved parmesan. With this, she’ll suggest a dark amber lager from Barrel Brothers, or even the brewery’s Dark Sarcasm porter as it is full-flavored—just like her pizzas.

Waiting for Enlightenment

Down in Houston, Nicole Bean, president of Pizaro’s Pizza, has been changing the way Texans perceive pizza for a decade, and now she’s doing the same with beer. In 2011, her father, Bill Hutchinson, a lifelong oil and gas industry worker, wanted to replace his barbeque pit with an outdoor oven, and it sort of spiraled out of control— the family now owns two pizzerias in Houston. “I was in fashion merchandising, doing window displays, when he called me to open a second location. I said no—I didn’t want to be part of the family biz,” recalls Bean. Two years later, Bean attended Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza, forever changing the way she looked at dough.

“There was a lot of guff that the crust was soggy, too soft, doesn’t travel well, not enough toppings,” recalls Bean of her pizza school experience. She eventually got tired of telling people no and joined the family business. When their Neapolitan-only approach became too cumbersome, Pizaro’s introduced Detroit-style pizza for something more substantial, and eventually New York-style, too. But just like with pizza preferences, Bean found that beer drinkers were waiting to be enlightened.

Pizaro’s pours Fireman’s #4 from Real Ale Brewing Co. in Blanco, Texas, which Bean describes as a versatile blonde ale that plays well across pizza styles. She also likes Southern Star’s Bombshell Blonde, out of Conroe, but it’s Bean’s brother, Matt, who’s the real beer buyer, scouring the country for the “funkiest stuff,” as she describes

“He goes to Colorado just to bring back a six-pack,” Bean says half-jokingly, “or to New Orleans to bring in Moon Shoes (a New England-style IPA from NOLA Brewing),” attracting the rare-beer drinkers to the pizzeria. They may come in for a can or bottle, but while they’re there, they also get a pizza.

Though Pizaro’s Neapolitan Margherita pie is still their most popular pizza, a lot of pepperoni gets sold there too—almost a third of all orders have pepperoni on them. Pizaro’s carries regular pepperoni and cupping pepperoni (the kind that curls up when cooked), and their Death by Pepperoni pie uses both styles. Bean highly recommends a beer that can cut through all that fat. “Lone Pint’s Yellow Rose IPA out of Dallas is both strong and clean, and SpindleTap’s Houston Haze [IPA] works well too; it has a lot of citrus to counteract the intense meatiness.” Plus, on those 100-degree Lone Star State summer days, you need something cold and refreshing.

Local & Seasonal

Asheville, N.C. is a hot spot for the craft beer scene, with more than 50 breweries serving just under 100,000 citizens. It’s also home to All Souls Pizza, a pizzeria that got its start in grain. Owner David Bauer and chef/owner Brendan Reusing think of flour as a local, seasonal ingredient, especially since Bauer also operates Farm & Sparrow stone mill down the road.

While Bauer advises on the dough/crust, Reusing thinks about toppings year-round, leaning into more proteins in the winter and vegetables in the summer. “We make bresaola, guanciale, and bacon, but also our own sauerkraut and kimchi,” Reusing says. He admits that the restaurant tends to stock what he likes to drink, and he’s a light beer person, preferring a good Kölsch.

“There’s no expectation with a beer and pizza pairing like there is with wine,” insists Bauer. As he so poetically puts it, “Pizza is a convivial, social food—people steer toward what they want to have in that setting regardless of the food.” Bauer tends to think sours work well with the fermented flavors All Souls puts forth, but maybe not so much with the meaty/tangy offerings, like salumi and pickled menu items.

In the “everything local” vein, All Souls sources strong cheeses from Blue Ridge Mountain Creamery in North Carolina to pair with funky brews, but it’s the other fermentables on the table that are staples of the restaurant. With their meal, customers get small bowls of lacto-fermented red jalapeño, carrots, turnips, and fine olive oil, which they proceed to mash together and dunk their pizza crusts into. “Sometimes you need a mental break from all those flavor bombs,” concedes Reusing.

A large blonde wood-framed chalkboard at All Souls highlights the local beer offerings: Goldenrod Pilsner from French Broad Brewery; the latest releases from Wedge Brewing Co. and Hillman (most likely their Mommabeer Brown); Hi-Wire Brewing lager; Jape IPA from Foothills Brewing; TRU light; and Nebo Pilsner from Fonta Flora Brewery. Fonta Flora, about 35 minutes east of Asheville, integrates local fruits, vegetables, and wild-crafted products into sour ales for their bottle releases. Bauer has supplied them with grains over the years, and in turn, All Souls has provided them a place to savor their beer—with pizza, of course.

The Roo

By Leah Scurto, Pizzaleah, Windsor, CA

• 10 oz dough ball
• 4 oz whole milk, low moisture mozzarella
• ¾ oz fontina, small dice
• 10 g extra virgin olive oil
• 20 g roasted fennel, diced
• 1 cup mixed mushrooms (cremini, oyster, maitake), sliced (should yield approximately 70 g once cooked)
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 gram fresh Italian parsley
• 2 grams Parmigiano Reggiano

For the mixed mushrooms:

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.
2. In a bowl, toss mushrooms together with a pinch of salt, then place on a sheet pan. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the liquid released has steamed off and the mushrooms just start to dry out.

For the pizza:

1. Preheat the oven to 565℉.
2. Push 10 oz dough ball out to 12 inches.
3. Spread out mozzarella and evenly distribute the cubes of fontina.
4. Add mushrooms and fennel. Drizzle olive oil on top.
5. Sprinkle herbs over the pizza.
6. Cook at 565℉ for 7 to 8 minutes, or until dark golden brown.
7. Pull the pizza from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
8. Shave 2 grams of Parmigiano Reggiano on top and then sprinkle chopped fresh Italian parsley.
9. Cut and serve!

Pair with a dark lager or amber ale.

Cracker Thin Pizza Sauce

By Nicole Bean, Pizaro’s Pizza, Houston, TX

• 8 oz Stanislaus SuperDolce Pizza Sauce
• 2 T. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper, ground
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1.41 oz Stanislaus 7/11 Ground Tomatoes

Mix all ingredients together and puree.

Pairs beautifully with:

• Southern Star Bombshell Blonde
• Cigar City Guayabera Pale Ale
• SpindleTap Houston Haze

The post Pizza by the Pint appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Ooof. OK. Let’s pause here for a minute on the Hallmark movies, whole nut displays no one ever eats, and fruit cake. Let’s talk beer. And let’s make your holiday season — wait for it — legendary.

Now, we are not talking getting lost in staring at the label to avoid conversations, lecturing your uncle and cousins on IPA (they don’t care), or adding six different beers to your cranberry sauce recipe (don’t) type things. We are talking flavor, stories, experiences, memories, and some damn good pairings you may never have thought of.

So, grab your stein all frothed at the top, settle into your chair while sugar-plum sours and gingerbread ales dance through the air and spruce tip beers crackle by the fire. Suit up (put on a sweater) and read on for winter-warmer cheer.

Let’s be honest with each other. Very few of us deviate from the damn good (or not) holiday recipes, friends, and family traditions we already have. Yes, there is a small percentage of folks who try new recipes and move it around year to year. Good on ya and add some of these to your rotation. For the rest of us out there, let’s find some new flavors by switching up what we drink with what we eat.

The below styles, some familiar, some maybe not as much, can be used in so many ways with so many winter and holiday recipes to bring out new flavors, aromas, tastes, and “aha” moments.

• American IPA
• Berliner weisse
• Porter
• Barrel-aged stout
• Tripel
• Dubbel/brown
• Wild or sour ale
• Smoked beer (rauchbier)
• Bière de garde

American IPA

OK. Here we go. Let’s get this out of the way now: Do not give this to your friend, aunt, or second cousin who is new to beer. Read on for the styles for that. This is for those who want to bring some life to your palate in a new way. Stay clear here. Hazy IPA can work but it is heavier on the palate and you have some heavy food. So, what does the IPA do? Use the hops to add some herbal and citrus notes to anything you roast. Want to brighten those green vegetables? Take a sip after a bite and you’ll ask why they changed the recipe. They didn’t, you just added some citrus to it. Got some heavy gravy mouth going on? Use the carbonation to scrub the palate and push the hops into a burst of aroma that refreshes you and lets you keep going.

• Pairing short list: Any green vegetable cooked any way; gravy or heavy sauces; roasted meats.
• Go out there: Try an IPA at holiday brunch dates with your favorite brunch item, from biscuits and gravy to French toast.

Berliner weisse

Someone says Champagne. You bring Berliner weisse. It’s light and bright, and it’ll wake you up and cleanse the palate. Someone says fruit salad. While you want to say no, bring a Berliner weisse. Use the low alcohol here to ease your way into dinner, cleanse the palate, and prepare to overeat.

During dinner, use the gentle tart notes to keep you going, to add some brightness to fruit or fruit sauce or cake, and believe it or not, to moisten up any over-cooked turkey, chicken, pork, or fish (yeah, you’re great at cooking but it happens).

This beer will bring anyone to the table and keep them there. Use it to start off and go or if you hit the slow middle think of this style as your digestif. A little bubbly, a little tart, refreshing, and palate cleansing and you are back in the game.

• Pairing short list: Grilled fish, any winter fruit, and angel food cake.
• Go out there: Ordering Chinese food at some point? Crack one open here and let the texture cool the heat of the Sichuan peppercorns.

Porter

Let’s change this up this year. For the traditionalists out there, this is your go to for sweet potato, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and those crispy onions on top of a green vegetable (you know who you are). So let’s play off the fact that these are usually lower alcohol (think 5-7% ABV max), have some great roasty and toasty notes and a good amount of carbonation to do some serious palate cleansing.

So, this year try the porter with the lighter dishes and see how it brings out a touch of earthiness. Try it with the turkey (especially the skin) — the roasted malt will add a new level of richness. If you’re one of those people who grill your turkey (first off: high five) second, oh yes, to the porter here. A little smoke flavor on the turkey and a porter and all your red-wine-loving friends and family will come over the dark side (and by dark we mean porter).

• Pairing short list: Roasted meats, grilled vegetables, root vegetables, beets, and salads.
• Go out there: Anyone else love peanut butter blossoms? Give the gift of porter with your holiday cookie share this year.

Barrel-aged stout

Big bottles, holidays … It. Is. On.

OK, what to do here: Most times, this easily floats to the end. Loosen the pants, serve the dessert, pour the snifter. Here’s the thing, though: these are usually big. Now, yeah, we get it. Fireplace, big beers, barrel aged, fall-asleep-type things. So, let’s bring this forward a bit and put it at the table. Barrel-aged beer and raw or cooked root vegetables? Oh yeah. Let those rich flavors combine with the earthiness and slight sweetness of the vegetables. Roast rack of lamb, standing rib rack (baller), grilled pork, smoked salmon, say you? Barrel-aged stout, say us.

Any big cabernet fans out there? Try this with that and let that barrel-aged flavor run right in there with the meat and you’ll think you cooked your dinner in a barrel (don’t actually do that; bad idea). In all seriousness, bring your big beers out early, warm them up to room temperature, and serve with the main event. Treat it like a big red wine and you are sure to discover some new notes in the beer and the food. One of the best things about pairing a big beer like this style early on is that you’ll discover so much more than barrel-aged flavors and dark malt.

• Pairing short list: Rack of lamb, parsnips, celery root, sweet potatoes.
• Go out there: Having steak tartare this year? Do it. It’s a cool pairing reaction.

Tripel

This is a little harder to find but so, so worth it. The carbonation, the Belgian candy sugar, the gentle malt notes. This is a game-changer for holiday get-togethers. From start to finish, if you have to have one beer, this is it. Be a little careful here, as this is usually a higher ABV player. But oh the flavors!

What to do: Roast turkey, duck, pork — tripel adds sweetness and cleanses the palate. Those green vegetables, particularly Brussels sprouts — tripel lifts them up off the palate and can make even the most overcooked green vegetable taste bright and fresh. Need a little zip to your fruit cake? Take a sip here. Got a lot of butter on your palate from potatoes or just because you like butter? Take a sip and scrub that palate and while you’re at it, get some amazing notes of herbal delight from the beer. Dessert: apples and tripel. There is a balance there that just says, “I’ll take a second slice.”

• Pairing short list: Apple anything, duck, Brussels sprouts.
• Go out there: Make this your midnight-toast beer on New Year’s Eve.

Dubbel/brown ale

If you like pinot noir, this is your jam. Both of these styles work in almost the same way: the dubbel is little sweeter, with a little more alcohol, but they both do the same thing. Make everyone happy. This is a main-event beer. Salmon, blackberries, roast pork, steak, brisket, do it. What you are going to get here is some amazing tie-ins for those of you who take that mixed bite as well (come on, we all do it).

So, bring a dubbel or brown ale in and watch this magic happen on your palate. It adds to the roast in the proteins, breaks up the fat off the palate, elevates caramelization to toasted bread amazingness notes, and deepens the fruit notes of anything fruity. Want a lighter finish to dessert? Bring this out with pie and all of a sudden you just won dessert. And with a lower ABV, you just refreshed some palates too. Congratulate yourself here.

• Pairing short list: Salmon, duck, goose, blackberries, anything on toast.
• Go out there: Take on making porchetta and drink one while you make it and serve one with it.

Wild/sour ale

Wildly popular (no pun intended) and someone will bring one, so here’s what to do: first things first is to identify if it is a fruited sour or a wild ale. Got fruit? Then look to this to zip up your palate, liven up your vegetables, and add some zip to your desserts with nuts. No fruit? Just some wild? Look to your roasted or grilled meats to bring out some incredible notes of funk and add some richness to the bite. This can be fun with crispy things on top of those green vegetables and will easily cleanse away any sausage fat on Italian night (try baked ziti). Bring this into dessert to wake up the palate a little here. Apple pie is the natural choice for some lively palate cleansing fruit notes that almost rival the shot of vinegar at the end of dinner for a digestif. Go richer like a torte or pecan pie and find yourself cleansing the palate a bit with the carbonation and bringing forward the holiday spice flavors.

• Pairing short list: Anything game bird, tortes and cakes.
• Go out there: Chicken liver pate with berry compote. Oh. Yeah.

Smoked beer (rauchbier)

The smoked beer category encompasses a wide range of styles, from wheat ales to robust porters. Most commonly found are moderate strength darker lagers. Quite a few have said drinking one of these is like liquid bacon with a kick. So, just like our good friend barrel-aged stout, let’s move away from like-from-like here with one notable exception. If you haven’t burgered and smoked beer’d yet, go try it. So, on to new things here: going Italian, specifically pizza or pasta night. Yup, break this out and let the smoke notes go right to the noodle or the dough. I’d recommend a cream sauce or white pie to start and then move into that red sauce joint feeling. Staying on the Italian theme: cannoli. Holy cannoli and smoked beer. The whipped ricotta just works wonders here. Move that whipped ricotta up to an appetizer with some lettuces and dried fruits for a unique salad and bring the beer with you.

• Pairing short list: Cream sauce pasta, cannoli, ricotta.
• Go out there: Cheesecake. I know, not out there. But. Damn.

Bière de garde

Ah, oui oui. Cassoulet, lamb, sautéed chicken, or pork with mushrooms and garlic. Bière de garde loves herbs. Fresh herb sales go off the charts during the holiday season. But seriously, when was the last time someone said to you, “Oh, I taste that fresh thyme in there”? I know, right? Get on it here with bière de garde and highlight those fresh herbs you not only patiently cleaned and picked but splurged on. Anything mushroom on the table? This is your beer. Leftovers? Roast-meat sandwiches? Pop one of these and brighten that sandwich palate up.

• Pairing short list: Beans, shellfish, mushrooms.
• Go out there: Lobster or king crab.

So, that’s what we’ve got to close the curtain on 2021. Go out and try new things, both food and beer. Pay attention to what you taste and enjoy the experience of beer. And, if you found any of this a bit odd or not up your alley, just drink whatever you feel like drinking. Ultimately, it’s about the experience, the story, and the memories that craft brewers put in every keg, can, and bottle they brew for all to discover and enjoy.

Cheers!

The post ‘Tis the Season to Be Beery   appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Pizza and beer — they are perfect together. While no one would deny the inherently complementary nature of the two fermented wonders, some brewpubs are taking the pairing a step further. They are adding pours of their prized craft beers to the pizza dough they serve in-house.

For Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire, Michigan, adding pizza to the menu was a must when the pub finally expanded to include a “real kitchen” in 2015, recalls Erin Kuethe, the general manager.

“We finally had the space and capacity to make pizza dough. And this was a top priority with the new space,” Kuethe adds. “We have always been a from-scratch kitchen, but we were never able to make dough in the old layout.”

Meanwhile, at Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort, Michigan, co-owner Rick Schmitt also felt strongly about the beer-pizza connection. “We started using beer with our pizza dough from the first day we opened in 2013,” Schmitt explains. “Our original chef was passionate about the baking process and dough in general.”

Testing, Testing

When adding beer to pizza dough — just as when crafting any menu item, or any beer — extensive testing was the key to nailing the perfect recipe. Both breweries landed on the ideal beer only after a lot of experimenting.

For Short’s, the recipe was carefully developed over more than a year, which included surveying a slew of taste-testers and eventually bringing in a dough expert to complete the recipe.

“Through all of these tests, there was never a question as to whether or not we would incorporate beer — it was a matter of what kind and how much,” Kuethe says. “Our menu is beer-infused. And our dough would be no different.”

Ultimately, not only was beer incorporated into the final dough recipe; ingredients from Short’s malt supplier, Briess, are also included. Additions such as malt flour and malt syrup help “give the dough the ultimate beer infusion,” Kuethe notes.

A Match Made In Kitchens

Years ago, Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann, a pizza industry consultant based in Manhattan, Kansas, had done similar experiments with beer-infused pizza dough in his longtime position as director of bakery assistance at the American Institute of Baking (now AIB International). Even traditional pizzerias were yearning to partner  with breweries to take advantage of their crust-enhancing byproducts.

“Back in the early ’90s, when microbreweries were becoming more popular, pizzerias would take the dregs at the bottom of the brewing barrels for use in their dough,” Lehmann remembers. “It worked really well for making pizza crusts and proved to be pretty successful.”

Lehmann notes that improved flavor is the main benefit of adding beer to pizza dough.

“Some people say it adds a more malty flavor,” he says. “In our experiments with some mainstream light beers, we found they did not add much in terms of taste, even in blind taste tests—robust or full-flavored beers worked better. Now, with so much advancement in craft beer, there are many more flavorful beers on the market.”

How Beer Affects Pizza Dough Flavor

During the extensive tests at Short’s, employees tried plenty of recipes (and ate a lot of pizza in the process). Needless to say, debates raged on.

“Pizza comes in so many shapes, sizes and flavors, and everyone has an opinion on what kind is the best,” Kuethe says.

Short’s makes its dough with Local’s Light, an American lager, because it proved the “most approachable” of its beer range. “We felt it would appeal to the masses,” Kuethe explains. “It has a lighter flavor and gives an understated hint of beer in the pizza dough but does not steal the show like some of the other beers we tried.”

For example, she says, when staff tried using Bellaire Brown, it gave the dough a rich sweetness, with a hint of caramel flavor and a much darker color.

“In testing, many people thought the darker color meant the dough was whole-wheat or overcooked,” Kuethe says. “We also tested with Huma, our flagship IPA, and Pandemonium, a pale ale, both of which added an intense hop flavor. The bitterness was appealing to the avid hop-head, but for our kids’ pizzas and people less interested in hops, it was a bit intense.”

‘Secret Sauce’ In the Pizza Dough

Similarly, the original chef at Stormcloud performed extensive tests in the kitchen, trying out different beer types and finding the right malt balance to create its ultimate recipe. “It does make a flavor and consistency difference, and we find our customers can tell the difference,” Schmitt notes. “I won’t give out the specific beer we use — it’s a ‘secret sauce’ kind of thing — but it’s safe to say that it is a more malt-based beer.”

For those who do want to add a darker beer to dough, Lehmann agrees that, while it adds a very unique flavor, the crust will darken beyond the normal color one expects from a white-flour crust. For this reason, he recommends balancing out the recipe with a bit of wheat flour. As a bonus, many consumers perceive the addition of wheat as a healthier option.

“We took our regular dough formula and simply replaced 25 percent of the white flour with whole-wheat flour and used beer as 100 percent of the liquid added,” Lehmann explains. “The whole-wheat factor adds a darker color already, so the darker color from the beer is right at home and a wonderful accent to the wheat crust.”

Getting the Most Flavor

Lehmann recommends adding beer at a rate of at least 50 percent of the total liquid ingredients (and up to 100 percent) to get the most flavor impact from the beer addition.

“You really want to use no less than 50 percent of the total liquid as beer,” Lehmann recommends. “Using too-light or delicate beers, or at a rate less than 50 percent, you might find that the flavor is not different enough to justify the expense of adding beer at all.”

Short’s adds its beer with the other wet ingredients, as pizza makers mix it in with the dry ingredients. Meanwhile, brewers and chefs have learned to work together at Stormcloud, where Schmitt’s staff has perfected the formula’s timing. “We have a pouring schedule of when to add the beer when mixing the dough batch,” he says. “It’s not rocket science, but it’s very close to that impactful!”

One of the challenges for Schmitt, however, is balancing the production of beer for drinking with the beer needed for pizza dough. “It takes away from the beer availability for the pub, especially during the peak summer season,” he explains. “We have a challenge just keeping up with pouring pints for customers, so saving enough beer for pizza dough is tough for about a month out of the year.”

Another challenge for breweries, Lehmann points out, may be concern from customers surrounding the addition of beer to pizza. In the past, Lehmann has witnessed parents worried about the alcohol factor in their kids’ pizzas, but the concern is unfounded.

“Alcohol is a byproduct of yeast fermentation, so when you ferment a dough for two days, there’s already alcohol in it” Lehmann says. “When adding beer to dough, the alcohol burns off before the water does, just like you’d find with dishes such as beer-battered fish.”

A Perfect Pairing

Challenges aside, craft breweries who have married the quintessential combination of pizza and beer find that their unique products—combining two of America’s favorite indulgences—help them stand out from the crowd and bring in customers who crave an extra flavor boost in their beloved pies.

“Pizza and beer—what’s not to love?” Kuethe concludes. “The experience at the pub as a whole, and the atmosphere, is what really stands out in our guest reviews, and pizza obviously plays a huge role. The feeling people get of being comfortable and at home is reinforced by good homemade food, made by people who care. Our pizza is no different, and infusing the dough with beer and beer ingredients gives it a unique touch.”

The post Beer-infused Pizza Dough is a Perfect Brewpub Pairing appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

How can you pair wisely during the holidays? Let’s start with some general guidelines.

General Guidelines for Beer Pairings

• Consider the elements of the dish and the elements of the beer.
• Match intensities (in other words, fight flavor with flavor).
• Find ways to match similar flavors and profiles (roasted with roasty).
• Find ways to balance out elements (sour with sweet).
• Remember the importance of carbonation. It does a nice job of cleaning the fat from your tongue and keeping your palate ready for the next taste.

(READ: Everything You Need to Know About Pairing Beer and Cheese)

Beer Pairing: Meat

Deep-fried turkey

• Elements: spicy heat, sweet pepper flavors, nutty and smoky caramelization, salt and fat (if you’re doing it right)
• Beer Pairing: American Brown Ale, like Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

The hops will stand strong with the spices and emphasize those flavors. The caramel maltiness balances the heat while matching the sweet pepper flavors. The carbonation and hops both fight through the fat on your tongue.

Herb-roasted turkey

• Elements: bright herbs, earthy herbs, sweet and smoky caramelization, salt and fat
• Beer Style: Belgian-Style Pale Ale, like Alesmith Lil’ Devil, or a Saison, like Blackberry Farm Saison or Funkwerks Saison

Hops, yeast and fruitiness play well with and cut through the bright and earthy herbs. The esters will intertwine with the herbs as well. Something with a good malt profile will sing well with the caramelization. The carbonation will take care of the fat so you can keep tasting everything.

Ham

• Elements: Sweet glaze, sweet and smoky caramelization, meaty umami richness, salt and fat
• Beer Style: Belgian-Style Dubbel, like New Belgium Abbey or Ommegang Abbey Ale

The caramel and toasty malt flavors match well with a brown sugar glaze and the umami richness. The moderate bitterness helps keep that sweetness of the ham in check. The dryness, higher alcohol content and medium/high carbonation help keep your mouth ready for more.

Beef roast

• Elements: roasty charred flavors, umami richness, earthiness and pepper, salt and fat
• Beer Style: Robust Porter, like Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Bitter malts play well with the roasty charred flavors of the meat while the caramel sweetness comes in just in time to save the day. Hop bitterness helps curb the richness and fat, as does the carbonation. Tones of chocolate make things really interesting and play with the earthiness of the meat.

(READ: A Beer Geek’s Travel Checklist)

Beer Pairing: Sides

Herb stuffing

• Elements: herbs, savory, bready sweetness, earthy flavors, pepper, salt and fat
• Beer Style: American Amber Ale, like Bell’s Amber Ale or Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale

Biscuit flavors go well with the bready sweet and savory elements. The malt and hops balance each other in the beer and let the stuffing’s herbs do their thing.

Sweet potato casserole

• Elements: Earthy sweetness, sugary sweetness, roasted caramel, butter and fat
• Beer: Vienna-Style Lager, like Great Lakes Elliot Ness or August Schell Schell’s FireBrick

A little sweetness from the lager goes well with the big sweetness of the potatoes and marshmallows. The hops make their presence known just enough to keep the sweetness and richness in check without taking away from the gluttony that is sweet potato casserole.

(READ: Beer Styles for Beginners)

Beer Pairing: Dessert

Pecan pie

• Elements: sticky sweetness, roasted caramel, toasted nuts, salt and fat
• Beer: Coffee Stout, like Sante Fe Java Stout

You want something that’s not inherently sweet to keep your body happy, but you still want that sweetness. The bitterness of the malts and hops push against the sweetness of the pie — in a good way. The roasted malts pair with the roasted, toasted nuts. You want that higher carbonation to cut through the fat. What is better than pie and coffee?

Rich chocolate cake

• Elements: chocolate, cocoa, roasty flavors, malt, sweet and fat
• Beer: Imperial Stout, like Great Divide Chocolate Yeti, or Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero (the Ancho chiles make an awesome contrast to any rich chocolate cake)

Richness meets richness on just about every level here. The cake’s sweet chocolate and cocoa notes are tamed by the imperial stout’s bitter chocolate and cocoa notes. The fruity esters bring out the fruitiness of the chocolates. The high alcohol does a good job of balancing the sweet and fats, but is really just a great way to end the evening.

Lemon or lime bars and other citrus desserts

• Elements: Intense citrus, fruity, tangy, sour, sugar and fat
• Beer: Double/Imperial IPA, like 3 Floyds Dreadnaught or Odell Myrcenary

Big and in-your-face desserts need a big and in-your-face beer to keep up. The overly sweet dessert is tamed by the hop bomb, which is not harsh but rather refreshing, zesty and interesting. The fruity esters and malty sweetness help keep the party going. The alcohol cuts the sweet and fat on your tongue and also helps you end the night nicely. You won’t really want to taste anything after all of these flavors.

Updated Dec. 1, 2020.

The post Simple Holiday Beer and Food Pairings appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

As an inherent cook, even before I did it professionally, something with that much flavor had me thinking about other ways to use it. What I realized in the next decade of trial and error is that most IPA beers aren’t ideal for cooking.

This is counter-intuitive because something with higher alcohol and hop character–something that holds its own in flavor–should be a handy tool for imparting more flavor to a dish. The problem to bump up against is that cooking manipulates the beer itself. With highly hopped, high-alcohol ales, this often means warping the taste, both bringing out harsher notes in the beer and overpowering any subtleties in the dish itself. Flavor becomes muted by the very thing meant to enhance it.

When I was the lead recipe developer in a food magazine’s test kitchen, I once discovered that broccoli-loaded cheddar-ale soup smelled like gasoline when heated. High hops plus cruciferous vegetables are, as you’d imagine, potent. And the pattern continued. A pot of mussels was overwhelmed when steamed in hoppy beers. The beer batter for a batch of fried fish was gummier and more off-kilter than I had expected. A batch of beef chili with IPA needed too much sweetness to balance it. Thankfully I began cooking with pilsner.

(MORE: Girl Scout Cookie and Beer Pairing Guide)

Cooking with Pilsner Beer

A cold glass of a pilsner on draft is the second beer I remember loving. Strings of minuscule bubbles streamed toward the frothy head like champagne in a flute. It was as palate-cleansing as an orange wedge after playing soccer on baked concrete during summer vacations–a little nostalgic, though I wasn’t sure what I was remembering. I liked the stash of light beers my uncles and aunts drank on my parents’ porch, too, though this pils was something else: subdued but powerful in its clarity and precision. This is what makes it the champion of cooking beers. Pils highlights everything it comes in contact with, making a better whole instead of stealing the spotlight.

Pils highlights everything it comes in contact with, making a better whole instead of stealing the spotlight.

Pilsner is my go-to cooking beer for all the characters that define it best. It’s light in alcohol, nuanced in hop character, and the general impression of pilsner can skew either toasted or tart. It brings acid with an afterthought of bitterness, enhancing a dish just as much–and sometimes more, I’d argue–than wine.

Pilsner Shines in So Many Recipes

Use pilsner, soy sauce, honey and a bruised stalk of lemongrass as a marinade for pork chops, flank steak or chicken legs. Make a pan sauce by deglazing the browned bits leftover from cooking chicken cutlets with pilsner, fresh herbs and a spoonful of grainy mustard.

Pils is my go-to for anything beer-battered. It’s nice for braising sausages with quartered apples, sprigs of rosemary, and peeled, halved shallots. Sometimes I’ll add a half cup of pils to the bottom of a roasting pan holding a halved, seeded butternut squash that’s been oiled and rubbed with warming spices like cinnamon, cumin and coriander. Have you ever added a half cup of pilsner to a skillet when melting down a sliced head of cabbage? Try it, and then finish it off with white miso, lemon and toasted Panko breadcrumbs–or with fresh basil and sliced, toasted almonds.

(MORE: Chicago Brewpubs Buck the Deep Dish Pizza Tradition)

My favorite method for cooking with pilsner, though, is one of the simplest: in a big, buttery, three-ingredient pot of clams. Serve with crusty bread for dunking into that bottom-of-the-pot clam broth — also known as liquid gold — alongside a few chilled pilsners. Like clams, and even like pils, this dish can be enjoyed-year round, though it hits its seasonal primetime in the spring and summer. I’m sharing the easy recipe here on CraftBeer.com.

For what it’s worth, stouts and porters are superior in baking. But that’s another story.

The post Why I Love to Cook with Pilsner Beer appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Most malted milk powders are made-up of a blend of dehydrated malted barley extract, wheat flour, dehydrated milk, salt, and baking soda. Malted milk is primarily used in baking to add sweet and toasty flavors to bread and other pastries or confectioneries.

When a colleague of mine pitched organizing a craft beer and malted milk ball tasting, I was in. What could be better than pairing something I loved as a kid with something I love as an adult? I also decided to up the challenge and make malted milk balls from scratch.

Making Malted Milk Balls from Scratch

I assumed it would be easy to find a recipe for malted milk balls online, but there were very few resources available. The malted milk ball recipes were either in the form of chocolate-covered meringue cookies or chocolate truffles with added malted milk powder. Neither method seemed to produce the crunchy texture we wanted for our beer pairing. I tried the meringue method and the density of the malted milk powder kept collapsing the meringue when baked, turning them into flat-brown malty disks. The truffle-method made sense, but I really wanted a crunchy texture.

My final recipe attempt married both methods. I pulsed some vanilla meringue cookies in a food processor into a small enough grain so that the crunchy meringue bits would incorporate well into the malty chocolate truffle base. To accentuate the malt flavors, I added some pilsner DME (dehydrated malt extract) to the malted milk powder. Flaked sea salt was also added to complement texture and add some depth to the flavors, providing a savory boost. You can find the winning malted milk ball recipe in CraftBeer.com’s recipe section.

These malted milk balls can be dipped in any chocolate. I chose dark chocolate to add some bitterness to complement the hops in the beers. The final result is chocolatey, salty, malty balls of goodness.

Our Malted Milk Ball and Craft Beer Tasting

For our beer pairing, we acquired some commercial and grocery bulk-aisle malted milk balls to compare with my homemade version. We tasted each of the candies alongside a few different beer styles.

You’ll notice that there aren’t any hop-forward beers on our list. They tend to completely overshadow the candy. But that’s not the case with all beer styles. Check out some of our favorite craft beer and malted milk ball pairings.

Great Divide Brewing’s Roadie Grapefruit Radler & Grocery Bulk-aisle Malted Milk Balls

I don’t think a beer lover’s first thought would be to pair a radler beer with malted milk candies, but the two complement each other nicely for a light and refreshing finish. The grapefruit brought out the malted milk and caramel flavors while cutting through the sweetness of the candied center.

Bell’s American Amber Ale & Commercial Malted Milk Balls

Many of the commercial malt balls you’d find are typically made with some sort of oil and corn syrup mixture, which gives them a sugary bite and waxy mouthfeel. The amber ale beer stood up nicely to these, adding some complexity to sweetness of the candy while also bringing out more of the beer’s stone-fruit flavors. The amber beer also cleansed our palates of any residual sugar flavor and waxy texture.

(Related: Girl Scout Cookie Beer Pairing Guide)

Philipsburg Brewing Company’s Rubric Flanders Red & Malted Milk Chocolate Bar

This Flemish-style sour red ale paired best with the malted milk chocolate bar. The chocolate bar had a higher ratio of milk chocolate to the malted milk crunchiness imbedded in the bar itself. The bright acidity of this sour beer cut through the milk fat of the chocolate bar in an almost cheese-like creaminess, melting the chocolate off the tongue. The malted milk flavors brought out the beer’s complex notes of fruit and spices, ending with a dry, palate cleansing finish.

Old Ox Brewery’s Black Ox Rye Porter & Homemade Malted Milk Balls

This beer seemed to overshadow the other malted milk candies with its hints of smoke and spiciness from the rye. But the homemade malted milk balls stood up nicely thanks to the flaky sea salt I added to the recipe to give them texture and extra flavor. The salt compliments the smokiness of the rye porter by adding a savory punch. The dark chocolate brings out a smooth espresso-like finish with a balanced bitterness.

Fair Winds’ Blackened Seas Porter with Black Cherries & Homemade vs. Bulk-aisle Malted Milk Balls

I found that both candies paired well with this beer in different ways. The homemade candies brought out more of the black cherry flavors than the bulk-aisle—another win for the sea salt addition. The bulk-aisle candies paired well by adding more sweetness to combat the bitterness of the chocolate.

Cape May Brewery’s Concrete Ship – Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout & Homemade Malt Balls

Of all the beers, this one paired best with the homemade malted milk balls because the flavors stood up to the intensity of this rich and decadent barrel-aged stout. The bulk-aisle and commercial candies fell a little flat. The saltiness of the homemade candy also balanced out the deep oakiness of the beer.

All in all, making malted milk balls is easy and fun, and pairing them with beer even more so. You can download CraftBeer.com’s beer tasting mats to jot down and compare notes. I definitely suggest having some fun with your friends and family with a malted milk ball and craft beer tasting!

The post How to Plan a Malted Milk Ball and Craft Beer Tasting appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

For the rest of us, it’s the ultimate Sunday Funday complete with our favorite beverages and lots of food. Just as the game itself is hyped to monumental proportions, so too should your game day snacks. Super Bowl Sunday is a time to step out of the normal tailgate fare!

Ensuring that your beer and food pairings are just as much of a spectacle as the half-time show is what we hope to accomplish with our CraftBeer.com Game Day Pairing Playbook. We choose dishes that represent the teams in Super Bowl LIV in Miami and matched them with regional craft beers that pair well with the dishes.

Kansas City Barbecue Burnt Ends

It’s been 50 years since the Kansas City Chiefs have made it to the big game. While KC has been absent from football’s biggest stage, the region is a perennial powerhouse in the barbecue world, known throughout the world for mastering a variety of dry-rubbed, low and slow smoked meats accompanied by a rich and smoky tomato-based sauce. Of all of the cuts that the area’s chefs have perfected, the razzle-dazzle of Kansas City barbecue has got to be brisket burnt ends.

(More: Hidden Symbols, Easter Eggs and the Dark World of Drekker’s Beer Art)

Aptly named, burnt ends are the fatty sides of beef brisket that slowly absorb layers of flavor over the course of the smoking process. Like so many animal parts this country discounts as refuse–like grouper cheeks, tuna collars or duck livers–burnt ends were realized to be a true delicacy for their intensely flavor and built-in scarcity that is often the first item off the menu in a barbecue shack if the pitmaster decides to share them with the public at all.

Like KC barbecue itself, pairing beer with burnt ends offers a lot of variety. A traditional complement American lager works to cut through beef fat and dense smoke and sauce, while the concentrated flavors can match bold, strong beer styles like a doppelbock or strong stout. Still, a beer with a good amount of acidity offers the opportunity for a truly exciting pairing experience akin to a double reverse or flea-flicker back to the quarterback for an 80-yard touchdown. We’ve even seen it paired with an experimental beer with cinnamon that would be the equivalent of an onside kick.

If you’re looking to enjoy some Kansas City-style barbecue brisket burnt ends, you better get an order in now. The beer options will be a little easier to find.

San Francisco Cioppino

The Bay area’s culinary style is known for making the most of the abundantly fresh ingredients from the surrounding areas, kind of like taking what the defense gives you and working it to a classic West Coast offensive advantage. It’s no secret that many of those ingredients come from the Pacific Ocean, and San Francisco embraces Cioppino, an Italian influenced fish stew. Cioppino offers beer pairing opportunities like a potent passing game looking for a big playoff of the catch of the day.

(More: Easy Tips for Beer and Pizza Style Pairings)

That big catch in San Francisco might include a combination of fish, squid, crab and a variety of shellfish (often, the shell is included in a savory broth). The use of delicate shellfish makes preparation a delicate balance of cooking to avoid making the flesh rubbery. While the dish is delicate, the stew’s flavor offers a variety of beer pairing, as well.

To start, clean and crisp and malt leaning beers, like a pilsner or Kolsch, match the buttery flavors of shellfish without overwhelming the subtle flavors. Other beers that might coax out the freshness of the sea include a bone-dry saison or even a roasty stout. There are plenty of beers that will find separation for a highlight-reel catch of the day, just don’t forget plenty of fresh sourdough bread for whatever is left over.

Check out our playbook for these super pairings complete with local favorite craft beers from the two teams’ home cities. Then keep scrolling for more details on how these pairings score high in our book.

Why These Super Game Day Beer Pairings Work

Kansas City Pick: Burnt Ends

If you’re visiting Kansas City, Nick Mader from Alma Mader Brewing gave us some insider tips on where to find the best burnt ends in KC.

“My favorite spot for burnt ends lately has to be Slap’s BBQ. They offer burnt ends every day, but when they’re out they’re out. Slap’s is part of a new wave of BBQ we’re experiencing here that isn’t too sauce heavy. I really recommend this spot for a no-frills, authentic Kansas City BBQ experience.”

“For the beer pairing, I’d go with Premiant, our Czech-style pilsner. It has a full-bodied malt character but finishes crisp with a noble hop bite that acts as a good palate cleanser. I’d rather have something that is bright and refreshing and reduces the odds of the inevitable ‘meat nap’ that hits most people.”

(More: Don’t Drink Another Beer Before Reading This)

Kansas City Craft Beers to Pair with Burnt Ends

Premiant | Alma Mader Brewing | Unfiltered Czech-style Pilsner

KC BBQ burnt ends are so intensely flavorful, sometimes the beer needs to come running in, screaming at your palate, TIME OUT!

Love Child | Boulevard Brewing Co. | Wood-Aged Sour

Burnt ends, meet sour beer; your new Mah-homey. This combination elevates savory nature that performs effortlessly on the center stage of your palate.

Winterbock | KC Bier Co. | Dark Doppelbock Lager

Complementary roasted flavors set up a zone-blocking scheme to create running lanes for the doppelbock to leap into the (burnt) endzone of rich meaty goodness. Who says defense wins championships? Y’all just got burnt…ends.

San Francisco Pick: Cioppino

We leaned on long-time San Francisco craft beer pioneer Shaun O’Sullivan at 21st Amendment Brewery to tell us about his favorite beer pairing with cioppino.

“Pairing cioppino, a seafood and fish stew which originated in San Francisco from Italian immigrants in the 1800s, is paired well with the 21st Amendment’s El Sully Lager. The crisp and refreshing flavor and aroma notes of El Sully Lager contrast and pair nicely with cioppino with its rich, tomato base and lush seafood and best accompanied by warm crusty sourdough bread.”

(More: Girl Scout Cookie Beer Pairing Guide)

San Francisco Craft Beers to Pair with Cioppino

Saison | Thirsty Bear Organic Brewery | Belgian-Style Farmhouse Ale

What time is it? Game time! Saisons bring out salinity and natural sweetness while cleansing the palate.

El Sully | 21st Amendment Brewery | Mexican-Style Lager

It’s Gooooood! Only 4 times has the Super Bowl been decided by a field goal attempt. A lager with seafood is always a safe bet, but every once in awhile, the beer shines when no other beer will do.

Oyster Stout | Henhouse Brewing Co. | Ale Brewed with Whole Oysters

You play to win the game! On paper, this food and beer pairing is a sure bet. Complementary and contrasting flavors highlight a potent offense with such a sessionable beer. Stout and shellfish offer a classic match-up that, win or lose, is sure to be a memorable Super Bowl…of cioppino.

From us here at CraftBeer.com, we hope you enjoy the big game, the commercials, and sipping beers from small and independent craft breweries as you watch the sports spectacle unfold.

The post Game Day Beer & Food Pairing Playbook appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

This year, we’re giving you some tricks to help you get the best out of those Halloween candies no one seems to want. We believe every Halloween candy deserves its time to shine, and beer has the power to bring out unexpectedly delicious interactions in foods to create an entirely new experience.

We encourage you to bring some life to these infamous sweets with these Halloween candy and beer pairings.

Pairing: Candy Corn + Cream Ale

Candy corn has been around since the 19th century; coincidentally, so have cream ales. This refreshingly crisp, light-bodied golden ale has a balanced sweetness and high carbonation making it the perfect beer to accompany candy corn’s sweet vanilla-marshmallow flavor.

(Related: Beer and Food Pairing Guide)

Pairing: Good & Plenty + Pastry Stout

Good & Plenty are black licorice covered in a candy shell. The rich sweetness and silky mouthfeel of a complex pastry stout is just what these bitter, complicated candies call for. The notes of anise from the black licorice treat are a surprisingly welcome complement alongside the decadent chocolate and subtle spices found in a variety of sweet dessert stouts.

Pairing: Tootsie Rolls + English-Style Barleywine

Tootsie Rolls might be overlooked and labeled as an outdated, one-dimensional confection. But you’ll bring the candy to a new level when you pair it with a complex English-style barleywine. The barleywine’s caramel-toffee malt character welcomes the creamy chocolate sweetness of the Tootsie Roll and balances it with subtle warmth and bready-biscuit notes.

Pairing: Atomic Fireballs + Belgian-Style Quadruple

Spice up your life! As advertised, Atomic Fireballs can be overpowering, but the dark fruit notes and earthy spice of a Belgian-style quad will leave you well equipped to contain the candy’s heat. The Belgian yeast strains impart complex, spicy notes that naturally complement the sweet cinnamon heat from the Atomic Fireballs to give you plenty of warmth during cool autumn evenings.

(More: How One Beer Birthed an American Crop of Italian-style Pilsners)

Pairing: Tootsie Fruit Chews + Berliner-Style Weisse

The candy cousin of Tootsie Rolls, Fruit Chews never seem to be in short supply in that Halloween bucket. These candies come in a variety of “fruit” flavors (but somehow remain indistinguishable from each other) and pair well with a Berliner-style Weisse beer. The tart acidity and sweetness found in these traditional, sour German-style wheat beers are well suited to build upon the candy’s creamy, sugary, tart fruit flavor while remaining sessionable enough to knock out a whole bag if you feel so inclined. Bonus points for adding raspberry or Woodruff syrup to the beer to really bring out the fruit flavors.

Pairing: Dots + New England IPA

Hazy/New England IPAs are everything a gumdrop should be: juicy, sweet, and exploding with fruit flavor. Dots don’t exactly hit all these marks with their hard texture and hint of fruit flavor, but the redeeming quality keeping them in circulation for all these years is their generous supply of syrupy sweetness, making them a worthy companion to the big, aromatic hops and the tropical fruit flavors of a New England IPA.

Pairing: Sixlets + German-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest

Sixlets are round candy-coated chocolates that are typically outshined by their beloved cousin, the M&M. Unlike M&Ms, Sixlets contain a slight malt flavor, which position them as a great pairing with an easy-drinking Oktoberfest. The rich character of roasted malt helps bring out the desirable qualities of the candies while the beer style’s semi-dry finish properly balances the Sixlets’ sweet candy shells.

(Related: Beer & Food Course)

Pairing: Smarties + Fruited Kettle Sour

Smarties are essentially sugar tablets with a faint tartness and vague resemblance of fruit flavor. Their shot of sweetness lends the perfect helping hand to welcome the mild to intense tartness in a variety of kettle sours and enhance any fruit additions that exist.

Pairing: Milk Duds + Amber Ale

Despite their odd shape and a “Will I bust a filling?” chewy texture, Milk Duds provide a milk chocolate and caramel pairing slam dunk themselves. But trust us: you haven’t lived until you’ve had a box of Milk Duds in one hand and a glass of a sessionable amber ale beer in the other. The amber ale provides plenty of crystal malt to enhance the Milk Duds’ chocolate as well as impart additional caramel notes. You’ll also find a slight, dry bitterness emerges — until you realize both your glass and the little yellow box are empty.

Next time you see these lonely, slim picked sweets at the bottom of the Halloween candy bucket, don’t get spooked; swing over to your local brewery, grab some beer to go, and put your sweet tooth to work and make the most of it.

The post Leftover Halloween Candy and Beer Pairings appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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Then an idea struck: Sell, an avid beer drinker, and Allen, an avid wine drinker, wondered if there was a way to incorporate their favorite beverages into the business. At first, they considered simply opening as a dual-purpose space, with ice cream in one corner and a bar in the other, to cover all months of the year. But then they went a step farther.

“At first it was, ‘Okay, we’re going to do ice cream, and we’ll have beer and wine for sale on the side to bolster the slower part of the year in winter,’” Allen says. “Then it turned into, ‘Maybe there are ways to marry the two.”

They had seen beer and ice cream floats before – what if they poured craft beer and wine into the recipes? Or even better, what if they tried to pair them? It turns out, there was a way to combine the things they loved, and the STIL was born in July 2017.

Beer-Infused Ice Cream, Ice Cream and Beer Pairings

The STIL is much more than an ice cream shop. While it is no doubt a family establishment first and foremost, it is also a new, unique example in the long list of ways the craft beer scene is seeping into other markets.

The menu is just as likely to excite craft beer lovers as it is those with a sweet tooth. You can pair craft beer and ice cream on an ala carte basis. You can order an ice cream beer float, like espresso and caramel ice cream dropped into the locally-made Lost Grove Brewing Milk Milk Lemonade (milk stout). There are also beer-infused flavors and flight pairing.

(Related: Brewpubs and Brewery Restaurants Love Beer-Infused Desserts)

The flights are four 2-ounce servings of ice cream, each matched with a 5-ounce glass of beer, mostly local: Lavender and Berries ice cream with Bear Island’s Honey Lavender Kolsch; Peanut butter ice cream with Belching Beaver’s Mexican Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout; Honey Bourbon ice cream with Payette Brewing’s 12 Gauge Barrel Aged Imperial Mexican Chocolate Stout; Coconut Rum Cashew ice cream with Mother Earth’s Fantasy Island Coconut Brown; Berry Sorbet with a variety of local IPAs. The idea is exactly what you’d expect – you take a spoonful of ice cream and wash it down with the paired beer.

In the infusions, Idaho beers dominate the landscape: The Recoil IPA from Payette Brewing, or the Pistolero Porter from Lost Grove, is used in different versions of the Stout and Oreo ice cream; Evan’s Gate Scotch Ale from Powderhaus Brewing is in the “Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch” flavor.

(Find: US Breweries Near Me)

“One of the main reasons I like this pairing is the pure maltiness of the beer,” says Tyler Evans, header brewer at Powderhaus, the makers of Evan’s Gate. “It’s a great spot for us because they are showcasing our product to people who wouldn’t necessarily know about our product. They are taking a recipe that we’ve spent a lot of time on and using it in conjunction with one of their own, and I think that’s fantastic.”

All beers on tap at the STIL are chosen specifically for their ability to pair with the homemade ice cream flavors, and every staff member is trained in matchmaking.

Each of the infused ice creams come with an alcohol content, but just a small one, typically 2% ABV. The beer used in the infused-flavors is just for that – flavor.

For Evans, the pairings mark the convergence of adult and childhood, a couple beers at the ice cream shop.

“It’s reminiscent of being a kid and having a root beer float,” Evans says with a chuckle. “Except, you know, it’s not root beer.”

The post Ice Cream and Beer Flights in Boise appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Blackwater Stout Bread Pudding | Edge Brewing | Boise, ID

For this rich bread pudding at Edge Brewing, Boise-made brioche is soaked in dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a creamy custard. All of that gooey goodness is topped with ice cream, caramel, and a house-made dark chocolate syrup made with a reduction of Blackwater Stout, Edge Brewing’s Russian Imperial Stout.

(Related: CraftBeer.com’s Beer & Food Course)

“Big, rich, and full-bodied beers help with balancing the sweetness of desserts,” says Tony Knipe, executive chef at Edge Brewing Co. Chef Knipe also suggests Belgian-style beers with fruitier desserts and IPAs with super sweet and rich desserts.

Porter Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream | Great Lakes Brewing Co. | Cleveland, OH

In an effort for sustainability, Great Lakes Brewing Co. sends low-fill bottles to their neighbors at Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream, instead of dumping them. The Edmund Fitzgerald Porter bottles, an award-winning beer with chocolate and coffee notes, are used to make the porter chocolate chunk ice cream available in the brewpub. The ice cream is also made with fair-trade dark chocolate.

Chocolate Irish Car Bomb Cake | Collision Brewing | Longmont, CO

The molten chocolate stout cake at this car-inspired brewery is made with the Midnight Ride chocolate wheat stout – a rich beer with flavors of banana and a bitter, hoppy, earthy finish, made with Belgian chocolate malt. The cake is topped with a house-made Bailey’s infused whip cream and a chocolate sauce.

Chocolate Chip Cookie | Maui Brewing Company | Maui, HI

The cookie at Maui Brewing Company is prepared with chocolate from Valrona, using an intense Manjari chocolate. It’s served up warm with locally produced Hawaiian vanilla bean ice cream and two different warm beer-infused sauces. The Bikini Blonde caramel sauce is a classic caramel sauce made with a reduction of Maui’s Bikini Blonde beer. The chocolate sauce is made with a reduction of the brewery’s Coconut Hiwa Porter, brewed with toasted coconut.

(More: Breweries Where You Can Have Your Cake and Drink Beer Too)

Terry Lynch, executive chef for Maui Brewing, suggests pairing light desserts, such as sugar cookies, with beers that have notes of apricot or lemon. Chef Lynch says pairing bold flavors works well, too. “Our hoppy citrusy IPA works with a caramel apple tart,” Lynch says.

Beeramisu | Martin City Brewing | Kansas City, MO

Martin City Brewing in Kansas City puts a twist on a classic Italian dessert by dipping layers of ladyfingers in a Belgian Abbey Ale along with Kahlua and coffee. Each row of cookies is smothered with creamy mascarpone cheese sweetened with powdered sugar and a touch of cocoa powder. The mixture is spread evenly and sandwiched between layers of the soaked ladyfingers.

(More: Breweries Flex Creative Muscles Adding Independent Seal to Packaging)

A pairing tip from Matt Moore, owner of Martin City Brewing Co.: He says a lighter beer, such as a wheat, tastes great with a strawberry cheesecake – especially on warmer days.

Special Brownie | Pig Minds Brewing | Machesney Park, IL

Pig Minds Brewing is a brewpub that specializes in vegan food. Their chocolatey, vegan brownie is blended with chocolate and an 8% ABV Joe Daddy Imperial Coffee Stout, which is made with house roasted coffee. It’s drizzled with chocolate syrup and a peanut sauce and topped with powdered sugar. “For our desserts, we have a few malt forward beers that pair best with them, like Joe Daddy Imperial Coffee Stout, Flap Jacks Maple Porter and our Phil-Up Brown Ale,” says Brian Endl, owner of Pig Minds Brewing.

(Discover: Find Breweries Near You)

Brandy Bread Pudding at Wolf’s Ridge Brewing | Columbus, OH

The Dire Wolf Imperial Stout is added to a classic caramel sauce while it’s heating, lending a roasted, chocolatey flavor to the sauce. That sauce then tops the brandy-soaked brioche along with an eggnog ice cream, brandy cherry jam, and cinnamon walnut crumble.

Chocolate Stout Brownie | Emmett’s Brewing Co. | Downers Grove, IL

The brownie is made with Emmett’s Cow Tipper, a milk stout with notes of sweetened espresso, roasted chocolate, and hints of caramel. It’s topped with vanilla bean ice cream, a salted caramel-peanut brittle, and a caramel drizzle.

The unexpected ingredient of beer in these desserts adds a creative and a personal touch. There is truly no better way for a beer lover to end a meal than with a beer-infused dessert, ideally paired with a tasty craft beer.

The post Brewpubs and Brewery Restaurants Love Beer-Infused Desserts appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

CraftBeer.com has always been a proponent of elevating your craft beer enjoyment by adding delicious food to the experience. We believe that the approach to beer and food pairing should be the same no matter if you’re enjoying a 42-day dry aged ribeye or a 4-week-old freezer-aged box of Thin Mints. A great pairing is when the combination improves the experience more so than the two elements apart.

We put together the below list of suggestions that we hope you will enjoy, no matter if you’re new to craft beer or the most ardent beer geek. Grab some beers, buddies and those iconic cookie boxes and work your way through CraftBeer.com’s Girl Scout Cookie Beer Pairing Guide.

Thin Mints + Dry Stout

In style, as in beer pairing, avoid being too “matchy-matchy.” However, the dark chocolatey wafer character shared in a stout and a Thin Mint cookie work so well to elevate the cooling of mint that it is a pairing taboo we’re willing to risk. It’s an all-black tux with a cool green pocket square.

Beer Suggestions

• Shooter McMunn’s | Lost Rhino Brewing Co. | Ashburn, VA
• It’s My Island | Pocock Brewing Co. | Santa Clarita, CA
• Shaft House Stout | Dostal Alley | Central City, CO

Caramel Delites/Samoas + German-Style Doppelbock

A cookie with so much going on for it, like the Caramel deLite’s toasted coconut, caramel and garnish of chocolate, needs a pairing to match the cookie’s intensity. Aim for a strong, malty doppelbock that lends complimentary flavors and a warming character that will help emulsify even the ooey-gooiest caramel.

Beer Suggestions

• Smooth Like Jazz | Revelry Brewing Co. | Charleston, SC
• St. Nigels’ Doppelbock | Front Range Brewing Co. | Lafayette, CO
• Delaminator Doppelbock | Rip Current Brewery | San Marcos, CA

Shortbread/Trefoils + English Pale Ale/ESB

Want the secret to dynamite beer pairings? It’s simplicity. Trefoils might not get all of the Thin Mint glory, and ESB isn’t commanding any lines of beer geeks, but when the two work off of their strengths they elevate each other so that the Trefoils box ends up in recycling long before the green box escapes the freezer.

Beer Suggestions

• Happy Amber | MadTree Brewing 2.0 | Cincinnati, OH
• ESB | Hillman Beer | Asheville, NC
• Bull Kelp ESB | San Juan Island Brewing Co. | Friday Harbor, WA

Peanut Butter Patties/Tagalongs + Belgian-style Quadrupel

All of that peanut butter will quickly coat your mouth. Instead of reaching for milk, pop the top on a Belgian-style quad, strong enough to cut through the nut butter and plenty of complex, fruity yeast notes to transform this into a fun play on peanut butter and jelly.

Beer Suggestions

• BJ’s Quad | BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery | Boulder, CO
• Kung Fu Smurf | Bastone Brewery | Royal Oak, MI
• Deduction | Taxman Brewing Co. | Bargersville, IN

Savannah Smiles + Berliner-style Weisse

The game plan of sweet and sour should not be difficult for anyone to understand. You’re hoping for the cookie and wheat to offer a solid backdrop for the lemon and bright acidity to shoot around on your palate like the lasers in your 1st-grade school picture.

Beer Suggestions

• Germophile | Rowley Farmhouse Ales | Santa Fe, NM
• Nevada Weisse | IMBIB Custom Brews | Reno, NV
• Athena | Creature Comforts Brewing Co. | Athens, GA

Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-Si-Dos + American Brown Ale

Unassuming partners, but we all know once peanut butter and chocolate (malt) get together they know how to swing their partner round ‘n round then roll away to a half sashay. Now promenade!

Beer Suggestions

• Wallops Island | Rocket Frog Brewing Co. | Sterling, VA
• Groundswell Piloncillo Brown Ale | Groundswell Brewing Co. | Santee, CA
• Davy Brown Ale | Figueroa Mountain Brewing | Buellton, CA

The post Girl Scout Cookie Beer Pairing Guide appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Well, it turns out that we might not be as right as we think.

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Spice Science

I spoke with Dr. Nicole Garneau, PhD, curator and department chair of the Department of Health Sciences at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, about beer, hops, bitterness and spicy foods in an effort to understand the science behind why we enjoy beer with chili. Garneau, a taste scientist, explained to me that the heat from spicy foods is caused by capsaicin, which makes you feel the heat by attaching itself to your taste buds and inner mouth. The only way to neutralize the pain and irritation is to get them out of your mouth, but there’s one big problem: capsaicin isn’t water soluble.

Instead, it is fat-soluble, meaning you need to wash your mouth out with something fatty, like milk, to help get rid of the pain sensation. On the other hand, alcohol is an irritant, meaning that it will likely only make the sensation more intense. So, while beer doesn’t help reduce the pain from chili peppers, it is an excellent option for those looking for a more intense spiciness.

(More: 8 Great Beer and Food Festivals in 2019)

Breaking Down Bitterness

What’s even stranger is that the core flavor component of hops, which is generally known just as “bitterness,” isn’t a natural taste that we should (evolutionarily speaking) enjoy.

Bitterness seemingly developed as a taste profile during humankind’s hunter-gatherer period, to help detect potentially dangerous or poisonous foods in the wild. We are naturally wired to avoid bitter flavors. So how are there millions of people who love coffee, dark chocolate and beer?

(MORE: Brewers Association Launches Supporter Seal and Website)

Garneau puts forward one primary reason for this apparent contradiction – it’s a learned response. We enjoy bitter foods as a social activity, drinking beer or coffee with those around us and attaching enjoyment to it that is fundamentally based on those we share the food or drink with.

Over time, this has developed into a near-worldwide intense passion for hoppy, bitter beers, and especially their pairing with chili that we have all come to know and love – it’s just so good.

Taste Test: Beer and Chili Pairings

I decided to run an experiment to find out why, despite the apparent scientific contradiction, this combination is so perfect.

Using an ancient and time-honored recipe (cribbed primarily off of Binging with Babish’s website and a few tricks of my own), I made two batches of chili, one made using beer as an ingredient, and another without.

(Recipe: Vegetarian Chipotle and Chocolate Stout Chili)

Then, when eating this chili (with copious amounts of rice, sour cream, and cheddar cheese), I paired both chilies with the same beer that was used in cooking.

This whole experiment was conducted with advisement from Garneau, who gave me endless advice, such as to remind me to “make sure the water content matched between the two batches,” something she repeated numerous times. You can tell the scientific integrity of chili is of crucial importance for her.

The purpose of this experiment was to see how the chili’s flavor profiles changed when made both with beer and without beer, all while still being paired with the selfsame beer.

The beer chosen for this prestigious testing was Two Roads’ Honeyspot Road IPA, selected because it was the hoppiest, citrusy-est IPA I could find.

(More: Meet the Brew House Problem Solvers)

Looking at my notes for the dish, which was written with a pen in my off hand as I shoveled hot chili into my mouth while occasionally making intense, guttural noises of satisfaction, I concluded the following:

The chili made with beer didn’t seem to have any hoppy or bitter flavors, seemingly having been completely eradicated in the cooking process.

The chili made with only chicken stock, rather than beer, had a creamier, mellower flavor, which was overwhelmingly chicken-y, despite its beef content. At first tasting, I immediately labeled the chili with chicken stock as the most enjoyable.

As I continued to eat, however, my preferences swapped – the chili made from beer had a more complex, in-depth flavor that the chicken-stock-only version did not. The sensation was ephemeral, almost hard to notice, but after repeated bites back and forth between bowls, the chili made from beer was the clear winner.

Though all the bitter flavors from the hops and citrus notes from the beer itself were gone, the chili was simply more complex, more exciting and more enjoyable.

Beer Pairing Success

What really worked, however, was the beer pairing. Taking sips between bites of the chili resulted in a beautiful combination of bitter, hoppy citrus flavors co-mingling with the spiciness and overall umami flavor of the chili.

Garneau was indeed correct about capsaicin – the beer didn’t help suppress the heat. But it did add an additional kick to what was already delicious chili and it worked perfectly, especially as my local supermarket is sadly no longer selling Cascabel chilies. I was forced to double up on the Ancho chilies in my recipe, meaning that the overall spiciness was significantly reduced.

(More: Beer & Food Pairing Chart)

The taste of the beer, with its citrus-forward, bitter notes perfectly complemented the meal. This was mainly the case due to the use of copious amounts of high-quality cocoa powder and some brown sugar in the chili, creating a perfect blend of sweet and umami that, to my taste buds, worked beautifully with the musty, bright flavors of the beer.

Despite the insistence of science, beer still feels like the perfect accompaniment to chili. The flavors just work naturally and feel… right.

Garneau suggests that this is a sort of collective association due to fond memories of eating good chili and drinking bitter beer with it; we have spent so many centuries enjoying spicy foods and delicious beers that it just works.

When asked what type of beer I should go for if I couldn’t handle any kind of spiciness whatsoever, Garneau recommended a milk stout. When asked why, she simply said: “lactose is sugar, sugar has been shown to play a role in the central nervous system (brain) to reduce the perception of pain.”

Bitter hops and intense, beefy heat might not go together scientifically, but to a beer lover’s taste buds, they couldn’t be better friends.

The post Taste Testing Beer and Chili Pairings appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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Cheddar Ale Soup at Cerebus Brewing | Colorado Springs, CO

Cheddar Ale Soup is one of the most popular menu items at Cerberus Brewing. It’s a three-cheese soup with a base of vegetables, butter, flour and cream. More than a gallon of the Perpetual Pilsner is used for each batch. This beer soup is garnished with pretzel croutons, roasted portabella mushrooms, chive oil and fresh herbs.

(DISCOVER: Hundreds of Cooking with Beer Recipes)

Stout Beef Chili at Glenwood Canyon Brewpub | Glenwood Springs, CO

The Shoshone Stout is used in the hearty beef chili at this Colorado brewpub located in The Hotel Denver. The oatmeal stout, along with chipotle adobo, is mixed with garlic, bell peppers, and fire roasted tomatoes and seasoned with Chimayo chili powder and coriander.

Beer Cheese Soup at Potosi Brewery | Potosi, WI

The beer cheese soup at Potosi Brewery features Wisconsin cheddar cheese and smoked gouda along with roasted red peppers. For the brew, the chef turns to Good Old Potosi Ale – an award-winning golden ale with a delicate malt flavor.

Butchers Chili at Tampa Bay Brewing Co. | Tampa

The robust chili at Tampa Bay Brewing Co.’s Westchase location is loaded with two kinds of meat – bison and Angus beef, along with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and red kidney beans. The Red Eye Amber Ale, brewed with Columbus and Cascade hops, completes the dish.

Spicy Jalapeno Soup at San Diego Brewing | San Diego

At San Diego Brewing, beer is part of the spicy jalapeno soup, which is a crowd favorite. Jalapenos, cheese, and vegetable stock are combined with the San Diego Gold Kölsch. All that goodness is served in a hollowed out toasted Sourdough bread bowl.

(PLAN: Beer Travel Cities You Should Visit)

Sharp Cheddar Beer Soup at Fredericksburg Brewing | Fredericksburg, TX

Fredericksburg Brewing uses their award-winning Enchanted Rock Red Ale in their sharp cheddar beer soup. This satisfying soup, served in a bread bowl, is also made with shredded carrots, garlic, diced green onion, and white pepper.

Helles Chili at The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. | Austin, TX

There are rotating Frito pies – chili topped with crunchy, salty corn chips –  served at The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. Of interest. Can we explain what a “rotating chili pie” is?

The latest to the list is one topped with a meaty chili made with venison and black beans. It’s simmered with Hell Yes, a GABF gold medal winning Helles, Bavarian-style lager.

Beer Cheese Soup at Zoiglhaus | Portland, OR

This Portland brewery opts for the Hefe-Weissbier, called Zoigl-Weiss, in the rich and smooth beer cheese soup since it has the most subdued hop profile. The fruity esters complement the gouda in the soup, and the nuttiness from the cheese pairs nicely with the slight clove and flavors in the beer.

Beer and Onion Soup at Redwood Steakhouse and Brewery | Flint, MI

Baked onion soup is a staple at steakhouses, but the Redwood Kolsch Beer is added at this Flint, Michigan, brewery and restaurant. It’s topped with croutons and melted provolone and shredded jack cheeses. Bonus: Redwood shared the recipe with us so we could share with you. Find it in our recipe section.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup at Pumphouse Brewery | Longmont, CO

The recipe for Pumphouse Brewery’s broccoli cheddar soup has stayed the same for almost 20 years. The creamy, vegetarian soup consists of the medium-bodied Red Alert Amber Ale along with cheddar and jack cheeses, broccoli, potato, onion, celery and carrots.

The addition of a well-made beer to a savory soup or chili can truly lend a whole new depth of flavor to the dish. This quintessential winter staple gets a bold kick from beer, as these soups illustrate quite well.

The post Breweries Serve Up Satisfying Beer Soups appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

I now regularly hunt for the perfect synergy of craft beer, artisanal cheese and cold cuts. While expert knowledge is not necessary, a willingness to explore is. The goal is to discover perfect pairings and bring people along for the ride. Here’s how to do it in five steps.

5 Steps to Your Winter Beer, Cheese & Charcuterie Pairing

Step 1: Pick Your Pairings

This article is about beer, meat and cheese. However, one could conjure many themes that would also be killer. I have done a Spanish beer pairing with tapas and paella, as well as wine vs. beer with cheese as the mediator, and both were awesome. Other interesting theme ideas could be fondue and Bohemian lagers or a Thunderdome style pairing match, where two beers enter … one beer leaves! Get creative, get interactive and have fun.

Step 2: Announce Your Pairing Party

Send invitations and reminders to a manageable sized group for the space and budget.

Step 3: Prep for Your Pairing Party

Plan on using good glassware. If in doubt, use white wine glasses for the beer. Ideally, there is a new glass for each beer, but a quick rinse of cold water in between beers will work. Plan on 4 oz of beer and 1 – 2 oz of meat and cheese per person for each course. Have some neutral, unflavored crackers available as palate cleansers. Crackers with a touch of sea salt may actually help accentuate flavors. Guests will also need plenty of water to drink and cleanse their palates.

(COOK WITH BEER: Search Our Favorite Recipes)

Step 4: Set Up Your Pairing Party

Set places with a water glass, napkin, knife, fork, beer glass, pen, dump buckets in reach of guests and use the tasting notes sheet as a placemat. Some light, groovy music and dim lighting will create the environment.

Next, prep each plate with the meat and cheese. Save time and put it all on the same plate in a circle where the courses follow the plate clockwise. A simple way to make the food look good is to fold, roll or bunch the meat. Cut the cheese into chunks if dry, or triangles if creamy, for simple and sexy plating. Lean the cheese on the meat so the pairing is clear.

Serve the first beer when everyone is ready to begin to keep that beer fresh and bubbly. Also, be mindful of beer serving temperatures. An over-simplified rule of thumb is, lighter beers should be close to refrigerator temps and the darker the beer gets, the closer to a chilly room temp it should be.

Step 5: Enjoy It

Let the culinary exploration begin. I put the following pairings together with a little help from my cheese monger and charcutier friends. Our goal? To delight guests with the experience, but to also educate on the nuances of cheese, of meat, of beer and especially how they interact together.[1] Follow each course and discuss the impact of the pairings and how the flavors complement and contrast each other. Notice the textures and how the beer cleanses the palate.

Tasting sheets are valuable for jotting notes and epiphanies. Some people go so far as assigning a numerical system, from -2 for “the pairing stinks” to 0 for “not bad” to +2 for “I hear the angels.” The point is to track the experience to cultivate mindfulness and to repeat it another day. You can find tasting sheets and more resources on our Tasting Tools page.

5 Pairing Courses to Try

First Course: Kolsch with Spanish Goat Cheese & Spanish Chorizo

Light malt, fruity esters and carbonation from the Kolsch play well with the creaminess of the cheese and the spicy fat from the meat.

Try: Colorado Kölsch from Steamworks Brewing in Durango, CO

Second Course: Pale Ale with Aged Cheddar & Capicola

The sharp, tangy-sweet flavor of the cheese and the briny and smoky fat from the meat find a sweet spot with the pale ale beer’s balance between malt and hops.

Try: B. Right On Pale Ale from Ocean Beach Brewery in San Diego, CA

Third Course: IPA with a Natural Rind Buffalo Cheese & Mortadella

The smooth textured meat with nutty pistachios combined with the cheese, which is similar to mozzarella but with more character, provide a solid platform to let the IPA‘s earthy, tropical and citrus flavors bring its own slice of heaven.

Try: Strata IPA from Worthy Brewing in Bend, OR

Fourth Course: Imperial IPA with Gouda & Salame Ungherese

Your salame has a second name, it’s Ungherese. Known in the deli as “smoked bologna,” this meat is all grown up and is getting fresh with the Gouda. An imperial IPA has the impact this couple needs along with hop character and alcohol to spice things up.

Try: 120 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head in Milton, DE

Fifth Course: Cream Stout with Italian Buffalo Cheese & Pastrami

Savory, sweet and spicy, the pastrami matches the creamy, earthy funk from the cheese. A cream stout is all we need to make things right in the world again.

Try: Moozie from Brink Brewing in Cincinnati, OH

Dessert: Belgian-style quad with young Manchego (aged 6 months or less) with fruit and nut meats (dried papaya, Turkish apricots, brown figs, sour cherries and salted pistachios)

A delightful variation on dessert, the light briny-nuttiness of the cheese and the diverse flavors from the fruit and nuts love a good Belgian-style quad.

Try: The Sixth Glass from Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City, MO

(LEARN: CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course)

Winter Beer Pairing Finale

As the courses finish, it is nice to surprise guests with a finishing touch. It could be a final, surprise course of dessert and more beer or a simple plate of dried fruits such as slices of papaya, Turkish apricots, dried cherries, figs and nuts like pistachios or Marcona Almonds. Check in with guests to ask about favorites, surprises and take home experiences. Lastly, make sure everyone gets home safely to repeat this winter beer and cheese and charcuterie pairing experience again another day.

The post How to Host a Winter Beer, Cheese & Charcuterie Pairing appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

If you’re a brewery brunch newbie, be aware it can easily take up the better part of a Sunday. Forget boring brunch buffets and omelet stations! Check out these 13 breweries that have whipped up a stellar brunch that pairs perfectly with their beers.

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Revolution Brewing | Chicago

Brunch is one of Chicago’s favorite past times and Revolution Brewing adds to that storied tradition with an admirable commitment to quality utilizing local farms and making everything from scratch. This brewery brunch menu leans towards comfort food which is ideal in the frigid Chicago winters. Don’t miss their biscuits and gravy made with buttery, flaky biscuits baked in house topped with a spicy sausage gravy. The result is a very rich, hearty breakfast that is great for those who might have attended FOBAB the night before. Pair these with a hoppy Anti-Hero IPA to cut through the richness of that gravy. Eggs in a Hole is another favorite made with thick sourdough that makes a great basket for a couple of runny eggs. And because it’s all about using that bread for soppin’, they pour a generous pool of Cross of Gold beer cheese over the plate. If you need a little something sweet check out their bakers Donut of the Day that changes every week. The pub has 18 Revolution beers pouring at all times, so there’s something for everyone ranging from their crisp Rev Pils to barrel aged beers like the Deth’s Tar Imperial Oatmeal Stout.

Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats | Rehoboth Beach, DE

Since 1995, Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats has been serving up off-centered ales and creative pub fare. This pub is the OG of Dogfish Head and gave founder Sam Calagione the flexibility to indulge his experimental inclinations by grabbing at the time unusual ingredients like raisins and coffee from the pub kitchen to try in beers. Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats is still the heart of Dogfish Head and what better way to experience their creations and feed your soul than at Sunday brunch. The chicken and waffles are a must and perfect choice for IPA lovers as the chicken is brined in the brewery’s Flesh & Blood IPA. Delaware toast is the best mix of sweet and savory thanks to brioche french toast, bacon, cheese, and a sunny side up egg while the Death in the Afternoon Pizza made with scrapple, sausage, home-fries, ricotta and egg is something totally different and may get you ready for an afternoon nap. Order one of the classic beers alongside or try one of the brewpub exclusives like the Lapsang Souchong Porter featuring smoky aroma and flavor of Lapsang Souchong tea from China into a roasty, robust porter.x

Taxman Brewing | Bargersville, IN

Known for their take on Belgian style beers, Taxman Brewing serves up a laid-back and craveable brunch in Bargersville, Indiana. The brewery sources from local farms and in order to highlight what’s in season, the menu changes often. Bring your pooch along and hang out on the patio while indulging in pancake corn dogs and breakfast frites (basically everything that’s good about breakfast on top of twice-fried in pork fat Belgian French fries, eggs cooked your way, sausage gravy, bacon, cheddar cheese, scallion and jalapeno crema). Nothing says Sunday Funday like the 8.5% ABV Exemption Belgian tripel or indulge like the king or queen you are with the beermosa, a blend of OJ and the biere de champagne Royalty.

(List: A Beer Geek’s Travel Checklist)

Hinterland Brewery | Green Bay, WI

The land of beer and cheese and monster bloody mary’s, Wisconsin knows how to do brunch right. It should come as no surprise that a brewery in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is on this list. Hinterland Brewery is in the heart of the Titletown District and conveniently next door to Lambeau Field, home of the Packers. If you’re not into football, Hinterland’s brews and brunch are reason enough to visit. Year-round beers like their Citra Pale Ale and Packerland Pilsner are great alongside dishes like Bill’s Crab Cake Bennie piled high with smoked ham and red hot butter. On the sweeter side, you can’t go wrong with the Pumpkin Bread Pudding French Toast topped with whipped cream, candied pecans, and blueberry maple syrup and a Nitro Stout. Hinterland’s beer hall boasts two wood-burning fireplaces to keep beer lovers cozy all winter and in the summertime the garage doors open to the beer garden so you can enjoy the short Wisconsin summer.

The Brewer’s Table | Austin, TX

The Brewer’s Table is a place where beer and food share the spotlight. Named one of “20 craft breweries where the food is as big a draw as the beer” by Food & Wine, they credit this success to the creative partnership between brewer and chef whose crossover of ingredients are used to make beer as good as food as good as beer. The Brewer’s Table Brunch is available from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, and keeps in line with their mission of putting out food as good as beer. The brunch menu delivers a playful take on classic brunch fare, with something for everyone including decadent sweet and savory dishes like a pretzel croissant with beer cheese foam, heirloom tomato toffee and banana pancakes with grilled banana, sunflower seed toffee, mesquite maple syrup Try one of their house beers like their flagship Common Lager or Reinheitsgenot festbier with smoked acorn squash and Thai basil or a Mich-a-lager featuring Vor Ort lager with fresh squeezed lime juice, house bloody mary mix and chili salt rim. Don’t forget to save a little bit of room for the mini ice creams cones. Solidifying that beer = food, Chef Zach Hunter utilizes a portion of each brewing waste product, ending up with a delicious, yet tiny, indulgence comprised of toasted barley ice cream, yeast caramel, hop honey and beer grain waffle cone.

(VISIT: Find a US Brewery Near You)

Edmund’s Oast | Charleston, SC

Located in one of the hottest food scenes in America, Edmund’s Oast needs to be added to your list of breweries to visit. They have an impressive lineup of ales and lagers, complex sours, refined, locally sourced pub fare, and creative cocktails. The vibe is cozy and unpretentious but elegant, kind of like the Lowcountry itself. The restaurant is always packed with beer fans and diners that often hang out for hours sampling small plates and house-made charcuterie alongside a flight of their choice. The brunch menu is always changing but there are a few standouts that are always available. The Brewer’s Breakfast is their take on a classic English breakfast complete with ham, sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, butter-beans, potatoes and red-eye gravy. Pair this with the Ol Puffery English Pale Ale. This light golden and softly bitter beer is right at 4% ABV and polite to all the senses. We frequently have this beer on regular CO2 tap as well as on cask. For something truly decadent and fun, try the french toast with peanut butter, banana cream cheese, bourbon caramel and peanuts. Paired alongside the Session Confection stout with cacao nibs and vanilla, prepare your taste buds for a flood of vanilla, whiskey, and caramel notes that take this combo to a whole new dimension. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and friendly so if you need help deciding on your order, just ask.

White Squirrel Brewery | Bowling Green, KY

Seekers of a Sunday Funday, families and the post-church crowd can all find common ground at White Squirrel Brewery’s Sunday brunch in Bowling Green, KY. For beers, you can keep it classic with their Nut Brown Ale or Kolsch, or you can try their seasonal Pumpkin Ale. This brew is autumn in a glass sourcing its pumpkins from local Kentucky farms with a hint of sweet cinnamon and caramel. The dishes are twists on Southern classics like chicken and homemade biscuits with lavender honey and lemon butter and Nashville hot chicken and waffles with blueberry maple syrup. Live local bluegrass music makes this a real Kentucky brunch.

(RELATED: Brewpubs with Impressive Menus)

Trophy Brewing | Raleigh, NC

Located in the heart of downtown Raleigh you’ll find Trophy Brewing Company’s Trophy Tap + Table. This craft beer bar serves a rotating selection of 12 Trophy beers, produced less than 2 miles away in their production facility on Maywood Ave, and a diverse menu of upscale Southern cuisine. Brunch favorites include the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich and the Shrimp + Grits (pro tip: don’t forget the loaded tots as your side). Head up to the rooftop patio and start your weekend brunch off right with a Good Morning Vietnam cocktail, made using Trophy Brewing’s Slingshot Coffee Porter and locally-roasted Larry’s Coffee.

Cibolo Creek Brewing | Boerne, TX

Cibolo Creek Brewing Co. is one of the coziest breweries located in a historic house in downtown Boerne, about 25 minutes north of San Antonio. Sustainability is a focus for the brewery’s restaurant choosing to buy sustainable Texas raised meats, dairy and produce. Sunday brunch items rotate each week but you can expect hearty dishes like fried chicken with pancakes and fried eggs alongside with an Early Bird Hefeweizen with a shot of orange juice in it. The Bier Buns, homemade potato roll stuffed with browned goat, cabbage, and cheese, are a lunch mainstay but add an egg to make them a brunch crowd pleaser.

(Seek the Seal: Post Your Photos on Instagram)

Carver Brewing Company | Durango, CO

Carver Brewing Company opened in 1988, Durango’s first brewpub since prohibition, and among Colorado’s original brewpubs. Durango features over 100 award-winning restaurants, and Carver is known for serving the best breakfast in town. Characterized by the flavors of the Southwest, including Hatch green chiles, poblanos and chipotle, Carver Brewing is known for having the best brunch in town. Try huevos rancheros smothered with green chilies or the Anasazi Benedict with chipotle ham and poblano cream sauce. Alongside their 12 in-house brews, they serve locally roasted, organic, fair trade cold-pressed coffees on nitro and have a creative selection of brunch cocktails, including the Brewer’s Breakfast, a half nitro cold press coffee and half Imperial Stout, also from the nitro tap for a creamy, delicious pint. No milk or sugar needed.

Fishtown Brewpub | Philadelphia

A neighborhood favorite in the heart of Fishtown, Fishtown Brewpub is a place where locals and visitors alike kick back and enjoy a few beers and delicious food. The menu combines Philly-specific favorites and modern pub fare to go along with their classic German and English-style beers and unusual seasonals like the Cool Beans Golden Ale brewed with vanilla and over 5 gallons of cold brew coffee or the Black Magic Pumpkin Stout that is a stout first giving way to subtle notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Prepare to gorge with dishes like the South Philly Omelette with long hots and aged Provolone or the lobster roll with saison steamed claw and knuckle, smoked tomato aioli, celery heart, pickled red onion, on a top split bun. If you’re craving sweet then get the coconut crusted french toast with chai apple butter and ginger maple syrup. 

Mill House Brewing Company | Poughkeepsie, NY

Located in Poughkeepsie, New York, Mill House Brewing is known for giving every guest a “holy s#*t” moment” with every bite and sip. The brewpub’s Sunday brunch delivers by taking classic dishes to the next level. Start with the house-made brioche donut bites topped with lemon poppy seed glaze and one of their Bloody Beer cocktails with the Kold One Kolsch, Fresh Lime, House Bloody Mix, Chili-Lime Salt, Stout Float. For main dishes try the poutine with house cut Belgian fries with caramelized onion gravy, cheddar cheese curd, swiss, pickled jalapeños, and scallions or the Reuben Benedict with house-made rye and pastrami.

City Acre Brewing | Houston

As Houston’s highly rated brewpub, City Acre Brewing brunch is a local favorite. Just like their beers, everything from the sourdough bread for sandwiches to the jams made from berries and peppers in their garden is made in-house. French toast is a definite stand-out: it’s more of a cinnamon sugar toast, with the melting butter on top mixing with the sugar crust to make its own syrup. Eat it by itself or top it with the fried chicken. The breakfast tacos are some of the best in town, and the tasso benedict is unlike any other brunch item you’ll get in Houston or elsewhere. If you’re thinking french toast, pair it with the Tweaky Wheat: Sneaky Wheat Stout infused with City Acre’s own nitrogenated cold brew coffee.

After a long weekend of brewery tours and tastings, a delicious brunch is in order. With these brewery brunches the weekend is looking even more delicious. Pass the bacon and pour another.

The post 13 Brewery Brunches You’ll Love appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

I’m at Moody Tongue Brewing in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, where pro chef-turned-brewer Jared Rouben and his team serve the infamous Moody Tongue 12 Layer Chocolate Cake. The humongous slice includes ground espresso-specked cheesecake, toasted pecan and coconut caramel filling. And there is chocolate buttercream in between decadent layers of chocolate cake. All twelve divine layers pair beautifully with Moody Tongue’s Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter. This rich, malty porter is fermented with lager yeast to bring a clean, dry finish to its bold chocolate, caramel and vanilla notes. The coveted slice of cake has become a Chicago delicacy of sorts. Guests can even participate in the brewery’s private beer and cake pairings that delve into a full spectrum of beer pairings for each individual layer in the cake.

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Brewery Desserts Abound

Believe it or not, this larger-than-life cake experience isn’t exclusive to Moody Tongue. At Bhramari Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina, floor manager Asha Hertel runs her cake baking business, Kali Cakes, out of the brewery. That means the menu always has cake. “Asha’s Treat of the Week” isn’t just any cake, either.

(MALT SHOPPE: The Scoop on Milkshake IPAs)

“The cake on for this weekend is a Pumpkin Chai Cake,” Hertel told me when I visited in the fall. She refers to her cakes like brewers refer to their recently tapped draught beers. “It has three layers of pumpkin cake, two layers chai mousse, chai-spiced buttercream, cranberry compote, and pumpkin creme anglaise, all topped with a full layer of white chocolate cheesecake.”

Bhramari’s cake offerings do rotate like its draft beers. And much like the brewery’s experimental, one-off approach to its pints, Hertel is always experimenting with new ingredients and flavors.

(MEET: 4 Small Breweries Happy to Stay Small)

Another North Carolina brewery, Brewery Bhavana in Raleigh, serves rich banana coconut cake that pairs with its foeder-aged Brett saison. The slice isn’t nearly as big as the layer cakes at Bhramari or Moody Tongue, but the flavor is.

Sweet Offerings

It’s no surprise that as independent breweries step up their food programs, desserts come with the territory. Here are a few more establishments that offer exceptional sweet offerings. Some even have their own pastry chefs and ice cream shops.

(UPSTAIRS: Great Brewery Rooftops)

In Walland, Tennessee, Blackberry Farm offers an array of desserts at each of its restaurants, The Barn and The Dogwood. The Barn sports a seasonal dessert menu. It currently includes Breton cake, raspberry and cherry pavlova, and a summer cheese plate. At The Dogwood, the dessert stand offers sorbet, chocolate cake, cheese & jam, and executive chef Sarah Steffan’s famous house-made chocolate chip cookies.

In Minneapolis, the Surly Beer Hall menu at Surly Brewing includes an array of different dessert options that rotate seasonally, currently including pistachio brûlée and a strawberry s’mores tart. Surly also serves rotating varieties of Lutheran Funeral Bars — bar cookies. Ask your server about the daily selection.

(MORE: Craft Brewers Tell Us About Their Bucket List Breweries)

Save Room for Dessert

At BRU Handbuilt Ales & Eats in Boulder, Colorado, another beer chef Ian Clark serves an inspired menu that will make it hard to save room for dessert. The South & Chocolate Cream Pie is worth it, though, or you can order an ice cream sandwich that is made next door at the brewery’s ice cream parlor, Heifer & The Hen.

Taxman Brewing in Bargersville and Fortville, Indiana, serves a dessert menu that rotates seasonally like its savory options. The Pina Colada Pineapple Cake with coconut buttercream frosting and toasted coconut alone is worth the trip.

(ANALYSIS: Hemp Ales Grow in Popularity as Brewers Aim for New Flavors and Awareness)

Salmon River Brewing in McCall, Idaho, partners with local Stacey Cakes to create the Beer Buzz Chocolate Cake with their Buzz Buzz Coffee Porter. It’s served with scoop of ice cream and drizzled with beer caramel sauce to boot. Salmon River also has a cake of the week on the menu, courtesy of Stacey Cakes.

Best Brewery Desserts

They aren’t exactly cakes, but the house-baked sweet offerings at Block 15 Brewing in Corvallis, Oregon, belong in the best brewery desserts. Block 15 chefs serve mixed berry pavlova with lemon curd and fruit sourced from the Willamette Valley. Also on this robust dessert menu are peanut butter chocolate mousse pie and chocolate chip cookies. You can also get a root beer float served with housemade root beer.

Now you can have your cake — or pavlova or ice cream or cookies — and drink beer too!

The post Breweries Where You Can Have Your Cake and Drink Beer Too appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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(READ: Water, the Lifeblood of Beer)

A solid malt base balances the bitterness of good hop-forward craft beers. Because hop varieties are so widely varied, these beers cover a wide range of flavors: citrus (Cascade), pineapple (Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo), pine (Simcoe), and tropical fruits (Nelson Sauvin). These are bright beers that work as palate cleansers.

Hoppy beers with little or no malt structure can clash with some seafood, imparting a metallic flavor. Malt-forward beers with hops like ambers and some barley wines, have a bit more caramelization to them and pair well with earthy mushrooms and fatty meats. Assertive styles like fresh hops and imperial IPAs, which are intensely flavorful, can be upwards of 100 International Bittering Units (IBU), past the point at which most people can perceive bitterness. Some of these beers can certainly overpower dishes, but the fattier the food, the better for these intense hop profiles.

(CHART: Beer & Food Pairing Guide)

These beers are piney, deeply citrusy, herbal, and floral. They work with foods that need a bit of competition on the palate; think spicy, fatty, acidic. Anything that could use a little bitterness to offset a powerful flavor falls into this category. The hops do here what carbonation does in a lighter style, taking over the duty of cleansing the palate of any overwhelming and intense flavors.

Some Hoppy & Bitter Beer Styles

• Amber
• Barley Wine 
• ESB
• Fresh Hop
• Imperial IPA 
• IPA
• Pale Ale

Try these hoppy and bitter beer styles with a dish like braised pork shoulder in adobo with pickled vegetables. You can find the recipe on CraftBeer.com.

This article has been reprinted from “The Beer Pantry: Cooking at the Intersection of Craft Beer and Great Food” by Adam Dulye with Michael Harlan Turkell. Copyright © 2018 by W&P. Published by Dovetail Press. 

The post Hoppy and Bitter: The Misunderstood Beer Styles appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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Pair that Hazy IPA

As the hazy IPA boom hits, so too does the pairing of this new beer style. Look for crisp and bright produce such as English peas, asparagus and artichokes to complement the mouthfeel of the hazy as well as the softer yet brighter pop of the hops. Green onions, ramps, scapes and spring onions can bring out the bittering hops a bit more. Careful, though, as you will want to cook these (light up that grill!) and use them to accompany cuts of meat and fish.

(COOK WITH BEER: Find Recipes)

Finish with Acidity

As cooking turns to fresh produce and simple techniques of grilling, sautéing and even raw preparations, acidity is coming in to finish the dish. You’ll find it in everything from a squeeze of lemon over mixed greens, fresh grilled fish, shellfish and even tomatoes to the gentle touch of vinegar. Fruit-based vinegars are great for finishing dishes from apple to pear and even cherry.

Marinating something for the grill? Add some sliced lemon to chicken and fish or lime to red meat just before grilling and finish with a fresh squeeze while the meat rests.

Beer wise, look to pair pilsner, kolsch, pale ale and IPA with acidity and let the pop from the acidity highlight the hops.

Churn Your Own Butter or Find Local Craft Butter

This is easier than you think and it can also be a fun group dining activity. Fresh churned butter is creamier, smoother and richer than the blocks at the store just like ice cream made fresh. Use it to finish dished or spread on warm bread.

For the group task, put 1 cup of room temperature heavy cream into a quart container and seal the lid tightly. Shake vigorously and constantly for 20 minutes. NO STOPPING. You will see the cream go through the whipped cream stage (i.e. the taste testing stage) then break. Little clumps will be floating in a cloudy liquid (note: this is now buttermilk). Strain the clumps out and then rinse gently with cold water to remove any excess buttermilk. Season with salt, mix gently and serve!

For the easier version sub out a food processor for the handshaking method and do not fill the processor more than half full.

Want to make hop butter? Add 1/8 teaspoon of whole cone or finely ground pellet hops to 1 cup of butter.

(SEASONAL BEERS: Find New Beers for Spring and Summer)

Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Mushrooms

Morels

The grand king of spring. These are only around for a few weeks and may come with sticker shock, but a fresh morel is well worth the price. Simply sautéed with butter, fresh herbs and garlic is one of the best ways to prepare. Add morels to pasta dishes with a little parmesan cheese, a roast chicken or grilled beef steak.

Porcini

Also called cepe or bolete, is best grilled or broiled and can be added simply to salads with arugula, served on their own or added to a rich cream sauce for an indulgent bite.

Hen of the Woods

Also called Maitake, these mushrooms have a light and feathery texture and are best sautéed or fried. Their hearty flavor comes through in risottos or served on their own with an aioli based sauce for dipping. These mushrooms can be quite the showstopper with their feathery appearance and height when used whole.

Beer wise, look for mushrooms to add a punch of umami to your palate. Let these boomers sing with a brown ale or porter this summer. For a lighter pairing go towards a hoppy and bolder pilsner and let the carbonation play off the umami.

(LEARN: Big List of Beer Schools)

Fermentation, Preservation, Pickling 

Let’s face it: spring and summer are here and gone all too fast to capture all the flavors. And within that you might miss cherries, plums, peaches, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, fresh shelling beans, grapes, blackberries, blueberries … the list goes on and on. One way to capture these ingredients and save them for a cold winter day is to preserve them through fermentation, preservation or pickling. All of these take a careful hand, and at all times, everything must be as clean as can be and the fruit at its highest quality. If you preserve bad fruit you will just be eating bad fruit later on.

The New York Times recipe section, as well as countless books, has some great tips for preserving the bounties of spring and summer. Research the one that fits what you want to preserve and the method and get to stocking your fall and winter pantry with some of the bounty of spring and summer.

Timut Pepper

If you haven’t heard of this one, no worries. This pepper from Nepal has a little kick to it and surprisingly a grapefruity note that leaves a gentle tingling sensation on the palate. The big citrus notes make this a great pepper for craft beer from saison to pilsner to pale ale and IPA. The timut pepper is related to the Szechuan peppercorn which explains the kick. Use on fish, finish a salad, use in brines and rubs or just add a little bit to that fresh butter.

Cauliflower

Wait. What?! Yes! As 2018 sees the rise of more plant-based dishes on menus, cauliflower is in the right spot to leap into the lead. Cauliflower offers an excellent substitute for meat, is great grilled whole, fried in place of chicken wings (keep the hot sauce for dipping!), and even shredded to replace rice in dishes. Beer pairing wise, look to the hazy IPA for a softening bitter pairing or go with a kettle soured beer to play off the light malt flavors. If you fry the cauliflower, look to beers with big bold hops or rich amber ales to join the nutty aroma of the cauliflower.

The post 7 Summer Food Flavor Trends and Beer Pairings appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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I’ve rounded up a group of breweries for whom good food is just as much a part of their mission as good beer. Some of these brewpub all-stars cook up classic Belgian-inspired beer cuisine, some serve up dishes inspired by far-off lands like Nepal and Japan, and the country’s only Michelin-starred brewery offers fancy small plates that will have you dabbing your mouth with linen and holding your pinky out when you sip their culinary beers.

With more than 6,000 operating U.S. breweries, this list isn’t fully exhaustive. So many U.S. craft breweries and brewpubs are stepping up their food game. But whatever your preference, these 11 spots have more than enough great options to get you salivating (and planning a road trip).

(VISIT: Find a U.S. Brewery)

Brewery Vivant | Grand Rapids, MI

While touring France and Belgium before opening their farmhouse brewery, Jason and Kris Spaulding were amazed by how beer-friendly the local fare was.

“What blew us away was just common sense to the brewery people we met,” explains Jason.

The Spauldings applied what they learned when they opened Vivant inside an old funeral chapel in 2010. Their French and Wallonian inspired menu is assembled largely from Michigan-grown ingredients, and features plates and boards that favor sharing. Jason especially recommends the bone marrow board, which he pairs with Farm Hand, Vivant‘s flagship farmhouse ale made with house yeast and Michigan wheat.

“It is unfiltered and slightly tart with a mild hint of pepperiness that matches up with this dish in wonderful ways. Every time I order that dish it takes me back to that Northern French countryside,” reflects Jason. “I hope we have that same effect on people when they have it here.”

(CHART: Beer & Food Pairing Guide)

Moody Tongue Brewing Co. | Chicago

Not many brewmasters are trained chefs with Michelin-star restaurants on their résumés, but that’s not the only thing that makes what Jared Rouben is doing unique. Moody Tongue‘s swanky but comfortable taproom showcases only two foods: oysters and chocolate cake.

“I wanted to introduce a salty component and a sweet component,” explains Rouben. These two flavor paths allow for a plethora of pairing options with Moody Tongue’s culinary beers.

Rouben suggests either the Aperitif Pilsner or the Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison with the fresh bivalves. The chocolate cake is a 12-layer extravaganza in which each layer features different flavors intended to pair with different beers. Rouben credits Shannon Morrison, with whom he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, with introducing him to the pairing possibilities of sweets.

“Sweets you only get to enjoy at the end of the meal when you’re full,” explains Rouben. “Shannon opened my eyes to having sweets at the beginning of the meal,” Rouben explains.

With layers featuring espresso-coated cheesecake, toasted coconut, and other decadent combinations, this mountain of chocolate is a meal unto itself.

The Answer Brewpub | Richmond, VA

An Bui’s Vietnamese restaurant and beer bar Mekong in Richmond has landed near the top of CraftBeer.com’s Great American Beer Bar list multiple times, and when Bui decided to open his own brewpub in 2014, it lived up to the high bar he had already set.

Bui’s brewpub features a range of authentic Vietnamese dishes like a bánh mì sandwich or the Vietnamese fish sausage. Dishes often have amusing names like Pork Yu So Crazy or Ra Ra Ramen. Of course, if you want even more Vietnamese options, The Answer is right next door to the award-winning Mekong, with its 56 taps.

While The Answer focuses on IPAs, they also produce quite a few infused beers using a process called The Andall (a play on Dogfish Head’s famous randall device). Beers featuring coffee or tropical fruits are common, and a few are even turned into beer slushies.

(INFOGRAPHIC: Easy Tips for Pairing Beer and Pizza)

Brewery Bhavana | Raleigh, NC

Siblings Vansana and Vanvisa Nolintha, both of whom immigrated from Laos as young persons, co-founded Bhavana with brewer Patrick Woodson in early 2017. Bhavana weds Belgian-inspired beers with Chinese dim sum cuisine, small bites that are intended to be comforting and easy to share.

While Silk Road-era Chinese dumplings and Belgian abbey and farmhouse styles might not be an obvious pairing, it’s one that diners have caught onto in this growing southern city.

“There was a lot of conversation in the beginning about whether people would actually drink Belgian beer with steamed fish, or crab-fried rice, or shumai. It was a risk in terms of the pairings, but looking back, if we remove the perception of what’s proper, it’s actually a really complementary pairing,” explains Vansana. “So much of what I love about Patrick’s beer is the nuance. Nothing is overwhelming, and it really honors the harmony and balance of flavor. That’s exactly what dim sum is. It makes sense now.”

Day Block Brewing Co. | Minneapolis

Pairing good beer with good pizza isn’t a profound concept, but few brewpubs do it better than Day Block Brewing in Minneapolis. Residing in (and named for) a building built in 1883 that’s been everything from a hospital to a furniture store to–if local stories are to be believed–a house of ill repute, Day Block pays tribute to their home’s history by naming beers after past tenants.

Day Block uses only local, organic ingredients and make all of their dough, bread, and pizza sauce from scratch to create a plethora of unusual Italian pies. The Banh Mizza recreates a popular Vietnamese sandwich in pizza form, while the Leviathan aims to burn those pesky taste buds out of your mouth with ghost peppers and jalapeños. The Argentinian Vegetarian features a smattering of diverse wild mushrooms, while the ‘Merica Pizza offers breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs.

All of these pies pair beautifully with Day Block’s easy-drinking beers like Stadium Blonde or Day Block Citra Pale Ale, though some of the more heavily spiced pizzas might require the 8.5% ABV Belgian golden strong.

(READ: Everything You Need to Know About Pairing Beer and Cheese)

Sato Brewpub | Buffalo, NY

In the basement of Buffalo’s oldest skyscraper sits this Japanese-inspired brewery and authentic Japanese restaurant. Brewer Josh Smith spent 13 years in Japan before opening the brewery with his wife, Satomi, who grew up in a family of restaurateurs in Japan. Satomi is now the executive chef at Sato (as well as two other restaurants the couple run).

Sato Brewpub specializes in traditional and modern Japanese comfort foods, with many small plates that allow for sampling a wide variety of dishes, such as grilled meats or Okonomiyaki fries.

“Ramen is our specialty and at Sato Brewpub we have all chicken bone broth-based soups,” explains Smith. “The green curry ramen is a little bit of a Japanese and Thai fusion with a little heat, so the beers go well with it.” He recommends pairing it with Our Rabbit in the Moon, an amber ale that’s brewed with genmai-cha (Japanese green tea and toasted brown rice) and Sato’s house Belgian yeast.

La Cabra Brewing | Berwyn, PA

This brewpub in a Philadelphia enclave has been racking up recognition of late. La Cabra was named one of the 10 best brewpubs in the country by Hop Culture in 2017, and local magazine Country Lines gave them the Best of 2017 Dining Award. There’s more, but suffice it to say this place is worth checking out both for their beer and their Latin fusion cuisine.

Executive chef John Hearn combines Latin influences with classic American gastropub fare. Fancy small plates like crispy octopus and foie gras tart share the menu with upscale pub staples like grilled ribeye and a variety of tacos.

The dishes are paired with an eclectic and constantly rotating board of beers, including petite saisons, a roggenbier, an English bitter, and barrel-aged sours. There’s no telling what brewer Dan Popernack will have waiting for you when you step into the low lighting of this stone-walled pub, and the potential food and beer combinations are intriguing.

(TRAVEL: 8 Farm Breweries to Visit This Year)

Engrained Brewery & Restaurant | Springfield, IL

The farm-to-table movement is growing rapidly, but it’s far more than a fad for this central Illinois brewpub. Founder and brewer Brent Schwoerer focuses on sustainability and local and natural ingredients for his restaurant menu.

“Every year we grow our local produce offering as we discover more farmers embracing regenerative agricultural practices,” says Schwoerer, who adds that the kitchen also utilizes a whole animal approach when it purchases pork and beef. “This model helps us keep our pricing lower so that we can offer affordable farm-to-table prices for everyone.”

Despite the robust food options on the menu, the cheese curds are Schwoerer’s favorite dish.

“Two miles down the road from my family’s small dairy farm where I grew up was another dairy farmer who turned their operation into a creamery making cheese,” says Schwoerer. “We currently sell about 100 pounds of fresh curds a week from my childhood neighbor.” The curds are battered in Engrained‘s Munich Helles, and are best paired with this delicate but flavorful beer.

Spice Trade Brewing | Arvada, CO

Spice Trade Brewing has been housed in the Yak & Yeti restaurant since the Arvada location opened in 2008, and actually shared a name with the local chain until rebranding in early 2017. Yak & Yeti operate four Colorado locations where they serve award-winning Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan cuisine. In Spice Trade, the restaurant now has award-winning beer to pair with it.

Head brewer Jeff Tyler revels in the challenges and opportunities his brewpub’s cuisine affords him. “It works so well together because there are so many unique flavors found in Nepalese cuisine that can be used in beer or can pair well,” says Tyler. “We have access to a wide variety of interesting spices and ingredients that we are constantly testing.”

The restaurant’s owner has a secret family chai spice recipe, and Tyler uses the blend in his chai milk stout which won silver in the Herb and Spice Beer category at the Great American Beer Festival in 2013.

The brewpub hosts regular beer dinners to combine Indian and Nepalese dishes with the beers these cuisines have influenced. Tyler especially recommends pairing the spicy tandoori lamb cooked in a coal-fired oven with his Sichuan Saison brewed with Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese 5 Spice and orange peel.

(READ: Great American Beer Bars 2018)

Stone Brewing | Escondido, CA

You don’t need me to tell you a visit to Stone Brewing should be on your beer bucket list, but the reasons why include more than just beer, beer — and beer. Stone’s World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido (with another location in Liberty Station in a former naval mess hall) serve some incredible food to go along with their iconic beers, and they do it in beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces with rock gardens, flowing water and lots of plants.

Speaking of plants, Stone owns their own farm where they grow many of the ingredients for their menu. With appetizers like tiger shrimp ceviche and honey Sriracha quail knots, you might be full before you get to the main course, but you’ll want plenty of room for the salmon chraimeh or the Peruvian style chicken. Or maybe you want the pan roasted barramundi or the pork katsudon?

By now you’ve figured out I’m reading you the menu, but can you blame me? Wash these goodies down with Stone Brewery classics or a brewpub-only rarity like the 2013 Old Guardian Oak Smoked Barley Wine.

Band of Bohemia | Chicago 

I’ve saved the country’s only Michelin-starred brewery for last. Band of Bohemia has earned a Michelin star for several years running, an elusive honor like no other in the restaurant world. Chef Ian Davis has multiple Michelin-starred eateries on his résumé, and brings a diverse array of influences to Band of Bohemia.

Davis isn’t the only elite chef in the house though, as owner and brewer Michael Carroll is a former chef as well. Carroll uses culinary ingredients to create beers that are complex sensory explorations, such the Jasmine Rice lager or the Bruja wheat ale with orange zest, chicory, roasted beets and rye.

Once Carroll begins brewing a new beer, he gives Davis his tasting notes, and the executive chef has until that beer is ready a few weeks or months later to create dishes that will work with it.

From small plates like carrot lasagna and milk braised suckling pig to entrées like duck mafaldine and lamb saddle, Band of Bohemia is raising the bar for what brewpub grub can be.

The post 11 Breweries and Brewpubs with Impressive Menus appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

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It’s National Beer Day. As the rest of the country wakes up and begins to check social media, hundreds of posts are going out celebrating craft beer, defining craft beer, capturing a moment of the movement of independent beer. At 167 West 12th Street we arrive to unload coolers carrying a five-course meal celebrating National Beer Day at the James Beard House.

We arrive — at the James Beard House — with craft beer.

(RECIPES: Cook with Craft Beer)

On-site Preparation Inside the James Beard House Kitchen

While beer pairing dinners have been happening for decades, and years ago we proved to ourselves that beer is at the top of the pairing food chain, we must also take note that there is still a lot of work to be done. To climb to the top and then to stay at the top means to never stop. Never stop imagining new styles, new flavors, new pairings, new techniques. As many brewers are doing this, the chefs who just arrived at a tiny kitchen in New York City are working to do the same on the food side.

Coolers are unloaded, stations claimed, ovens turned on. Note: Don’t turn the grill on until absolutely needed otherwise it will get unbearably hot.

Prep begins. Crackers for the smoked trout go into the oven. Purees and grains hit the stoves, mackerel is taken out of its cure and put to gently rest. Lists are written and a schedule reviewed. We need all hands ready at 6 p.m. The reception starts at 7 p.m.

Shortly before doors open, the brewers arrive — Fremont Brewing Company from Seattle and Maine Beer Company from Freeport, Maine. The beer is checked, properly cold and fresh and a cheers is had by all.

To climb to the top and then to stay at the top means to never stop. Never stop imagining new styles, new flavors, new pairings, new techniques.

Guests begin to arrive. The arrival at the Beard House is special. You walk through the time-honored kitchen, past the chefs plating and into the atrium to begin your evening. Dinner is called and guests are seated.

First course is a go. Eighty plates hit the pass. Ricotta down, stone fruit to follow, toasted polenta down. Garnish, behind you. “Yes, chef. Thank you, chef. Next course, chef.” We work as a team. Even though we have never cooked together before there is a silent understanding of what must be done, behind, back, around – “Here, chef. Like this, chef. Yes, thank you.”

(LEARN: Beer and Food Tasting Tools and Worksheets)

Presenting the Beers

While we work in the kitchen Matt, Dan and Sara from Fremont and Maine Beer Co. are at work upstairs in the dining room ready to present a 100 percent brett beer right out the gate. How does this go over with the diners?

“What is brett?” several diners ask. “What are these flavors?” they say.

Pale ale is next. “How do these hops interact with the dish?” they ask. “I never knew I liked bitter like this!” says one guest.

IPA comes next. The reigning American beer style. It fits into the menu where maybe a pinot noir would be if this was a wine pairing. The dish is bold in spice and big on flavor. The IPA rises to the dish, carbonation reacts on the palate and smiles of discovery flash around the dining room.

We finish with a blended barrel aged beer with notes of the famous Rusty Nail cocktail. Chocolate in many forms hits the table. Not too heavy, just right and the beer lingers as the chefs come up from the kitchen.

We all stand in front of the group. We give a brief introduction: Thank you to the James Beard House for having us. Thank you for being here.

(LEARN: CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course)

The dinner, while simple in form (arrive, eat, taste, drink, pair, depart) has done so much more. You see, it’s from this small kitchen in New York City that American cuisine is defined, directed and created. To cook here is to say we have arrived! Here is our contribution to defining this cuisine. To cook here with craft beer on National Beer Day — that shouts to all we have arrived.

The dinner over, all head out for the evening, and the chefs and brewers gather for a last glass. We head back to Colorado, Washington, Maine, Illinois and Pennsylvania the next day. But for now, a brief moment to stop and recognize that in defining American cuisine, one cannot do so without independent craft beer.

The post A Chef’s Thoughts from the James Beard House Kitchen on National Beer Day appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

As craft beer continues to star in more and more special occasion dinners, so, too, is it finding its way onto the dessert menu. And not just in stout or porter form, either. You can pair sweet treats with everything from pilsners to Berliner Weisses and scotch ales.

Below are nine beer and dessert pairings to help keep your Valentine’s Day exciting.

(INFOGRAPHIC: Beer & Food Pairing Guide)

IPA with Carrot Cake

For starters, let’s look at a pairing that is quickly becoming the new imperial stout-and-chocolate of dessert pairings: IPA and carrot cake. The pairing works well because of the way the hop bitterness and sugary sweetness balance each other out. A great example is Surly Brewing’s Furious IPA and a classic carrot cake.

“Carrot cake and our Furious IPA is one of our favorite beer pairings because of the unexpected nature of it,” says Ben Peine, executive chef of Surly Brewing. “There’s a lot of natural sweetness from the carrots, plus the whole thing is buried under a thick layer of sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting. Pairing it with another sweet beer would overwhelm your entire dessert experience. The key to pairing beer with this cake is balance. Furious is that beer – it’s snappy and bitter with lots of citrus/floral components coming from the addition of bright hops.”

Double IPA with Orange Almond Cake

Further along the hop intensity line is Good City Brewing’s suggestion of their Reward Double IPA with the house specialty Tunisian Orange Almond Cake. Here, the beer both complements and contrasts the citrus and rich chocolatey layers of the dish.

“We really enjoy how orange flavor pairs with Reward,” says David Dupee, co-founder of Good City Brewing. “In fact, we run a weekly cask program in the taproom, and one of the most popular cask offerings to date is Reward with orange peel. It’s no surprise, then, that the orange character in the almond cake dessert nicely draws out and showcases Reward’s unique citrus and tropical notes.”

Finishing the orange almond cake is a chocolate imperial stout ganache that washes down nicely with the citrus-forward DIPA.

(READ: Beer and Cheese Style Guide)

Scotch Ale with Bread Pudding

Still fixated on pairing a malt-forward beer with your Valentine’s Day dessert? Try a Scotch ale. The style’s strong caramel malts and hefty body mesh up with rich desserts like bread pudding. Great Divide Brewing suggests pairing their Claymore Scotch Ale with a bourbon bread pudding.

“The toffee and caramel notes of the beer go hand in hand with the sweet, buttery and nutty flavors from the bread pudding,” says Maureen Cherrett, marketing project manager at Great Divide Brewing. “The addition of bourbon adds that extra decadence to make the pairing that much more rich and indulgent.”

Coffee Blonde Ale with Bread Pudding

Schlafly Beer counters Great Divide’s bread pudding suggestion with their Double Bean Blonde.

“Schlafly’s Double Bean Blonde Ale finds its ideal mate in the best bread pudding that you can find,” says Stephen Hale, Schlafly Beer’s founding brewer. “Rich, dense and luscious, notes of cinnamon and dried fruit commonly found in bread pudding complement the chocolate and coffee flavors of the beguiling Double Bean Blonde.”

Schlafly Beer’s Double Bean Blonde is brewed with cocoa nibs and blended with a coffee toddy of beans from Kaldi’s Coffee. The result is a golden ale that is quite deceiving in color as the flavor delivers big coffee and chocolate notes that are very reminiscent of a stout.

Czech Pilsner with Strawberries and Cream

On the lighter side of the dessert pairing chart is a classic Czech Pilsner with a fruit-forward dessert. The lighter dessert and beer combination is a pleasant way to end a hearty dinner. The carbonation and clean flavors of a pilsner also help to cleanse the palate for what’s to come later in the evening. Summit Brewing suggests their Dakota Soul Czech Pilsner with a simple plate of strawberries and cream.

“This classical Czech Pilsner has a mild bitterness and floral, slightly citric aroma qualities,” says Damian McConn, head brewer at Summit Brewing. “It should pair well with any subtle fruit-based dessert, such as strawberries and cream.”

(COOK WITH BEER: Find Hundreds of Recipes)

Saison with a Pear Tart

Another less aggressive beer and dessert pairing is a saison with a fruit tart like Big Ditch Brewing’s Beautiful River Saison and a pear tart. The fruity esters of the yeasty farmhouse ale call out similar flavors in the fruit-forward dessert.

“I’d suggest using our Beautiful River Belgian-style Saison, which is a balanced saison bursting with lots of pear-like esters, with a pear tart, which should obviously be complementary,” says Matt Kahn, the brewery’s president and co-founder. “The sweetness from the tart [is] cut by the dryness of the beer, and the pilsner malt backbone goes really well with the sweetness from the crust.”

Berliner Weisse with Fruit and Vanilla Tart

Another option with a fruit tart is a mildly sour beer like Berliner Weisse. The refreshing nature of the beer, along with its bright sour notes, make the flavors of a tart dance.

West Sixth Brewing suggests their porch pounder Meadoweisse Berliner Weisse to pair with a fruit tart. “The acidic and tart profile of our Berliner Weisse lends a complementing and balancing character to the sweetness of a fruit tart,” says Dale Bugay, one of West Sixth Brewing’s brewers. West Sixth takes their suggestion a bit further and recommends rounding out the pairing with the addition of a traditional fruit syrup to the beer to help make your date a little less sour.

Belgian-style Tripel with a Peach Cobbler

Catawba Brewing suggests pairing a classic southern-influenced peach cobbler with their LD’s Belgian Tripel – part of the brewery’s Specialty Series – for a flavor experience that is both complex and balanced all at once.

“This abbey-style golden ale is extremely versatile in food pairings, with complex flavors and aromas ranging from apple, pear, banana, clove, peppery spice and noble hop earthiness,” says Brian Ivey, marketing director at Catawba Brewing. “Like a fine wine, this beer is well-suited to enjoy with savory courses, also, but we particularly like the way its flavors enhance a dessert pairing of peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream.”

(LEARN: Beer 101 Online Course)

Mexican Chocolate Old Ale with New Mexican-style Sopapillas

Leave it to Arizona-based Tombstone Brewing to add a little southwestern spice to heat up your night by suggesting their Mexican Chocolate Old Ale with New Mexican-style Sopapillas. Sopapillas are deep fried pillows of dough found throughout Latin America. They’re also quite popular in New Mexico, where the pastry isn’t stuffed with meat, cheese and peppers, but instead topped with honey, cinnamon and whipped cream.

“Our Mexican Chocolate Old Ale features an abundance of rich hatch, New Mexico green chile flavor,” says Matthew Brown, owner of Tombstone Brewing. “New Mexican-style sopapillas are puffy little dough pillows with a pocket inside. It’s a great vehicle for all sorts of other flavors, and in this case the classic chocolate, vanilla and chile flavors are provided by the accompanying beer rather than a filling. A traditional honey drizzle adds a little sweetness to a fried bread that’s never cloying (and often even borders on savory), and the cinnamon whipped cream ties everything together, complementing the beer and sopapilla by adding not just a creamy component to the course overall, but filling out the spice profile with another traditional ingredient often used in both Mexican chocolate and New Mexican-style sopapillas.”

Don’t Like Any of the Above Suggestions?

Then be creative and blaze your own dessert and beer pairing trail! Just remember a few easy-to-follow rules to make sure that Dave Matthews Band CD keeps playing through to the good parts.

First, consider how sweet the dessert is. A sugar bomb can overpower your beer or throw other flavors way out of whack much like the way intense hops can with a savory dish. Second, match intensity. Neither the beer nor the dessert should overpower the other. For example, notice how lighter, less intense beers were paired with fruit-forward desserts, and an intensely flavored beer like a scotch ale was paired with bread pudding.

Third, think about complementary and contrasting flavors while still considering the rules above. A good example is Good City Brewing’s Reward Double IPA with an orange almond cake. The citrus notes of the beer complement the orange flavors of the cake and balance the contrasting chocolate ganache for a complete dessert experience.

Finally, remember it’s beer – so have fun!

The post How to Pair Beer with Desserts That Aren’t Chocolate appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

Next to GenXers and Baby Boomers, researchers tell us millennials don’t feel as attached to their jobs, are less likely to demonstrate brand loyalty, and much less likely to identify with traditional religious groups or political parties. So what do those that are afraid of tradition and attachment actually want and desire? Discovery, experimentation and something new. In a restaurant setting, we couldn’t ask for better guests.

As restaurant professionals, the most important thing when taking care of a guest is to listen. Once someone walks through our doors and into our home, we are looking to take care of them. If someone is in the mood for hot cocoa, it doesn’t matter how amazing our iced tea is. What we see, both empirically and through numerous studies, is that millennials are not attached to any one path. When ordering a drink, they are the most likely group to ask what we (the staff) are most interested in. While this excites lots of bartenders and sommeliers, it’s a daunting task.

(BEER TRAVEL: 5 Epic Craft Beer Road Trips)

Designing a Beverage Program with Millennials in Mind

When designing our beverage program, it is important to have diversity in order to best accommodate millennials. If they have something new and exciting on visit one, they aren’t going to simply re-order it the next time they are in. They will be seeking something new and exciting on all subsequent visits.

Sometimes they want to explore different sectors of the beverage program and other times they want to dive deep. If you introduced them to a mono-varietal, wild agave mezcal on visit one, there’s a good chance they are going to want to try other mezcals on visit two. If a millennial is introduced to a great saison on visit one, they very likely to want to explore other saisons on subsequent visits. We accommodate millennials by offering diversity and constantly rotating our selections.

(COOK WITH BEER: Find Hundreds of Recipes)

Perhaps the greatest aspect of millennials’ willingness to try new things is the opportunity that it creates for us to really match a beverage choice with their food. When a millennial is simply interested in what beverage choices excite us the most, the most logical follow up is to ask what they are eating. We view our beverage program as a pantry full of condiments that we can use to enhance the food. Millennials aren’t just open to trying new things within a comfortable segment of the beverage program, they are very open to almost anything we suggest. If we listen to what millennials want and guide them correctly with the first drink recommendation, then trust is established and they become very open to further recommendations.

The desire to try new things really puts a lot of pressure on us to stay current and taste lots and lots of product. It’s important that we honor that trust which they give us. Diversity of selection for diversity’s sake alone isn’t a well thought out beverage program. It also has to have a place at the table with our food. Also, it has to be well made and taste great! With more than 5,000 small and independent breweries in the country, it’s easy to feature local beer. The challenge is to identify the best example of each category/style being produced in the state.

Millennials Champion the Underdog 

Millennials like a good underdog. Whether it be in politics or choice of beer, they are rooting for the little guy that bucks the establishment. Without the little guys (think of all the small, start-up breweries in your home state), we wouldn’t have the diversity of choices we have today. The little guy gives millennials hope.

(READ: The Three-Tier System and Its Impacts on You and U.S. Craft Beer)

Millennials have a higher unemployment rate than any other working-age generation (researchers say much of it is “willful unemployment”). Millennials strongly desire a freelance work schedule to come and go as they please. The success stories of those who left the traditional workplace to establish a craft brewery, a distillery or a small wine label excite them. It gives them hope in the “old” American dream of entrepreneurialism as opposed to their parents’ dream of a steady ‘nine-to-five’ and a good 401K, which seems long dead and unappealing to this generation. After all, isn’t going out with friends and family to imbibe about release? Letting go of worry? Finding solace and comfort in good company and conversation? A success story about a couple leaving their comfortable 9-5s and putting everything on the line to start a craft brewery offers hope and inspiration.

Feed Their Curiosity

The last and perhaps most important aspect of serving millennials is education. Their curious minds retain a lot of information and it’s vital that we train our team to provide the correct information. On a basic level, we have to be prepared to know what everything tastes like, accurately describe it to our guests and pair it with the food. When it comes to millennials though, the conversation often goes deeper. From the exact production techniques of any beverage to the sustainability of wild agave mezcals, we have to be prepared to educate and converse with our guests. The only way to get there is through rigorous education: daily pre-service meetings, weekly classes, and non-stop tasting.

Millennials get a bad rap, but they are merely a product of their time. As the traditional economy and politics of decades past offer less promise for this younger generation, they are forced to think outside the box and adapt. Despite diminishing job prospects and political turmoil, millennials remain hopeful. They are liberated by their lack of attachment and the necessity to seek new paths. In the restaurant setting, they are curious, educated guests that have great appreciation for food, wine, beer & spirits. They keep us honest and drive our team to learn more. Their curiosity has helped propel the restaurant industry to the heights it has achieved today.

The post How Restaurants Can Feed Millennial Curiosity appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

1. Cornbread Dressing | Tart Cranberry Beer

Cornbread Dressing, the Southern alternative to Midwestern bread stuffing, is made primarily with cornbread, stock, onion and celery. Depending on the recipe it can be sweet or savory, crumbly or moist. No matter how you make it, if it’s Thanksgiving, then dressing is probably getting mixed in with a few of the other side dishes on the classically crowded holiday plate. With that in mind, recreate the timeless forkful of stuffing with a touch of cranberry sauce by pairing your cornbread dressing with a tart cranberry beer. The tart taste will balance a sweet cornbread and round out a savory one.

• Cranberry Wit | Great North Aleworks | Manchester, NH
• Cranberry Orange Radler | Boulevard Brewing Co | Kansas City, MO

2. Cranberry Sauce | Wheat Beer

Whether it comes straight out of a tin can or is homemade from a family recipe, cranberry sauce is a staple at every Thanksgiving dinner. This pairing is essentially the opposite of our first course, it pairs a tart cranberry sauce with a bready, malt-forward beer.

• Kellerweiss | Sierra Nevada | Chico, CA
• Shotgun Betty | Lonerider Beer | Raleigh, NC

3. Mac ‘n Cheese | Oktoberfest

This crowd-pleasing comfort food is rich and creamy. Pair it with an Oktoberfest and the sweetness of the caramelized malt flavors will be enhanced by the salty and savory cheese. The resulting sweet and salty combo is a flavor profile every snack addict knows and loves. Oktoberfest’s crisp lager finish offers a refreshing balance to the pasta’s heavier body.

• Seven Bridges | Jekyll Brewing Company | Alpharetta, GA
• Festbeir | Victory Brewing Company | Downingtown, PA

4. Roasted Root Vegetables | American Brett or Bière de Garde

It’s an all out funkfest for this pairing of earthy vegetables with “barnyard” beers. Microbes give root vegetables their characteristic earthy flavor. They’re also responsible for the funky fermentation in sour beers. There’s a vast array of brett, lacto and pedio beers but the subtle sweetness in a farmhouse ale complements the sugars root vegetables store for the winter. Don’t be intimidated if someone mentions “horse blanket” — it’s nice in small quantities.

• Saison de Banc Vert | Green Bench | St. Petersburg, FL
• Bière de Garde | Schlafly Beer | St. Louis, MO

5. Sweet Vegetable (Roasted Butternut Squash, Maple Glazed Carrots or Sweet Potato Casserole) | Spiced Seasonal Beer

The sweet and spicy flavor combo is popular worldwide. To make it uniquely American we’re pairing sweet Thanksgiving side dishes with seasonal beers full of holiday spice.

• Great’r Pumpkin (Bourbon Barrel Aged Pumpkin) | Heavy Seas Beer  | Baltimore, MD
• Mole Porter (Spiced Chocolate Porter) | Second Self Beer Co. | Atlanta

6. Bitter Vegetable (Roasted Cabbage, Brussel Sprout Slaw or Sauteed Swiss Chard) | Belgian-style Quadruple

This pairing, along with the next one, follow a fundamental flavor idea that sweetness balances bitterness. For example, sprinkling sugar on a grapefruit tames the bitterness and makes the fruit easier to enjoy. For this course, we’re making bitter vegetables more appealing by pairing them with a sweet Belgian-style quad.

• Samuel Adams Tetravis | Boston Beer Co. | Boston
• Quasimodo | Three Taverns Craft Brewery | Decatur, GA

7. Pecan Pie | Bitter IPA

To combat the flavor fatigue that might be plaguing your palate after six pairings we’re going to call in the big guns: an intense, resinous, West Coast IPA with a slice of rich pecan pie. Both are strong enough to balance one another while also cutting through the previous flavors that may still be lingering on your tongue. If you don’t consider yourself an IPA fan this pairing may be the gateway you’ve needed. As tested during the previous course, sweet balances bitter. The same principle applies to a sugary dessert and a bitter beer.

• Soul Style IPA | Green Flash Brewing Co. | San Diego, CA
• Stone IPA | Stone Brewing | Escondido, CA

8. Nibbling on leftovers | English-style Barley Wine

Okay, admit it. You’re stuffed but you’re a little tempted to keep nibbling on all the half-eaten serving dishes on the buffet. Since it could be another year before you have the chance to enjoy some of these Thanksgiving favorites we encourage you to go for it. Loosen your belt, fill a plate with seconds and pour yourself a goblet of English-style Barley Wine. This high gravity, dessert level brew becomes more enjoyable as it warms. It’s a great beer to sip on until it’s time to call it a night.

• Blithering Idiot | Weyerbacher Brewing Co. | Easton, PA
• Arctic Devil | Midnight Sun Brewing Co. | Anchorage, AL

Have a favorite pairing you’ll be adding to your Friendsgiving? Let us know in the comments.

The post Friendsgiving Beer and Food Pairings appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, ask your guests to bring a growler, a couple of bombers or a six-pack of their favorite beers to pass around the table with family and friends. Beers from around the country will unite at the table in the same way as your visitors and family.

Here are a few style suggestions that will pair nicely with common Thanksgiving day dishes. These beers will help open the eyes of guests that might not be aware of the beautiful beverage of craft beer.

(READ: 9 Airports to Find Craft Breweries)

Witbier

While witbiers are often considered a summer treat, they can be a great addition to the main course of Thanksgiving dinner. A witbier shares many characteristics with a hefeweizen, but on a more subtle scale. They can be lighter, but maintain the spice character that works with a wide variety of dishes.

Witbiers are great for pairing with turkey, as they allow the bird to remain in the limelight and serve only as an enhancement. The succulent white meat paired with a witbier will unveil the natural gaminess of the turkey and enhance its flavors.

Try any of these witbiers when it’s carving time:

• White Rascal | Avery Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO
• Namaste | Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales | Milton, DE
• Witte | Brewery Ommegang | Cooperstown, NY
• UFO White | Harpoon Brewery | Boston, MA
• Winter White Ale | Bell’s Brewery, Inc. | Kalamazoo, MI
• Upland Wheat Ale | Upland Brewing Co. | Bloomington, IN

(WATCH: New Video Points Out the Obvious: There are A LOT of Beer Acronyms)

Farmhouse Ale/Saison

The herb-like and earthy flavors of a farmhouse ale or saison can serve as a fun, wild card for Thanksgiving. These beers are truly unique—sort of like snowflakes. One might offer flavors of hibiscus, while another will have a bite of ginger and orange zest, and yet another will be tart and fruity.

My suggestion is to drink a bottle with a generous portion of stuffing. Stuffing varies regionally (some would even say from house to house). Some recipes call for walnuts while another include water chestnuts. Some versions include pears while others add apples. You can’t miss when pairing your stuffing with a farmhouse ale or saison, as they’re very moldable to what they’re paired with. The right flavors will shine through and not overpower this family favorite.

These are a few amazing farmhouse ales and saisons that will be a hit:

• Brooklyn Sorachi Ace | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn, NY
• Cucumber Saison | Cigar City Brewing Co. | Tampa, FL
• Colette Farmhouse Ale | Great Divide Brewing Co. | Denver, CO
• De Viento | Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales | Dexter, MI
• Saison Rue | The Bruery | Orange County, CA
• CynicAle | Surly Brewing Co. | Minneapolis, MN

India Pale Ale

India pale ale can present a challenge when pairing food. Look to match intensities and accentuate the flavor of the hops rather than bitterness. Embrace the IPA by enjoying it alongside foods that aren’t going to be intimidated: cheese. The best Thanksgiving food to pair an IPA with is a hearty helping of baked macaroni and cheese. The thick and sharp fattiness of the cheese can withstand the beer, all while matching its intensity. I also recommend pairing an IPA with cheesecake, but make sure it’s a lighter one. You’ll thank me, I promise!

There are plenty of great IPAs out there, but here are a few of my favorites:

• Gold Digger IPA | Auburn Alehouse | Auburn, CA
• IPA | Odell Brewing Co. | Fort Collins, CO
• Heady Topper | The Alchemist | Waterbury, VT
• Ninja vs. Unicorn | Pipeworks Brewing Co. | Chicago, IL
• Finestkind IPA | Smuttynose Brewing Co. | Hampton, NH
• Lunch | Maine Beer Co. | Freeport, ME

(READ: Brewery Rescues ‘Ugly Fruit’ from Landfills)

Porter

Porters come in many forms: imperial, smoked, chocolate, chili, vanilla, etc., and each can find a seat at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Porters tend to be a little sweeter than their big brother the stout, but while dark in color, some are deceptively light in flavor with a creamy, smooth mouthfeel.

A porter is a great match for a glazed ham. The pineapple flavors will go with the sweetness of the beer, almost creating a caramelization on the palate. If you prefer your ham smoked, try matching smoke-for-smoke by enjoying a smoked turkey or ham with a smoked porter.

If you saved room for dessert, and chocolate pie or brownies are on the menu, look no further than a chocolate or vanilla porter to help wash those down. Either of these beers will bring out the best qualities of the sugary delights and even intensify them.

Here are a few examples of great porters to pair with your Thanksgiving favorites:

• Eugene | Revolution Brewing Co. | Chicago, IL
• Alaskan Smoked Porter | Alaskan Brewing Co. | Juneau, AK
• Edmund Fitzgerald | Great Lakes Brewing Co. | Cleveland, OH
• Gilpin Black Gold | Hogshead Brewery | Denver, CO
• Sue | Yazoo Brewing Co. | Nashville, TN
• Black Jack Porter | Left Hand Brewing Co. | Longmont, CO

The post Thanksgiving Craft Beer Shopping List appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

King Salmon

While the catch coming in this year is quite a bit smaller due to the West Coast drought three years ago, King Salmon is still worth seeking out if you can. King or Chinook will have a beautiful orange color and a very soft flavor with more fat than Wild Coho. The Coho is a good substitute if the King proves elusive.

This year, experts said they now recognize fat as the sixth taste and flavor. The King salmon is a great way to understand the concept. Salmon and Coho are also great transition ingredients for the seasons.

If you’re still craving that last of the summer gose or radler, look to a tartare with cucumber and a little jalapeno. Ready to transition into a fall saison? Pan roast or oven bake your fish with a little onion or citrus. Are you ready to move on from the gentle tart styles of the summer and craving some fresh hopped IPAs? Grill the salmon with the skin on and bring in some late summer heat from a relish with peppers to pop the hops and the salmon.

(COOK WITH BEER: Find Hundreds of Recipes)

This Fall’s Cuts of Meat

The shoulder tender, oyster steak, and flat iron and the new fall burger. There are only so many rib eyes, strip loins and tenderloins around. And as the trend of dry aging hits full stride, there is a huge influx of great cuts of meat that have long been overlooked coming into play this fall. Each one brings in a different flavor, cut, and size, but most are well suited for grilling, roasting and slicing.

You can make the best of these cuts of meat by keeping it simple with some salt and pepper — maybe add a fresh salsa verde along with a Marzen or brown ale to bridge over from summer to fall. Oh — and that “new” burger technique – well, it’s not new per se, but it does work well with beer. The last few years have seen thick patties, but now you’ll notice the trend swinging back, way back, to using two thinner patties. This gets more grill flavor, more Maillard reaction surface area and ultimately creates a richer flavored burger. Go to your roastiest porter or stout here or bring on the double IPAs twice the Maillard can take twice the hop and twice the roast.

Heirloom Grains and Malted Grains

Farro, spelt, millet, quinoa, amaranth, rye, emmer and many more are coming front and center in recipes and dishes this season. Thee grains are easier and easier to find at markets and online, so it’s high time for you to add a little grain into your repertoire.

If you’re looking forward to fall’s rye IPAs and black IPAs, then look no further than adding some grains into recipes. Think about replacing arborio rice in a risotto with a grain. Cook them low and slow with a braised chicken dish, or simply boil off and then sauté with some onions, garlic and fresh herbs.

If you’re feeling really adventurous seek out one of the about 40 craft maltsters in the US right now and add malted spelt, farro, quinoa, barely – even malted corn if you can find it — into your recipes. The malted grains add a depth of flavor to the dish that will pull the malt bill front and center on your palate. And the bonus is when you go to rinse the grains before cooking, your kitchen will smell like you just mashed in.

(READ: Grain Trust: Craft Malt, Craft Beer and What it Means to be Local)

Ice Cream and Fall Flavors

Beer and ice cream have long been friends, but this year, there are new techniques to try. Adjustments to the fat levels, incorporating fruit bases and new base ingredients like cream cheese are all bringing new pairing reactions to ice cream.

While no one can deny a double scoop on a cone is a good summer treat, look to move the ice cream to the side a bit in this transitional season: Let it play cold to a hot dish; use the creaminess to coat the palate a bit; bridge flavors in dishes and look to ice cream to become your fall dessert garnish.

Are you ready for some fruited sours? Bring on the sherbet. Maybe you need that last summer refresher look to a wit and sorbet with a little citrus garnish. Ready for the fall spiced beers? Bring on the richest vanilla you can find.

Housemade Condiments

Run as fast as you can to the market right now and grab some great last-of -summer tomatoes. Get your ketchup on. Get some mustards curing. Ever wanted to make kimchi? Now’s the time. Late summer leading into fall is the season you should stock your pantry, including stone fruit jams and marmalades and pickled beans.

Acid

Whether vinegar or citrus based, a touch of acid can take most dishes to the next level. Bartenders are adding vinegar to cocktails, much like a dash of Woodruff to a Berliner Weisse.

So how does this play into food during this transition season? Try a quick marinade on pork chops or chicken before grilling with a touch of vinegar. Finish with fresh lemon and the first bite’s flavor will transform on your palate. Beer wise, adding vinegar pops the hops to the front and balances the dish’s bitter with the fat. Want to really pull out the hops in a pilsner this fall? Try a dash of champagne vinegar and olive oil over a lightly grilled fish. Want to really pull out the deep fruit in a New England style IPA? Then look to take the extra time and add some stone fruit to a base vinegar (think champagne or apple cider) and let that sit for a bit before using a little to finish grilled or roasted pork chops, chicken breast or even corn on the cob.

(READ: 75+ Popular Beer Styles)

Lighter Desserts for Late Summer and Early Fall

While many people are gearing up for the classic tastes of pumpkin, spices and richer fall desserts, there is a trend gaining momentum of chefs looking to finish a meal with a light and refreshing bite. Think about that last bite and sip waking you up a bit as opposed to lulling you into a food and pairing coma.

So what do you do beer wise here? While the wit beer was the kickoff beer of the summer, I offer up to you the wit as the closer for the fall. Grilled fruits, sorbets, meringues, even a pound cake with lightly marinated fruit can be a lighter ending than chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. Yes, there is always room for chocolate, but look to open up new flavor discoveries in some of your favorite wit beers by sliding this style down to dessert. With the wit coming in at the end, your palate is relaxed and bit tired. Let the carbonation and the gentle yeast notes awaken your senses and bring out fruity aromas and delicate notes of fruit, salt and gentle spice.

No matter what new flavors you end up exploring this fall, keep these ideas top of mind. Simple is the new complicated. If you’re thinking of adding a few extra spices, ingredients or techniques to dish, think again and focus on highlighting what a pork chop, a roast fish, corn, onions, squashes, potatoes and tomatoes should taste like. Sometimes the simpler you go in preparation brings out the more complex pairing, and allows your palate to wander a bit more between two to three flavors as opposed to eleven competing ones.

Cheers to a great fall.

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Currently, Americans celebrate Labor Day in a somewhat similar fashion. There are parades, picnics, cookouts, and beer. This is the weekend where you’re trying to squeeze that last little bit of summer into one three-day stretch.

(MORE: 5 Epic Craft Beer Road Trips)

In order to make our laboring ancestors proud, it seems only fitting to have a solid plan for your beer enjoyment for any picnic or cookout. Don’t worry, sit back and keep enjoying your summer. We’ve compiled a Labor Day beer and food menu plan for you.

Labor Day Cookout Menu

We chose people pleasing dishes that are both easy to make and easy to pair with beer:

• BBQ Chicken
• Grilled Corn
• Strawberry Salad
• S’mores

Craft Beers for the Cookout

Beers to Drink if You’re the One Preparing the Food

For the most part, food for cookouts is fairly easy: Open hot dog package, place the dogs on grill, don’t destroy. However, if you are taking your backyard BBQ to the next level you will have some work to do beforehand, and for that, you will need a cold beverage.

Stick with a session IPA. You get the same refreshing qualities of an IPA with about half the amount of alcohol (so you don’t lose a finger).

Try These

• Sanity Break | Third Street Brewhouse | Cold Spring, MN
• Green Everything | Other Half | Brooklyn, NY
• Hop Hop and Away | Aeronaut Brewing Co. | Somerville, MA

(READ: The New England IPA is the Anti-IPA)

Beer to Drink while Getting Ready to Eat

If you’re a guest, there is always that time when you’re standing around, making small talk and munching on chips. You need an aperitif. When people think aperitif, normally a kir royal, aperol spritz, or champagne comes to mind. However, there are plenty of beers that would be ideal aperitifs. You will need something with acid, low in alcohol and highly effervescent. Think Berliner Weisse, gose, or even a lighter style with fruit added. The idea is to wake up your palate and get you ready to eat.

Try These

• Liliko’i Kepolo | Avery Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO
• Blood Orange Gose | Anderson Valley Brewing Co. | Boonville, CA
• Old Pro | Union Craft Brewing | Baltimore, MD

Beer Pairings for Smoked and Grilled Meats

For smoked and grilled meats you could compliment the smoked quality of the dish with a smoked beer. Most recipes for a good BBQ sauce include smoky ingredients like paprika, or sometimes chipotle.

Try These

• Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout | Dark Horse Brewing Company | Marshall, MI
• Smoked Ported | Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. | Elmsford, NY
• Wholly Smoke Porter | Beachwood BBQ & Brewing | Long Beach, CA

(COOK WITH BEER: Barrel-Aged Stout BBQ Sauce)

There is also the option to accentuate the char quality of the meat with a roasty porter. For this menu in particular that black pepper, roasted quality in a porter would add a little cracked pepper flavor to the corn and salad, without completely overpowering the dish.

Try These

• Black Butte Porter | Deschutes Brewery | Bend, OR
• Edmund Fitzgerald Porter | Great Lakes Brewing Co. | Cleveland, OH

Beer Pairings for S’mores

There are a lot of beer friendly flavors going on in s’mores. There is the sweetness of the chocolate and marshmallow – a great contrast to a roasty coffee stout. You also have the malty sweetness of the graham cracker to complement any rich malty barleywine. There is even a beer that has all of the flavors of a s’more added to the brew, Off Color’s Dino S’mores; an imperial stout with marshmallow fluff, vanilla beans, molasses, graham flour and cocoa nibs.

(COOK WITH BEER: Stout-Infused Marshmallow & Bacon S’mores)

You could also go in an entirely different direction and add a flavor component to the s’more. Think of flavors you enjoy with chocolate: strawberries? raspberries? Find a richer, darker beer to stand up to the rich/intense flavors of the s’mores, while also finding a beer with more acidity to cut through that richness with the added flavor of strawberries or raspberries. The end result will be similar to chocolate covered strawberries.

Try These

• Dino S’mores | Off Color | Chicago
• Atrial Rubicite | Jester King Brewery | Austin, TX
• Raspberry Origins | Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project | Denver
• Blackcap Raspberry | Cascade Brewing | Portland, OR

Do you have any favorites? Share your ideas with us in the comments.

The post Beers to Add to Your Labor Day Cookout appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

On the other side, the IPA’s strong flavors can elicit negative reactions from beer drinkers who are new to craft. IPAs can also be train wrecks in pairing.

(LEARN: 75+ Popular Beer Styles)

How can the beer style every beer drinker seems to want turn palates away from beer?

Let’s give the IPA, and those who are trying it for the first time, a little help so they have a better chance of enjoying this now iconic beer style.

Ditch the Word ‘Bitter’ When You Talk About IPAs

First off let’s start with descriptors. Stop saying bitter. Let’s get on the same page as spirits and wine descriptors. Words like pine, lemon peel, orange zest, rosemary, thyme, floral — any of these give even the most inexperienced beer palate a better chance of understanding what they are going to taste instead of bitter.

Alright, now let’s get some food in here to make the palate really enjoy and appreciate what an IPA can do (that neither wine or spirits can).

Here are some culinary pointers on how to discover more than “bitter” in these five IPA styles.

(READ: 11 Summer Beers for People Who Appreciate the Classics)

How to Pair 5 IPA Styles

East Coast IPA

Use your grill for proteins with this style. Get some fresh herbs like parsley, tarragon, chives and dill. Finish a dish with a little lemon. If you’re making a salad dressing, sub out the vinegar for fresh lemon juice. All of these culinary techniques contribute to balancing the palate where this IPA style hits the hardest, which calms the palate. Instead of tasting bitter you taste the notes from the hops, the balance of the malt and the gentle scrubbing of the palate.

Need some fat here if it’s a bit over hopped? Turn to olive oil and allow it to push the hops to the aroma area of the mouth and keep the palate in check to enjoy the next bite.

West Coast IPA

Two words here: Maillard Reaction. This is essentially the browning of proteins. Think roasted chicken, a crusty loaf of bread, a great sear on a steak.

So why does it work with these IPAs? The Maillard Reaction is actually the same process malt goes through. In fact, the number one flavor identifier for Maillard is “malty.” West Coast IPAs are commonly associated with backing down on the malt a little bit, so using the Maillard Reaction brings it right back up to balance the flavors.

(READ: 5 Activities to Take You from Beer Beginner to In-the-Know)

Session IPA

A common misconception is that session IPAs are easier to drink. In the case of ABV they are, but in every other way they are not “lighter.” 

To bring out the best qualities of a session IPA, turn to acid in the kitchen: fresh tomatoes, zest from lemon or oranges, finishing a dish with a little bit of great vinegar whether it be sherry or champagne (or even beer vinegar if you have some).

This little bright flavor burst not only highlights the flavors in a dish but also primes the palate for the lower gravity in the beer and helps push the notes that are in the beer to all the right places on the palate. Try making a watermelon and tomato salad and soak the watermelon in a few dashes of vinegar for about 20 minutes and you’ll see exactly what we mean.

Imperial IPA

Imperial IPAs have bigger and bigger flavors — more cowbell, please. You’ll find intense hop aromas, big flavors and often some palate numbing effects.

When pairing a beer style this intense, fat is your friend. (And as a friendly culinary reminder: flavor ain’t free, so please use some fat.) Maybe you have a seared chicken breast? Throw a tablespoon or two of butter and some fresh herbs in the pan during the last few minutes and baste with a spoon. Are you roasting some potatoes? Serve it with a side of aioli for dipping pleasure. If you have grilled fish, take some fresh herbs and maybe even some capers and add this to the aioli.

Fat is key here. You need to protect and preserve your palate to enjoy all the flavors in the food and the beer. A little fat goes a long way in bringing out some of the most complex and deep flavors that many never get to taste in a big imperial IPA.

One final note: Do you want some dessert? Vanilla ice cream, cream cheese frosting and carrot cake do wonderful things with this beer style.

(READ: So You Want to Be a Beer Judge?)

Black IPA

Say hello to braises, hearty stews, confit proteins, caramelized onions, blue cheese and friends. Taking a few flavor notes from the world of stouts allows your palate to explore what deep, dark roasted notes can do when combined with a bigger dosage of hop in black IPAs.

The main difference in the use of fat in these dishes is that the primary ingredient has a well-marbled flavor to it. Look back above to the imperial IPA real quick. Do you see there we accented lower fat items with a bigger source of fat? With black IPAs, we are taking richer fat items and going straight to the pairing source of darker malts. A well-reduced sauce, an amazingly tender braised protein, a rich creamy blue cheese all have the chance to overwhelm the palate on their own. When paired with a black IPA, the hops come in and act as little scrubbers along with the carbonation and lift those heavy flavors off the palate.

So what role did the food play? That heavy coating lulled your palate into a quick nap so that the hops came in nice and slow and hung around long enough to bridge into the dark roasted malt flavors that sync right up with the richness of these ingredients.

Combining these culinary ideas in the kitchen and your glass is sure to help people who had a rough first experience with the IPA find the best this beer style has to offer. Cheers!

The post Stumped on How to Pair IPAs? Try These Tips appeared first on CraftBeer.com.

When I was a kid in the Midwest, “beer of choice” meant the cheapest stuff my folks could find at the grocery store. I followed suit until a few years ago. I realized it was costing me more to purchase a six pack of cheap stuff and getting stuck with two or three leftovers versus using a couple of stray craft beers I had in my fridge.

(VISIT: 12 Brewery Music Venues to Visit in the South)

All of this got me thinking, how much does the craft beer I use to boil the bratwurst effect the overall taste? Internet message boards are filled with advice: marinate; grill; never poke holes in the brat! The topic can sometimes incite vicious agruing.

But let’s face it: it’s a brat, and I’m hungry (and curious). Here’s what I found.

My Craft Beer Brat Experiment

I decided to have some friends over for dinner, boil up seven bratwursts separately in different craft beers and then toss the brats on the grill to seal in the flavor.

Here’s what I learned during my unscientific, but absolutely tasty, craft beer brat experiment.

Revolution Brewing | Pils

Revolution Pils is a German-style pilsener with slight bitterness and a slightly above average 5.5% ABV. The beer provided a good baseline for my totally non-scientific testing. It boiled up very quickly compared to the darker beers used and had little to no froth.

Pils added just enough flavor to let you know that the bratwurst had been boiled in beer versus simply tossed on the grill. Much like you would expect, the added flavors were very subtle when compared to the rest of the field.

Pils makes an ideal base for the bratwurst traditionalist who wants their beer brat without any unexpected surprises.

Avery Brewing Company | El Gose

El Gose is a German-style sour ale which features added lime, sea salt and an average 4.5% ABV. Much like the pilsner, El Gose came to a boil extremely quick.

I chose this beer for two reasons. First, I wanted to see if the sour taste would be carried over in to the bratwurst and second, I wanted to see how the lime and salt would affect the flavor. The sour style of El Gose did not seem to impact the bratwurst flavor, nor did the lime. On the other hand, the sea salt made this bratwurst by far the saltiest of the seven we tested.

El Gose could be good for folks who like saltier foods or if the bratwursts are bit bland.

Tallgrass Brewing Company | Raspberry Jam

Raspberry Jam is a crisp wheat beer brewed with raspberries and has a 4.3% ABV. Raspberry Jam is a beer for people who appreciate straightforwardness in their life.

There is nothing subtle about the raspberry flavor in Raspberry Jam. Although the raspberry flavor did not directly transfer over to the bratwurst, it did add a distinct of sweetness to the meat. I would be curious if other fruits would have a similar effect.

Raspberry Jam is a good choice if you are looking to sweeten up your bratwurst and/or make your entire home smell like raspberries.

(READ: 11 Summer Beers for People Who Appreciate the Classics)

Tallgrass Brewing Company | Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie is a soured blonde ale brewed with lime peel and a 4.2% ABV. Initially, my goal was to use seven different craft breweries, but after seeing how Raspberry Jam performed, I was curious if using a sour lime beer would do a better job of driving the flavor into the bratwurst.

As Raspberry Jam (above) shows, Tallgrass doesn’t do subtle beers. Key Lime Pie is very tart beer and this tartness translates into the bratwurst as did the lime. Unlike El Gose, there is no mistaking which bratwurst was boiled up in Key Lime Pie.

This beer could be a good option if you love lime flavor or need a quick dish for your Cinco de Mayo party.

Surly Brewing Company | Coffee Bender

Coffee Bender is a brown ale with added coffee and a 5.1% ABV. The beer tastes delicious, pours dark and has an intense coffee aroma.

Like the two other darker beers tested, Coffee Bender took longer to come to a boil, produced a lot more foam once boiling and stained the bratwurst skin a much darker tone. The Coffee Bender bratwurst smelled like coffee, but oddly enough the taste did not carry over.

Remarkably, this brown ale seemed to smooth over the taste of bratwurst and mellow out its natural spice. Overall, it gave the bratwurst a much fuller taste.

Boulder Beer Company | Shake Chocolate Porter

Shake is an American-style porter brewed with dark chocolate and a 5.9% ABV. The chocolate aroma in this beer was present throughout the entire process, so much so that it left a film on the pan.

Oddly enough, the chocolate taste did not carry over into the bratwurst. Like Coffee Bender, Shake did refine the overall spice of the bratwurst. The beer added an additional level of refinement to the taste.

New Holland Brewing | Dragon’s Milk

Dragon’s Milk is a hefty 11% ABV bourbon barrel stout. A friend once told me, “Dragon’s Milk just makes everything better.” Dragon’s Milk has yet to prove my friend wrong.

Hands down, Dragon’s Milk transferred over the most into the bratwurst. My kitchen and the bratwurst smelled like bourbon and most importantly, the bratwurst itself had a bourbon taste to it but not in a boozy way. My partner’s favorite was the Dragon’s Milk bratwursts — and she’s not even a bourbon drinker.

Like the porter and brown ale, this barrel-aged stout removed the spice from the bratwurst, smoothed out the taste and then subtly added the bourbon flavor.

(COOK WITH BEER: Hundreds of Recipes)

I used seven craft beers in my experiment and wish I had the time (and stomach) to test 15 or 20. At least there’s a lot of summer left!

I was surprised by the different flavors that emerged after boiling then grilling in each of the beers. If you’ve had any epic craft beer brat experiments, we’d love to hear about it.

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The post My Craft Beer Brat Experiment appeared first on CraftBeer.com.