Beer & Food

1. Beer & Food Celebrating the Seasons & Beer Styles & Food Pairing

2. When is your birthday? • March – May? • June – August? • September – November? • December – February?

3. When is your birthday? • March – May: Spring • June – August: Summer • September – November: Fall • December – February: Winter

4. Read Two Great Books! • A great book on this topic is Stephen Beaumont’s A Taste for Beer • Another is Cooking with Beer, by Lucy Saunders • Not only do both books cover these topics in detail, the books also contains wonderful recipes

5. Beaumont’s 5 Steps • Try everything your can get your hands on • When traveling, look for local beer fare • Think about your beer • Involve your friends • Get informed and stay informed

6. To Drink or To Cook? • Don’t go “overboard” with either decision • Beer can add distinction to certain dishes • Other dishes have no need for beer in the recipe, but a beer on the side might be great • When added as an ingredient in a recipe, many sources suggest using the same beer as the beverage choice – but it’s not a rule! • Think about pasta with red sauce…

7. Cooking with Beer • Hoppy beers add bitterness (lemon juice or vinegar) • Malty beers adds sweetness (high sugar root veggies – onion, carrots, shallots) • Yeasty beers add bite & tenderizing enzymes (baked goods and batters)

8. Cooking with Beer • Toasty (roasted grain) or smoky beers add the same roasted bitterness as in the taste (some sauces, marinades, or to deglaze) • Fruity flavors (Lambic styles, barley wines) can work to plump dried fruits with complementary flavors, to poach fish or to barbecue poultry

9. Three “C’s” of Pairing • Cut: acidity and bitterness of hops often cut through rich flavors (buttery, cheesy) • Complement: sweet, malty flavor of some styles can complement sweet dishes (think honey) or caramelized onions • Contrast: dark, roasted character will contrast with the briny or salty flavors; refreshing styles contrast with spicy foods

10. The Seasons of Beer • So Cal seems to lack seasonality, but only from a weather perspective • Seasons are also about attitudes, feelings and memories • What do you think of when you hear the word Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter?

11. Spring • The Season of Bock • Maibock - “the bock of May” • Bocks pair well with mildly pungent cheese, duck, game, • Also Bitters: Extra Special Bitter (ESB), India Pale Ale (IPA), Extra Pale Ale (EPA) • Bitters with salmon, meaty fish, red meat, pork, roasted poultry, game, BBQ

12. Summer • “Lawn Mower” Beers – “Patio” Beers • Light, crisp, clean and refreshing • Wheat beers (Belgian Witbier, German weisse or weizen, hefeweizen) • Mild and light ales, some Belgian Trappist ales • Light lagers, “light” beers, some Vienna-style lager

13. Autumn • The Bountiful Harvest – lots to choose from • Marzen (brewed in March) for Oktoberfest, various bocks and doppelbocks • Brown ales, pale ales, strong bitters, India pale ales, red ales, Scotch ale, Belgian reds, German-style altbier, dunkelweizen

14. Winter • The Winter Warmers – Fireside Beers • Think “Filling & Satisfying” • Winter bock styles, strong lagers • Stouts, porter, old ale, barley wine, some Belgian ales • Also, many breweries produce specialty seasonal beers • Typically thick, rich, malty and higher alcohol content

15. The Wine Analogy • Red = Ale / White = Lager • Just like the wine “rule” – it’s made to be broken – more loopholes than the tax code • Ale: is the beer full or light bodied? • Lager: is the beer full or light bodied? • This method is a great place to start, then ponder the “mental season” and the “3 Cs”

16. Food & the “3 Cs”

17. Food & the “3 Cs”

18. Food & the “3 Cs”