Second in a series on beer by Joe Wiebe, author of Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries
Unlike wine, beer has long been seen as peripheral to fine food, not something you would expect to drink at a fancy restaurant. Rather, beer is something pulled out of a cooler of ice at a backyard barbecue or drunk from a plastic cup at a hockey game or baseball game.
That’s fine if the beer itself is a bland, mass-produced lager with little or no flavour. But as the craft-beer movement has exploded over the past few decades, with more and more microbreweries producing flavourful, colourful beers, chefs have taken notice — both professionals at restaurants and amateurs at home love exploring beer pairings with a variety of foods, with exciting and delicious results.
I went to Belgium a few years ago as part of a tour exploring its famous beer scene. We would start off our days with an activity such as a hike or bike ride, then visit breweries in the afternoon, and finish off with a meal at a fine restaurant.
It was an incredible experience, and one of the things that really caught my attention was how beer was completely integrated into the fine-dining experience there. Restaurant after restaurant we visited offered beer pairings with their dishes. Their beer lists were just as extensive and prominently displayed as their wine lists, and the menus often bragged about using beer as an ingredient.
Here in British Columbia, we are starting to see more and more quality craft-beer menus, including special bottles put away in cellars similar to wine, showcased at fine restaurants.
Some places even hire cicerones (certified beer experts as sommeliers are for wine) to curate their beer lists. Beer-paired dinners are very common now, too, with courses paired with different beers.
Generally speaking, beer is considered less formal than wine, and that holds true with beer and food pairing, too: The rules are a lot less strict than they are with wine. In fact, many chefs say that pairing food with beer is much easier.
Unlike wine, where the primary considerations are whether it’s a red or a white, there’s huge variety in the world of beer, from very light lagers and golden ales to dark porters and stouts, and every colour in between, each with their own complex balance of roasted or toasted grains, caramelization or even coffee or chocolate-like flavours.
Then there are hoppy IPAs with bitterness and tropical flavours, hazy IPAs with a big burst of citrus or Belgian saisons, which often feature pepper or spices and a dry, champagne-like finish. German wheat beers and Belgian wits present banana or clove flavours, and don’t forget sour beers, which offer acidity and tartness. There are even beers with salty or briny characteristics.
As a start to exploring beer and food pairing on your own, consider the three Cs: Complement, Cut and Contrast. First of all, you might look for comparable flavours, perhaps citrusy hops that complement lemon or orange in a dish; or a Belgian Wit, which is brewed with coriander, alongside a dish that features that kind of spice; or the roasted malts in a dark ale or porter paired with roasted meats or even a chocolate dessert.
A crisp pilsner or kolsch will cut through fatty dishes and cleanse the palate; alternatively, a hoppy IPA can stand up to the robust flavours in a greasy cheeseburger. Finally, try contrasting a “missing” flavour in food with a beer — for example, the roasted, chocolatey bitterness of a stout contrasted with the briny sweetness of oysters.
Victoria Beer Week, which runs March 6-14, has always recognized the importance of matching food with beer at our events. All the main events at the Victoria Public Market include food provided by the market vendors to go along with the beers being poured, and some events elevate food even more.
Taco Tuesday, for instance, is an opportunity to sample a range of beers alongside delicious tacos made by a variety of vendors. At Beer, Pizza and Gelato, the chef at Pizzeria Prima Strada pairs four beers with four different pizzas, often using the beer in the recipe itself, and then closes the evening with a beer and gelato pairing.
A new event this year is Publican’s Picks, a special Sunday-evening event at Spinnakers that will showcase a tasting menu of different bites paired with a range of beers selected by the brewpub’s longtime publican, Paul Hadfield.
Swans will once again host the Brewmasters Brunch, a fun event that gives you a chance to sit next to a B.C. brewmaster while enjoying a fantastic, hearty brunch.
The Street Eats Brewery Tour is a mobile supper with stops at three breweries with a food truck parked at each one.
And for those who want to learn even more, Ile Sauvage Brewing will host a Beer and Food Pairing class as part of our Beer School program. For more information about all these events, go to victoriabeerweek.com.
Joe Wiebe is the beer director for the Victoria Beer Society.
The series
Last week: Lager is no longer the boring beer your dad drank
