The Toronto Star had an interesting article recently on beer and food pairing.

Pairing beer and food

Much of the information in the article comes from Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver, who is also the author of The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food.

“Beer has a much, much wider range of flavours than wine does,” Oliver says with the conviction and zeal of a country preacher. Lest you mistake him for an anti-wine bigot, Oliver has been on a New York Times wine panel and has travelled in some of the world’s great wine regions.

Oliver was in Toronto hosting a dinner at BeerBistro, a restaurant that specializes in cooking with beer and pairing beer with food.

The article also goes on to discuss how very often, pairing with a beer is better than pairing with a wine.

Traditionally, foie gras is served in restaurants (or if you’re on a gastronomic kick, at home) as an appetizer, accompanied by a sweet wine such as a Sauternes or an icewine. Bad idea if you’re planning on drinking wine with the rest of your meal, according to Oliver. “A wine that powerful and sweet can absolutely ruin your palate for the wines that come with later courses.”

In contrast, a beer with some sweetness, such as a nutbrown ale, can complement the carmelization that comes with pan-searing foie gras, while the carbonation in the beer cuts through the rich, silky texture of the fattened duck liver. It also doesn’t overwhelm the tastebuds for later courses.

Brian Morin, the chef at BeerBistro, offered his thoughts about why more attention is not paid to beer and food pairing.

It’s ignorance. For a long time, people just didn’t understand and appreciate what good beer was, because it wasn’t available. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into a restaurant where there’s a wine list that’s pages and pages long, and the only beer they serve is a Sleeman’s Cream Ale.

Also offered are ten specific beer and food pairing to try as well as some general tips on pairing food with beer, such as: the spicier the food, the hoppier the beer needs to be. They also offer the menu for the beer dinner, which sounds like it was really good. (It also featured Brooklyn beers, and that brewery has been a favorite of mine for a long time.)

(via Cure For What Ales You)