BEER & FOOD: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN?

Gone are the days when beer only went hand-in-hand with barbecues and footy shorts.

Nowadays, the amber fluid has a more sophisticated image. Aussie blokes – and sheilas – are just as likely to sip on a boutique, international beer as, say, a lower-end, local brew.

Beer lovers are seeking to sample more varieties, from diverse places, and to even be able to – like wine – match their fave beverage with food.

Yes, finally, beer has found its rightful place on the dining table!

Providing beer menu lists at your venue – which match beer products with particular dishes – could prove a boon for business. So, why not join the food-beer movement, like others have?

Premium beverage company Foster’s has recruited Sydney chef and restaurateur Peter Evans, of Hugo’s, to promote food-matching with Belgian beers in its portfolio.

Fellow company Lion Nathan also established a nationwide James Squire Chef’s Match contest, which encouraged chief cooks from each state to go head-to-head in pairing their recipes with Aussie craft beers.

And, matching beer with food is actually quite the art. The first step often involves smelling the drink’s aroma and just concentrating on the flavours. Next, beer lovers can take a sip, together with a small amount of food, breathing in a little air through the alcohol. From there, they can judge whether the flavours highlight, sharpen, disagree with or even overpower the fare.

Combining different flavours and textures and, of course, applying one’s own personal taste can also contribute to the fun. For example, highly carbonated and bitter brews can help cleanse the palate and “cut through” strongly-flavoured dishes.

Sydney-based Kirrily Waldhornis

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an expert at matching beer with culinary dishes. Last year, she was a guest judge and speaker at the Great British Beer Festival.

On her site, Waldhorn lists various “made in heaven” food/beer matches, including an Australian-style pale ale with a scampi salad appetiser and a hoppy Czech Pilsener with a main course of spicy Moroccan marinated lamb and couscous. Another tempting idea is a glass of chocolate stout with a mud cake dessert. Yum!

As meal and beer pairing becoming increasingly popular, there are more and more foodservice operators taking advantage from newly emerged trend. For example a Spring Feast at The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst, NSW is coming in September. Here, customers can ring in the start of the season with a four-course meal and eight spring-inspired beers.

Also in September, a tasters’ club, dubbed The Beer Experience, is being held at the Penrith Panthers club. Here, diners will get to feast on a six-course degustation, expertly matched with beers to bring out their true flavours. The guests will also learn a little of the history of beer and just how to marry dishes with their fave beverage. Food for thought, indeed.

Matching beer with food? We’ll drink to that!

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