Food with the Perfect PintIt's amazing that, although more Canadians drink beer than wine and spirits combined, (83 percent in volume and 51 percent in dollars) its flavours and aromas have been mainly unappreciated -- until now. Our tastes are changing due to a wider range of beer styles becoming available. And this is mainly due to burgeoning microbreweries and hi-end restaurants featuring a wide selection of imported beers. My initial foray into beer and food pairings occurred during a dinner focusing on Belgian beers at Milestones Yaletown location, with Bill White, one of Canada's leading brewmasters, presiding. Not much of a beer drinker myself (with the exception of a few cool Coronas down Mexico way) I was wondering how to politely ask for wine with my meal. In Bill's perfect world, Canadians will ask for the beer menu when they order a meal, and every beer will be served in its appropriate glass, and each beer properly paired with each course. Surprise! With our first course of honey and orange glazed baby back ribs (expertly prepared by exec chef Jim Romer), my negative attitude of beer with food pairings began to fade away with each sip of a cool, crispy Stella Artois. And served in its branded chalice, but we'll get to the importance of glassware later. Bill explains that Stella is the perfect "entry" beer and a well-known example of the international pilsner style that is lighter in colour and malt flavour and less hopped. Pilsner beers are perfect with any kind of hot and spicy food because the sweetness of the malt blends into the dish and cools fiery foods while, in between bites, refreshes and resets your taste buds. Next up, Gulf prawns poached in Hoegaarden and lobster broth and paired with Hoegaarden -- a citrusy wheat beer with a hint of coriander. Hoegaarden is very light-bodied and spritzy and doesn't at all intimidate the shellfish, but the hops and acidity will also provide enough cutting power to match an oily fish such as salmon. By the third course it became apparent that pairing food with beer wasn't rocket science: take a few characteristics of the food and find a few of the same in the beer. Leffe Blonde, "Belgian Abbey Beer", with Thai-spiced pork tenderloin and marinated in Leffe was another pleasant surprise. Leffe Blond combines malt characteristics with spice and cider flavours and hints of caramel, perfect with any stronger flavoured meats. But when it came to dessert, dubious looks from many of the diners. Until the chocolate hedgehogs made a few rounds paired with Bellevue Kriek, a luscious amber coloured beer with predominant cherry flavour. It was like eating Black Forest cake: the beer seamlessly accompanied the chocolate. Alone, as a palate cleanser, it could even replace sorbet. Kriek is Flemish for "cherry" and the sour Schaarbbek cherry of Brussels is added to a blend of lambic beers, usually when the fruit has dried on the tree thus concentrating the sugars. The yeast in the beer consumes the fruit, baring the pits that begin to add nutty and bitter flavours to the beer. Lambic beers -- the world's oldest beer style, undergo "spontaneous fermentation" by wild yeast and bacteria, just as they did hundreds of years ago, and the best known lambics are those to which fruit is added, encouraging another fermentation that adds delicious and tart flavours to the sour lambic. What wine can stand up to this kind of seduction? Not a lot of wine is being poured at Chambar tonight, although the place is packed and everyone is vying for a seat at the bar: The Belgians have indeed landed at Vancouver's trendy new restaurant, both with food and beverage. And with bartender David Fesq presiding over "do it yourself" beer and food pairings, the pumps are hopping, or is it that the hops are pumping? All along the 20 feet of custom made lacquered walnut bar, amongst standing room only, one red wine and a few martinis are sighted -- everyone else is having cuisine a la biere. Walking into Chambar is almost like going to a friend's party: Warm and energetic with a brick wall and fireplace on one side juxtaposed with curved walls and modern art on the other and clever lighting throughout. We sidle up to the bar and Fesq suggests a beer to start that's "good for chatting and a perfect segue into dinner": La Binchoise, a pale ale with an aroma of herbal hops, coriander and a hint lemon. Fruity at first then it finishes with a dry bitterness -- my first foray into layered and complex tastes. Bring them on! Fesq suggests roast halibut topped with plum jam and Chimay beer emulsion paired with Chimay Red (the most famous of Trappist beers, originally made by Trappist monks) that proves remarkably elegant with the fruity sauce. Belgian chef and owner Niko Schuermans wraps halibut in prosciutto and bakes with herbs and homemade plum jam; the Chimay is added at the last moment, just enough to heat so the flavour runs through the jam. Also on the menu is an unctuous pork chomp with a Stoemp mash and kriek (cherry) compote. Thicker than the Chimay emulsion, it actually has kriek cheeries in it and again, the kriek beer is added at the end. Chimay Red is rich and creamy with a fruity, musty smell and a slightly bitter aftertaste, not unlike our next glass of Duvel, "deep and rich, yet delicate and crisp" that works equally well with fruit flavours. And for the last few bites to finish, the Duchesse de Bourgogne, a Flanders red ale and one that cries out to be matched with food. The aroma is reminiscent of aged balsamic vinegar, and by itself, so is the predominant taste. But with food, it becomes fruity and tangy as the sweetness of the plum sauce cuts the vinegar in the beer, elevating each bite and sip to new heights…how could beer be so romantic? Chef and owner Jeff Van Geest at Aurora Bistro has different approaches with beer. Steamed with mussels, the flavour is forefront; braised with short ribs, the flavours blend and may not taste like beer but it's an amalgamation and beer becomes an ingredient. His beer of choice is Raven Cream Ale for its full flavour and close neighbour -- R&B brewers are just a few blocks away. Van Geest also adds sweetness to the bitter -- molasses and maple syrup balances bitter-sweet. Try the short ribs with pale ale and it gives the dish an added complexity, the sweetness hits the palate first, then a pleasant wave of bitter. Although Van Geest agrees that "foodies" are now pairing beer with food, it's mainly with beermakers dinners -- he feels that [we] are a long way from drinking beer with every meal. Not so for Sean Heather. One of the reasons he opened the Irish Heather was
"to get a decent pint." Most of his customers are loyal to Guinness
and usually drink nothing but. Guinness shows up on the menu at Joe Fortes in a delicious bowl of steamed clams. "It's a bit tricky to cook with to the beer will stand out " says Chef Scott Pratico. He explains that the flavour concentrates as it cooks, but with a poaching liquid the stout is barely discernible. Until you pair it with a dark ale, then you know beer is in the broth. He also uses beer in fish batter; any beer on tap will do as it acts as a leavening agent more than imparting flavour. But it will be light and crispy, thanks to the yeast in the beer. The Yaletown Brewing Company is Yaletown's own neighbourhood pub and brewpub, serving seven of their own home brews, including a summery Hefeweizen wheat beer with a distinct aroma of bananas. Each lager and ale is distinct: And all of them are fresh -- the beer is tapped right after fermentation, within a week to 10 days. Because it doesn't have a shelf life, chef Adrian MacClaren likens it to baking bread: "Once it's ready, it is stable for a while but the faster consumed, the better." He walks me through a few pairings: their Harbour Light lager, similar to Miller or Corona, is crispy and slightly hoppy, good with fish and chips or salad. The Downtown Brown is smooth and malty and reminiscent of roasted nuts and also cries out coffee flavours and aroma, and MacClaren uses this dark brown ale to braise brisket. Cooked too long, the bitterness will prevail so he cuts it with veal stock. Once braised, he then adds chicken stock and the sauce is reduced by half. Although some might like the bitter taste, MacClaren adds a little sugar at the end. Victoria"Siddhartha" has been created exclusively for Temple Restaurant by Phillips brewing company, also in Victoria. It is a Belgian style, triple fermented blond ale infused with Yarrow root, Juniper and lemon peel and marries well with their Mussels -- further enhancing the Hoegaarden flavour in the broth. The beer itself is served from a champagne bottle ( the cork holds up well under the pressure) and poured into "old school" champagne cocktail glasses. General manager Leslie Vaughn says "it is a bit of a hard sell but people are tending toward beer and food pairings so we're optimistic about the future…it's a great option instead of wine." Chef Kevin Gomes hadn't cooked with beer before coming to Canoe and at first
it was "hit and miss". He found some difficulty because "softer
flavours are needed to balance the bitter, you aren't looking for 100
percent beer flavours." Judging from his braised meats, namely brisket,
short ribs and lamb shank, Gomes has mastered the recipes. Spinnaker's Brewpub was fashioned after the English pub: historically it was a place to eat, and if you could find a good pint, all the better. When it first opened 20 years ago, the kitchen and bar were treated equally from a design perspective and the open kitchen garnered a relationship between cooks and patrons; owner Paul Hadfield attributes these reasons for his high volume (40 percent gross sales) of food sales. Spinnaker's menu is based on what is grown locally and just as the food changes seasonally, so does the beer. For example, Pumpkin Porter was made last Autumn by adding roasted pumpkins to the brew along with a few spices such as cloves, allspice and cinnamon. (Porter is named after London's hardworking porters who drank copious amounts of this lighter-bodied companion to stout) But out of all the many styles, Paul Hadfield's favourite, and those of his staff, is their India Pale Ale, "perfect early morning drink when I'm out fishing on the salt chuck" or perhaps later in the day, perfectly paired with oysters. And his favourite recipe: shuck oysters, splash with IPA malt vinegar and wash down with a pint of IPA. Perfection in simplicity. Hadfield's "eureka came four years ago…we were too busy and outgrowing our kitchen, but by increasing our focus on local food meant less labour, for Hadfield, this meant "high volume, low impact." And they told the local growers: "If you grow it, we'll buy all of it." Any leftovers, such as asparagus, gets pickled with their vinegar brews to use year round. His "eureka" also applied to the beer -- the farmer drops by in the morning with his raspberries and they'll be fermenting in Spinnaker's vats that afternoon. And talk about full circle: all the hamburgers come from island cattle that were fed on Spinnaker's spent grains. It's hard to exit Spinnaker's without stopping at their display case: The chocolate truffles with stout can't be overlooked. Hadfield likes to "wow" his customers by first pairing nut brown ale with chocolate. Then the stout. Then eat a dark chocolate truffle, and the next drink of stout tastes like the nut brown ale. It's alchemy. Think of beer as an added ingredient to your meal. After all, it is a food. Look for blends between the flavours of the food and the flavours of the beer. And think about location and time of year -- where and when the beer is brewed. For example, in Asia, lighter foods —think lemongrass and chillies— go with a light lager whereas heavier "stick to your ribs" foods such as stews and pies and cold damp days are perfect matches for Belgian and English brews. Bill White believes there's a beer for every moment and occasion. I'm not sure that we'll ever get to that level, but I have now joined the ranks of beer aficionado: beer and food go together like champagne and oysters, stinky cheese and port, ice wine and chocolate mousse …well, it may not replace wine but beer is a great alternative. SIDEBARS AT HOME
|