Food and beer

I love food and I love beer, but to be honest, I don't think they enhance each other. If I've had a bunch of beer, I really enjoy a great, hearty meal--but I don't think its a function of combination. In Prague last summer I had the black stuff at U Fleku and then a wonderful dark beer with three dumplings and three meats at a corner place nearby--but they don't actually seem to make each other better--both were spectacular independently, but not made better by being had together.

With wine it's different. White wine with anything garlicky is explosive. (In fact, anything garlicky with ANY wine is huge). White wine with fish also builds dimension upon dimension. Red wine with meats develops powerful dimensions of earth-moving richness.

But great beers are phenomenal in and of themselves. They have hundreds of flavors, while some excellent wines only have a few.

Wines and foods seem to interact in dynamic and powerfuly symbiotic ways, whereas beer and food seem just to get along, at best--but could do just as well taken separately.

Old Australia Stout (or Mackeson Stout) with ginger snaps.

Exactly. That's why we love dgs so much. He's his own person. Why tell to not be hisself?

Maybe Jim will realize he's the worst kind of faux snob, running down what he doesn't like while revealing his ignorance.

As for food and wine being the pinnacle of pairings while beer and food are mere acquaintances (who said that? Douglas?), I say I have had wonderful food/beer pairings. I've also concluded that for the most part chefs just aren't familiar enough with beer to make the effort to make such pairings.

"> (In fact, anything garlicky with ANY wine is huge).

That is a meaningless generalisation.

In principle, it's OK - just keep off the lemon or lime, in that case, or goodbye to your expensive delicate white wine. Just try a draught old lambic next to it, or a gueuze...

Exactly, they can stand on their own. And if you like a combination, go for it. Just leave the "musts" out of the picture. Joris

[...]

As a rule I agree with you, but the exceptions to that rule are significant.

First, BELGIUM. Belgian beers tend to get along with foods in general every bit as synergistically as wine. No surprise there, they were designed to, just as wine was. In contrast, English ales were designed for long evening sessions with little or no food, and they tend to be best taken that way. Other beers are just as you say-- at best they get along, but they rarely synergise.

Second, CHEESE. I don't know how the ancient myth that wine and cheese make a good pairing got started, but it's BS. Wine is blown away by cheese. Beer and cheese, OTOH, tends to be a fantastic, synergistic pairing-- especially super- estery beers, like Belgian abbeys, or Bavarian hefe-weizens.

Third, CHOCOLATE. Nothing pairs better with chocolate than beer, especially roasty beer or intensely bitter beer.

Thanks Joel for coming to my defense after being stepped on by these sophisticated socialites.

It was an innocent question. I simply pointed out a few examples that I remember. And yes the cheese on a ritz with Molson was good. Thats the way we like it in the hood. Applebees was a bad example. We have an independent gathering place that really does have the best burgers.

Next time I post here I will be sure to appear to be more sophisticated and worldly.

Well, sorry I didn't meet your high expectations. I go buy some beer with a name I can't pronounce and try it with some Klaverem Flambe' in scouvnech sauce and let you know how my senses became excited. And I'll post it in French.

Jim

Me, I like a good IPA to go with the hot Indian curry that I love so much.

All right, I'll rewrite it: anytime I have food that includes clove upon clove of garlic, the wine makes it explode stratospheric. A local wine bar used to sell whole giant roasted bulbs of garlic over the counter (illegal in some states?). They knew what they were doing (but I think it was spouses, girlfriends, and other significant others that must have made them go out of business). In any case, wine uniquely sends the garlic vapors to parts unheard of. I hope this is not just another meaningless generalization.

Sounds great! Will do!

Douglas W. Hoyt wrote: : : All right, I'll rewrite it: anytime I have food that includes clove upon : clove of garlic, the wine makes it explode stratospheric. A local wine bar : used to sell whole giant roasted bulbs of garlic over the counter (illegal : in some states?). They knew what they were doing (but I think it was : spouses, girlfriends, and other significant others that must have made them : go out of business). In any case, wine uniquely sends the garlic vapors to : parts unheard of. I hope this is not just another meaningless : generalization. :

So does beer. Roasted elephant garlic is one of the really popular appetizers at Bear Republic's brewpub in Healdsburg, CA. I ate a bunch and washed it down with Racer X. It went to parts unheard of and beyond and lived there for two whole days.

A superb and memorable experience.

and washed it down with Racer X. It went to parts unheard of and beyond and lived there for two whole days. A superb and memorable experience.

Elephant garlic it is then!

That's the wrong direction to go, Jim. State which beer(s) you like, why you like it/them, and don't put anybody else down for his taste in beer.

Tom

Chicken in Cantillon Gueuze Sauce

Ingredients:

3 lb. Boneless chicken breast, cut to bite sized pieces ? lb mushrooms, sliced 2 red bell peppers, cleaned, cut to pieces @ size of the mushroom slices. 1 cup grapeseed oil 2 tbsp butter 1 pinch ground mint leaves.

Marinade:

1 750 ml bottle Cantillon Gueuze 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp soy sauce.

Dredge mixture: ? cup flour

2 tsp sage 2 tsp thyme 2 tsp tarragon 2 tsp .Chimayo. chile molido or similar 1 tsp ground orange peel (all herbs should be finely ground . mix thoroughly)

Marinate chicken overnight.

Saute mushrooms and peppers in butter with mint.

Pour the marinade off of the chicken (reserve in a separate container).

Dredge the chicken in the flour/herb mixture.

Use a large skillet to pan fry the chicken in oil at medium high heat for about 15 minutes. Turn it a few times, the flour and herbs should be allowed to fall off into the oil. Reduce heat to medium low for about 5 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to take the chicken pieces out of the pan into a separate container. (If you.re planning to serve this plated you.ll need to keep the chicken warm for about ? hour.)

The oil and flour and herbs left behind in the pan form the basis for the sauce. Keep the heat low and gradually add the reserved marinade, stirring constantly to keep the sauce smooth. Then gradually raise the heat until you get a slow, even boil going and allow the sauce to reduce, add the saut?ed mushrooms and peppers.

Serve either plated with fresh fruit and cheese (mangoes and brie go really well with this) or family style. Best beer accompaniment is a Flemish sour brown (Oud Bruin) or sour red for a .harmonious. pairing or you can do a .contrasty. pairing using a lager.

Pasted from a word doc -- when you see ? below it's actually 1/2.

Bill Benzel wrote: : Chicken in Cantillon Gueuze Sauce : : : : : Ingredients: : 3 lb. Boneless chicken breast, cut to bite sized pieces : ? lb mushrooms, sliced (1/2 lb.) : 2 red bell peppers, cleaned, cut to pieces @ size of the mushroom : slices. : 1 cup grapeseed oil : 2 tbsp butter : 1 pinch ground mint leaves. : : Marinade: : 1 750 ml bottle Cantillon Gueuze : 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar : 1 tbsp soy sauce. : : Dredge mixture: : ? cup flour (1/2 cup) : 2 tsp sage : 2 tsp thyme : 2 tsp tarragon : 2 tsp .Chimayo. chile molido or similar : 1 tsp ground orange peel : (all herbs should be finely ground . mix thoroughly) : : : Marinate chicken overnight. : : Saute mushrooms and peppers in butter with mint. : : Pour the marinade off of the chicken (reserve in a separate container). : : Dredge the chicken in the flour/herb mixture. : : Use a large skillet to pan fry the chicken in oil at medium high heat : for about 15 minutes. Turn it a few times, the flour and herbs should : be allowed to fall off into the oil. Reduce heat to medium low for : about 5 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to take the chicken pieces out : of the pan into a separate container. (If you.re planning to serve this : plated you.ll need to keep the chicken warm for about ? hour.) : : The oil and flour and herbs left behind in the pan form the basis for : the sauce. Keep the heat low and gradually add the reserved marinade, : stirring constantly to keep the sauce smooth. Then gradually raise the : heat until you get a slow, even boil going and allow the sauce to : reduce, add the saut?ed mushrooms and peppers. : : Serve either plated with fresh fruit and cheese (mangoes and brie go : really well with this) or family style. Best beer accompaniment is a : Flemish sour brown (Oud Bruin) or sour red for a .harmonious. pairing or : you can do a .contrasty. pairing using a lager. : :

A much simpler recipe.

Marinate chicken parts in either Orange or apple juice for 24 hours at least. (in the fridge) Boil in same juice for 20 mins. Cook as usual. OR, 7 hours on the smoker grill will make it 34 times better.

Left overs will lose 90% of the marinated flavor. Eat directly. Don't knock it till you try it.

You should feel honored I even shared this with you. Oh yeh,,, Who the hell am I? But seriously, it's good.

Jim

Sublime.

But I just can't help thinking (in a devestatingly cruel one-upmanship Usenet sort of way) that it might be better with duck.

Douglas W. Hoyt wrote: :>>>>> Chicken in Cantillon Gueuze Sauce : : Sublime. : : : But I just can't help thinking (in a devestatingly cruel one-upmanship : Usenet sort of way) that it might be better with duck. : :

It'd be excellent with duck too. You could also vary with a Kriek or Framboise -- duck would probably carry the residual fruit flavors better than chicken.

I wrote it up a couple of years ago as a handout when I brought a batch to a pot-luck & Lambic tasting. It's meant as a starting point. Experimentation and alteration encouraged.

Dude. You came on like a beersnob-wannabe. Looking down your nose at Bud & Coors drinkers while extolling the virtues of Molson Ice doesn't do a lot for your cred. Same thing with using Applebee's as an example of a place for burgers & beer.

If your post was more along the lines of "I'm just starting out with combining food and beer," you just might have gotten a different reaction, but there are no guarantees - kinda like real life.

It wasn't the question, it was the attitude. You can't wander into a forum like this and not expect that people are total newbies on good beer and related things.

Find a better hood.

Lots of places do. Doesn't help much since you're not specific about geography. If you're stuck in some awful beer desert in the south- eastern USA, your choices are likely to be more limited than if you're in some populated area near a major city, especially in the norheast and wesetern USA.

Don't "appear" anything. Ask questions instead of pretending to know all the answers. Unless, of course, you really do know all the answers. Then you can expect a lot of questions.

You are not!

Keep working on the English first. Hint: "Guinness."

Party on, dude.

Not so much to my taste - I like more savory flavors in my bird, but I know folks like this kind of fruit/meat thing too. Also, I like beer to be involved. So: beer-butt chicken. I was using cans of Tecate lager for a while; the beer's nothing special, but with the spices and garlic, it's fine for beer-butt chicken, and then I can re-use the cans with other things. Most recently, the "other thing" was an older bottle Pete's Pub Lager that I'd kept too long in the cellar, but was fine for beer-butt chicken. I wonder how it would be with SN Bigfoot?