The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Picking the perfect pair
Experts share tips on matching beer with foods
Those with well-developed tastebuds are among the area’s brewers, bartenders and chefs. They pair beers and wines with specific dishes and their expertise can be borrowed by those wishing to pair the increasing variety of available craft beers for their own dining pleasure.
Shelley Kramer, who represents New Belgium Brewing Co. in Northeast Ohio, paired her company’s beers and explained why they worked with the specific foods for a March 10 Beer Dinner at the Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake.
She believes Fat Tire beer has a place on any table because of its versatility.
“Fat Tire is a feat of balance–sweet caramel, toasted malts; bright, crisp, fruity esters; and subtle herbal, earthy hops,” she said. “Harmonize these flavors with caramel or fruit sweetness, and anything with grill marks.”
It’s important to find the harmonies between a food and Fat Tie and match strength with strength, she said.
“The strength is the versatility of Fat Tire. It pairs with almost any meat: poultry, pork, lamb, and lighter fish and also lends itself to pasta and pizza,” she said.
Michael Serdula, chef at Pastina Rustic Italian Kitchen in Mentor, starts with tasting the beer before he decides on the food that it will go with.
“I tend to go about it in the reverse way to most chefs, I think about the sensations the beer gives me,” he said. “And it can be a different approach each time since I factor in the weather outside. If it’s cold and damp I would go about preparing a dish differently than on a warm and breezy summer day.”
Being able to use seasonal crops and different animals also gives him the ability to suggest a beer with a certain dish.
Pastina has toyed with the idea of hosting beer dinners framed around the many craft beers now available, but Serdula and restaurant owner Tina Greci haven’t settled on the best season to do that. But in the meantime Serdula has given lots of thought to menu dishes that pair particularly well with the bar’s beers.
For the salmon chips (a popular appetizer) Serdula suggests a Yum Yum Pale Ale from Floyds Brewing Co.
“This beer has nice fruity/orange notes that feel rounded out enough without overpowering the smoked salmon and cream cheese. This beer hits all the right notes to go with a dish like this with its sweet/ sour/spice flavor profile.”
He’s really pleased with the way Brick and Barrel’s Bitter Chief IPA pairs with Pastina’s Americana pizza which is dressed with tomato sauce, pepperoni, house-made sausage and provolone. “It’s got lots of full-flavored notes without being too overpowering,” he said. “It doesn’t really hit like a hard IPA but is perfect for just lounging around a bar and pounding a couple down. It’s almost like this beer was made with our American in mind.”
Painesville native Karl Spiesman is the owner/ brewer of Brick and Barrel, in the west end of Cleveland’s Flats neighborhood.
Spiesman knows good craft beer as well as wine.
“I start with the food,” said personal chef Lisa Delgado about the way she approaches pairing dishes with beers.
“Since I design the menu for my clients, I know what the food tastes like and how it’s prepared,” she said. The majority of her clients live in Lake and Geauga counties and she’s often called upon to prepare an event for a birthday party or other special occasion.
“We did a nice dinner recently with an explanation of the tasting basics,” she said. Much of her food has a spicy Latin base. “And spicy strong craft beers, even those flavored with jalapeno, goes well with it. “Learn more at www.whatsfordinnerlpd.com.
Brim Kitchen + Brewery wants to position itself as a restaurant and brewery
not afraid to push the boundaries of fresh innovative beers and foods without style guidelines.
It’s been busy with curious diners and drinkers since it opened in February in a brand new two-story building just east of downtown Willoughby.
“We will not be serving the same beers over and over,” said Michael Bartolone, general manager. “We have no beer dinners scheduled yet. Right now we’re just working hard to keep up with the demand.”
The on-premise brewery makes just 10 barrels of beer at a time -- enough for the restaurant but not enough to sell for customers to take home. “We’ve already rotated our four beers,” Bartolone said. The restaurant seats 200 -- a number that will expand once the outdoor spaces open when warm weather arrives.
One was Fe-Blue-Larry, a bluish-purple beer made by brewer Larry W. Hazen in honor of his February 1 birthday. “He dyed his hair blue and used grape skins to make this unique strong ale,” Bartolone said. “It pairs very nicely with the Vietnamese Rice Noodles in the Bowl section of our menu.”
The Stop 43 Stout -named after the old interurban railroad’s Stop 43 on the site where Brim was built-- is a light stout with roasted notes and used by pastry chef Jason Levine in a house-made stout ice cream.
The establishment’s Lupulin Solution, named after the pollen on a hops plant, is used in Brim’s IPA mustard that’s paired with the menu’s sausage trio.
A well rounded IPA that uses mostly cascade hops, it’s also good with the house pretzel.
In order to accommodate the crowds wanting to see what Brim Kitchen + Brewery is all about, they’ve begun taking reservations. “We’ll only reserve half our tables,” said Bartolone. “The other half will be saved for walk-ins.”
Molinari’s in Mentor doesn’t have any beer dinners planned but they’ve been under consideration. Justin St. Julian, general manager and chief bartender has a few regulars who ask him to suggest meals to go with their favorite beers.
“Most of our customers are wine drinkers, but beer goes better with assertive flavors like asparagus and Brussel sprouts that are difficult to pair with wine,” he said.
He suggests Dead Guy Ale, an Oregon craft beer, with those vegetables.
“Beer pairing is intuitive with big rich dark beers going best with rich dishes such as steak, lamb or braised beef. Porters are often a good choice.
“In contrast, St. Peter’s Golden Ale is a light and crisp wheat beer that goes well with lobster and shrimp,” he said.
Molinari’s has a pretty eclectic beer collection with more than 40 beers available by the bottle. There is no system for draft beers at the restaurant.
Although they’ve increased in popularity in recent years, St. Julian said IPAs (India Pale Ale) are best drunk on their own. Only a few pair well with culinary dishes because they are so hoppy and bold.
“Belgian beers are some of the best beers on the earth,” he said.
“They’re mostly made by monks who have been making it for centuries and those beers have complex, deep levels of flavor. The Chimay Grand Reserve goes beautifully with dark chocolate.”
He likes Heineken for drinking with hamburgers and pizza.
“It’s not so filling as many craft beers. Canadian beers like Labatts and Molson are also good to drink while just hanging around or mowing the lawn.”
This time of year, beer is often used in the batter for Lenten fish frys.
“It doesn’t affect the flavor much but makes the fish nice and crunchy,” St. Julian said.