Pairing food and beer, plus upcoming beer dinners
Pairing food and beer is not a new concept; Hugh Sisson at Heavy Seas Beer has been doing beer dinners for almost fifteen years.
But it's still a tricky undertaking, even for experienced craft beer drinkers. Though Kevin Berry has been a home brewer for six years, pairings still elude him.
So when DuClaw Brewing Company hosted its first beer breakfast in December, the Glen Burnie engineer went for tips.
He and others have more suggestions on successful pairings in today's Taste section. Here's an excerpt:
In coming up with a pairing, [DuClaw president Dave] Benfield suggests trying flavors that play off each other rather than share a common flavor. If you pair a hoppy beer with a dessert, the sweetness might be canceled out.
The DuClaw chefs also found that some pairings that might have worked — steak with the grapefruity Venom Pale Ale — failed because the beer had too much bite. Instead, his chefs tried it with the maltier flavor of their Devil's Milk and found it to be a success.
"It gave the steak body, where with Venom it felt thin and sharp," Benfield said.
The rest of the story is here.
Below are upcoming food and beer pairing events in Maryland:
Upcoming food-and-beer pairing events:
March 2: Six course beer dinner at Brewer’s Alley, Frederick by Maker’s Mark Bourbon Beer. $55. Call 301-631-0089 for reservations. The menu is at here.
March 7: Flying Dog Brewery hosts a sold-out a beer dinner at Woodberry Kitchen, 2010 Clipper Park Road. Cost? $95 per person.
March 8:Four-course, Mardi Gras Beer Dinner at Dogfish Head Alehouse, Gaithersburg. $60. Call 301-963-4847 for reservations.
March 10: Fordham Brewing Company hosts a five-course beer dinner at Rams Head Tavern, 33 W. St., Annapolis. $45. Call 410-268-4545 for reservations.
March 26: Heavy Seas Beer will host its real ale and BBQ festival at its brewery, 4615 Hollins Ferry Road, Suite B. $46 per person. Call 410-247-7822 for more information, or visit the brewery's website.
Photo: Flying Dog's Garde Dog paired with Snow Hill oysters, raw and cooked, and Snake Oil hot sauce for a beer dinner at Woodberry Kitchen (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
I like to pair my beer with a pizza, and maybe a basketball game. For $95 per person, I'll teach you my secrets.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 2, 2011 12:00 PM
I'd appreciate it if one of these breweries would do a vegetarian beer dinner. If properly done it would be successful.
Posted by: Thom | March 4, 2011 11:46 AM
Blue Grass Tavern in Federal Hill is hosting a Troeg's beer dinner this Wednesday, March 9 at 6:30.
Posted by: khopp | March 6, 2011 11:06 PM