Let’s hope that the definition of an American gourmet seven-course meal doesn’t become a six-pack and a cheeseburger.
Meals can be an adventure. The food and beer you enjoy are a reflection of the people who made them and those who had a hand in producing, growing or harvesting the ingredients. And as well, meals can be a reflection of your own adventurous spirit.
Since prehistoric times, people have been enjoying beer with food in more ways than one. Preparing food with beer (both while drinking it and using it in the recipe) is one more versatile way to enjoy your homebrew.
We are at the beginning of an American adventure—appreciating our own unique heritage of fine food and beer. I predict that years from now we will recall how American homebrewers and beer enthusiasts popularized the practice of enhancing food with beer. Food cooked with beer and food accompanied by beer are an adventure worth discovering.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT COOKING WITH BEER
Essentially beer can be substituted for liquid in most recipes, in varying proportions. The finesse is using beer to enhance the flavor of the dish, not to take center stage. In this regard and considering that foods have varying degrees of flavor character and strength, it is all too obvious that the choice of beer style used in cooking is an important one. The right beer wonderfully contributes to the flavor of the food being prepared. Here are some general guidelines:
lighter foods—light beers
more robust foods—dark beers
sweet foods—maltier, stronger beers
fruity foods—mildly bittered fruity ales
sour foods and sauces—acidic beers
smoky foods—smoky beers.
The following section on food types is excerpted from “Cooking with the Brewgal Gourmet,” by Candy Schermerhorn, in the book Brew Free or Die. Candy is a culinary consultant and instructor at Kitchen Classics, Phoenix, Arizona. She is a regular food columnist for zymurgy magazine and author of the highly acclaimed book The Great American Beer Cookbook, Brewers Publications, 1993.
In Breads…
“The best reason to add beer to your bread recipe is that the yeast, malt and hops of beer impart a wonderful, full flavor and aroma. The final product is indescribable, and should be experienced at least once in a lifetime!”
In Soups…
“Soup recipes can be modified to include beer, in several different ways. Beer can be used to make broth or stock—just add a few cups of beer to the water that bones or vegetables will be simmered in. Alternatively, beer can replace part of the stock called for in a recipe. A basic guideline of two cups of broth to one cup of beer is a good starting point.”
On Meats…
“No matter how you cook meat, you can add beer to it.
“Because beer is acidic, it works as a natural tenderizer on meat. This makes it perfect for marinades. Beer-based sauces and braising liquids can also enhance the flavor of meats.”
On Poultry…
“Because of the ‘modern’ methods employed in raising most commercial poultry, much of it lacks depth of flavor. By adding beer to basting sauces, marinades and stuffings, you will heighten the final flavor and expand your recipe repertoire.”
On Seafood…
“Fish and shellfish can benefit greatly from the addition of beer, but use a subtle touch; fish is easily overwhelmed by powerful flavors. Marinating, steaming, poaching and boiling are wonderful ways to incorporate beer into your seafood cooking.”
On Desserts…
“When it comes to combining beer and desserts, the sky is the limit. When substituting beer in a dessert recipe, it is important to remember that texture will play a big role in the amount of beer you can substitute. When a recipe calls for water, it is easy. You can substitute all or a part of the water with beer. When a recipe calls for fruit juice, substitute two-thirds of the amount with beer and the remaining one-third with frozen, undiluted fruit juice concentrate.
“Dairy products are used to add tenderness and flavor and often are used as a form of leavening. It is important to know the function of each dairy product in a recipe before substituting beer in its place. As an example, you may substitute one cup of milk with ¾ cup beer mixed with ½ cup powdered milk.
“Some examples of desserts made with beer: Imperial stout chocolate sour cream cake, chocolate doppelbock mousse, homemade kriek (cherry beer) and cherry ice cream, strawberries with a topping of honey mead blended with honey and sour cream.”
For a more comprehensive treatment of cooking with beer, Candy Schermerhorn’s The Great American Beer Cookbook (Brewers Publications, 1993) is an indispensable adventure in cooking and beer enjoyment.
CHOOSING BEER TYPES TO ACCOMPANY A MEAL
Here are a few simple guidelines that can be considered when designing a meal.
The beginning of a meal sets the mood. Choosing a lively, bubbly and unusual beer greets the palate and inspires conversation. Belgian-style fruit beers such as peach (Pêche), cherry (Kriek) or raspberry (Framboise) beer or even a champagnelike Berliner Weiss (a sour wheat beer) are great starters.
Salads or seafood cocktails are well matched with winelike light sour beers such as Belgian lambic gueuze.
If you serve steamers, mussels or oysters, dry stout is an excellent accompaniment. Shellfish, fish and poultry main courses go well with light yet hoppy German Pilseners or Dortmunder styles. Their pleasant bitterness and delicate hop character refresh the palate.
Beef dishes go well with heartier brews such as robust Belgian Trappist ales and English pale ales.
Between the main course and dessert, a small glass of a maltier brew such as bock, Oktoberfest or English brown ale makes you feel like you’re at a carnival and the cotton candy is just around the corner.
Some beers go exceedingly well with dessert; pie, fruit, ice cream, sherbet, torte and cakes. One of my favorites is a Belgian-style Grand Cru Reserve, a light-colored, alcoholic beer with the refreshing palate-cleansing zestiness of hops, coriander and orange curaçao. Dry stouts and porters can complement very sweet desserts well.
After-dinner drinks? Bring out the cognac glasses, but hold the cognac. How about a malt “liqueur” such as sweet stout, a barley-wine-style ale, a sweet doppelbock or a rare honey mead?
Here’s a banquet that is a proven success. Beers are chosen and combined with recipes provided by Candy Schermerhorn.
Reception: Hoppy, dry, appetite-arousing pale ale (serving—12 ounces).
Appetizer: Italian Seasonal Fruit Salad with figs marinated in hard cider and/or Bavarian-style Weizen (wheat) beer. Serve with a dollop of sauce made from cream cheese, sour cream, cinnamon and beer. Top with toasted almonds. Serve with a fruity and acidic Belgian-style cherry beer (serving—4 ounces).
Soup: Brie and Norwegian Shrimp Soup prepared with American light lager. Serve with a lightly to medium-hopped American-style wheat beer (serving—6 ounces).
Salad: Green Salad garnished with fresh Kent Golding hops (on the side) with a “vinaigrette” dressing of oil, sour raspberry beer, crushed raspberries and herbs. Serve with a medium-body, deep amber to brown, malty-sweet, balanced bittered German-style Munich Dunkel lager (serving—4 ounces).
Dinner: Roasted Turkey Breast (this is marinated with a light hoppy Pilsener beer, olive oil, herbs, spices, then wrapped with corn husks and roasted), with a gravy made from smoke-flavored beer (German Rauchbier style). Serve in a pastry on a bed of beer pilaf (use Munich Helles-style lager) accompanied by carrots glazed in English-style brown ale. Serve with Märzen/Oktoberfest; the rich toasted malt flavor and German hop flavor and bitterness complement the roasted and smoky flavors in the food (serving—6 ounces).
Dessert: Crème Brûlée made with a combination of malt extract and Lyles Golden syrup as bottom sauce. Serve with a dark, rich American-style porter (serving—4 ounces).
Finish: Chocolate Truffles made with stout. Served with Belgian-style ale flavored with apricots, coriander or peaches (serving—4 ounces).
Encore: Coffee and after-dinner drink: homemade vintage sweet prickly pear cactus fruit honey mead (serving—2 ounces).