If you think beer is for guzzling with greasy pizza and cheap burgers, think again.
Much in the way wine can be paired with the perfect dish, lovers of craft beer are discovering how to match their favourite ale with a classy meal.
From hoppy, to bitter and even a bit roasty, craft beers have their own unique flavours and textures which can come alive when consumed with the right delicacy.
And if you thought wine descriptions like ‘grassy’ and ‘peachy’ were a bit imaginative then you’ll delight in beer characterisations of ‘horse blanket’ and ‘barnyard’.
From Moffat Beach to Noosa, the Sunshine Coast has 14 local craft breweries that have gained a following for their innovative flavours.
Like this story? Get more just like it direct to your inbox by subscribing to our free daily news feed: Go to SUBSCRIBE at top of this article to register
Brouhaha’s award-winning owner Matt Jancauskas said pairing beer with food was becoming as refined an art as matching wines.
“Beer has a wide variety of styles and flavours, which makes it a great companion to food,” he said.
“And, we believe, a lot more fun than it’s grapey counterpart.”
Brouhaha, which opened in Maleny in 2016, offers sit-down meals on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays where head chef Phil Kerkow makes the most of local produce to complement the brewery’s tipples.
He sources Woombye Cheese Company triple cream brie and Little White Goat cheese from Wamuran that both suit Brouhaha’s raspberry saison which cuts through the fat and funky aromas of the locally made fromage.
Each month the chef buys a whole Maleny wagyu beast to serve in the restaurant, sizzling up chargrilled steak to accompany the smooth, caramel notes of a milk stout.
As an aside, the wagyu cows enjoy spent grain from the brewery as part of their diet. The grain byproduct is also used to make sourdough bread at Ten Acres artisan bakery at Ninderry.
Brouhaha recommends a lighter refreshment such as its Hinterland Pale Ale alongside fresh seafood sourced from Point Cartwright Seafood Market.
And to top off the experience, a dessert of chocolate brownie tastes heavenly when tempered with the tartness of a strawberry rhubarb sour beer.
Matt said the fun of beer and food matchings was in the experimentation.
“The rules of pairing beer and food are not hard and fast and we encourage you to experiment when pairing at home,” he said.
Or you could head up the range for a tasting plate where four unique brews – Hinterland pale ale, Strawberry Rhubarb Sour, Milk Stout and lager – are served with a paddle of foodie delights.
Matt offers some pointers to help get you started.
Beer flavours
Hoppy: Hops add flavour and aroma to the beer. Often described as grassy, floral, citrus, spicy, piney, lemony, grapefruit and earthy
Bitter: Bitterness can come from both hops and malt and varies between the styles of beer and is often found at the end of the palate.
Malt: Provides colour and flavour and changes depending on the style of beer. Descriptors can vary from malty, biscuity, breadlike to roasty, coffee and smoky
Yeast: Provides alcohol in all beer styles, but can also be a dominant characteristic in some beer styles.
Descriptors can vary from banana, apple and pear to star anise, spicy and also barnyard or horse blanket
Beer and Food Pairing Guidelines
Contrast: Choose a dish with a strong, dominant flavour or texture and then use a contrasting beer to bring balance to the dish by toning down the dominant characteristic of the food while leaving the flavour intact.
Example: Strawberry Rhubarb Sour with choc brownie — the dry tart finish of the sour will help cut the rich, sweet flavours of the brownie. Conversely, the rich flavour of the brownie will dial back the tartness of the sour and enhance the strawberry flavour of the beer.
NOTE: Start with the Strawberry Rhubarb Sour, eat the brownie, then go back to the sour.
Complement: Pair flavours that are similar — match rich foods with beers that have heavy and rich flavours like stouts or porters.
Pair light salads and fish with light beers.
Example: Milk Stout with a chargrilled steak. The roasted malt profile and a hint of smokiness will play perfect harmony to the caramelised char of the steak.
Avoid Overpowering Flavours: Keep in mind the levels of flavour in your food and beer.
Don’t pair salmon with a Milk Stout because the flavour of the beer will completely cover the taste of the fish.
Example: Stout and scallops. The rich roasty flavour of the stout will completely smother the delicate characteristics of the scallops.
Complement and Contrast: Brie with Raspberry Saison — Saisons with their funky aroma and subtle yeast spice pair perfectly with a nice stinky cheese.
While the higher carbonation and the dry tart finish thanks to the Raspberry addition helps cut through the creaminess of the cheese.
Complement: Example — NZ Pale Ale with Maleny wagyu pastrami. Brewed to have a stronger malt backbone while still retaining a hop-forward aroma and palate, the NZ Pale complements the Maleny Wagyu twofold: The juicy NZ hops help enhance the spice rub that has been added to the pastrami, while the malt sweetness complements the rich full flavour of the wagyu beef.
Contrast: Strawberry Rhubarb Sour and chocolate brownie
The dry tart finish of the sour will help cut the rich, sweet flavours of the brownie. Conversely, the rich flavour of the brownie will help to dial back the sour/tartness of the sour and will help enhance the strawberry flavour of the beer.
