Top 50 Recommended Beers and Beer & Food Pairing

I have a week's worth of posting to ketchup on, but in the meantime I wanted to let you know about two new features you can find on the website to the right of the page.

The newest addition is my top 50 beers of the year page. Looking lovingly at the 7 page excel sheet I printed out and gloriously realizing what a terrific lush I have been this year, I selected 50 beers that will any craft beer drinker will enjoy. Don't be loco en la cabeza, check this page out next time you're in the liquor store and see if there's a bottle available. If it doesn't blow your mind, and some of them will, at least your eyes will be open to the awesomeness that is out there. That's what these beers did for me. Check it out!

http://www.beereveryday.com/p/walkers-top-50-for-year.html


I own a fantastic book called, "What To Drink With What You Eat" that I furiously typed up notes from about two weeks ago. I've run into many people this year who, after learning I have a beer blog, have poured out their new found passion for beer (mostly people a generation older than me). One common thread is the expanding selection beers found on restaurant menus. Not your Coors Light, Heineken, or Stella, but Belgian beers and bottles from local breweries. As more restaurateurs discover the quality of beer available, I have the feeling that pairing beer with food in the next decade will take off. Beers offer a range of complexity and I'm foreseeing a host of former wine drinkers who would rather drink a 12 oz of beer rather than a 5 oz glass of wine at dinner (and at a fraction of the price). Check out the Beer & Food Pairing page and impress your next friend or client at dinner. Chances are at least someone will be surprised at how well their oysters pair with a Guinness. I sure as hell was.

http://www.beereveryday.com/p/beer-food-pairing.html

Tonight I plan on editing the 60 minutes of video from our party, which from the few minutes of footage I've seen, is really funny. To be continued...

Chimay Grande Reserve helps me research pairing beer with food

Our final Chimay brew, the granddaddy 9% Belgian Dark Strong Grande Reserve. Tonight is a Walker night, and I'm staying in for some gentlemanly reading regarding the exquisite pairing of beer with food (thumbs nose at everyone). Excuse me David, where's the Grey Poupon?

 

The research, like drinking Chimay, is something I should have looked into a long time ago. Holding this chalice of Grande Reserve and smelling the sweetness and alcohol, I can't help help but think of Harrison Ford holding the wooden cup at the end of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. This beer seems so powerful, and it is the Grande Reserve after all (thumbs nose at everyone).

There is a richness, I have not sensed since......Old Ben Kenobi was here drinking Rochefort with us. It is almost too carbonated. Yet, all is forgotten once the dark caramel flavors border on chocolate hit my tongue. The complexity is there and its smoothness is unstoppable. The Grande Reserve could play with Rochefort 8 on the same doubles tennis team. Or star with Will Smith in a Michael Bay film. BAD BOYS rating.

Chimay, you've completely changed my opinion. I'm trying to be 'really honest' with myself lately, and the truth is I didn't give Chimay the credit it's due because everyone else fawns over it. I'm totally that guy (awkwardly wrinkles face at everyone). Also, that shirt doesn't look good on you and I just farted. See how being honest leads to embarrassment? Truthiness is overrated.

Another one of many serendipitous turns, the food pairing book I'm reading charts several types of beer styles, in the below table, but the only beer brand it specifically pairs with food is Chimay. Fancy that. Here are the Chimay pairings:
 

*Rule of thumb - Chimay Blue is dark like a Merlot wine and Chimay Tripel is close to Champagne.

PAIRINGS

Fish- Chimay Blue or Tripel

Game - Chimay Blue or Red

Poultry - Chimay Red or Tripel

Red Meat - Chimay Blue

White meat - Chimay Red

Shellfish - Chimay Blue or Tripel

Here is the overall beer pairings from the above pictured book, which is incredibly succinct in explaining its process and the organization is superb. I'm a big fan. The CAPITALIZED words in the primary pairing column denote an extremely COMPLIMENTARY pairing. My greatest surprise tonight was discovering the success of pairing of stouts, specifically Guinness with oysters. Who knew?

You'll see that beers typical for a region (Doppel Bocks/German) go very well with food typical of their region (game, sausage). It shows that going back hundreds of years to the beginning of brewing, people weren't just making beer for the alcohol, but for a higher and more specific purpose. Food!
 

BEER STYLE	PRIMARY PAIRING	SECONDARY PAIRING	NOTES
Amber Ale	barbecue, indian food, pasta, pork, sandwiches, spicy	asian, salad, chicken, fish, mexican, pizza, tomato	Avoid sweet dishes
Barleywine	cheese, blue, goat or strong; chocolate and dark chocolate	cheese, grueyre, chedder.	Think of barley wine as akin to port or sherry
Blanche	goat cheese, white fish, orange, pork, shellfish	apples, brunch, eggs benedict, omelets, pineapple, rabbit, salad
Bock	duck, HAM, pork, sausage	chicken, lamb, mole sauce, short ribs, venison
Brown Ale	hamburgers, sausage, steak	almonds, burritos, cajun, fried chicken, lamb, smoked fish
Doppel Bock	DUCK, GAME, PORK, VENISON, sausage	cheese, chiles rellenos, desserts, proscuitto, nuts, peppers, pumpkin, squash
Hefe Weizen		cheese, fruit, lemon, sweet and sour pork, shellfish
IPA	CHEESE, barbecue, chicken, cold red meat, pork, SALMON, seafood	crab cakes, mild curry, empanadas, enchiladas, fish, guacamole, hamburgers, indian food, mexican, shrimp, vietnamese, tapas, thai
Lager	PIZZA, SPICY FOOD, asian, chicken, fish, french fries, fried food, white meat	barbecue, Caribbean, indian, poached dishes, pork, poultry, salad, turkey, veal	Avoid: seafood, delicate dishes
Nut Brown		grilled beef, chicken, chinese, sausage, spicy
Oatmeal Stouts	chocolate desserts, stouts	barbecue, dark bread, crab cakes, ham, hearty food, ice cream, mole sauce, steak, stew
Oktoberfest		dry rubbed barbecue, chicken, fish, hamburgers, grilled meat, pork, pretzels, sausage	Avoid: seafood, tomatoes
Pale	SPICY DISHES, beef, cheese (cheddar, cheshire, guryere), duck, fish, fried food, lamb, salmon, sausage, seafood	barbecue, burritos, chicken tandoori, chili, gumbo, lobster, mexican, salsa, vinegar-based dishes
Pilsner	FISH, PIZZA, SPICY, SAUSAGE, MUSSELS, chicken, light cheese, pork, shellfish	caviar, spicy asian, chiles, clams, duck ham & grilled cheese sandwich pastrami, prosciutto, salads, smoke salmon, trout, veal	Avoid: delicate fish dishes, very hearty dishes
Saison	spicy dishes	aspertif, cheese, chicken, crab cakes, curry, tuna, salmon, jambalaya, salad, boiled seafood, steaks, thai and vietnamese
Scottish		roasted beef, ham, roasted lamb, sandwiches, sausage
Smoked Beer	BARBECUE, bacon, PORK, indian, mexican	smoked cheese, smoked fish, ham, hamburgers, roasted food, steak, spicy food
Spiced		carrot cake, spiced desserts, pumpkin pie
Stout	OYSTERS (Guinness), shellfish, fruit desserts, chocolate and cheese	ribs, braised dishes, Cajun, ham, roasted poultry, grilled salmon, swordfish, grilled tuna	American stouts are much more dessert friendly, Guinness is light.
Wheat/Wit	CHICKEN LIGHT AND SPICY, CRAB CAKES, FISH, SALAD, SEAFOOD, Indian, oysters, pasta, spicy, sushi, asian	egg dishes, calamari, jerk chicken, pad thai with shrimp, shellfish, scallops, sauerkraut, vegetable dishes

Bruery Mischief, I Enjoyed You

Like a kid in a candy store, I become super excited whenever I see beer from The Bruery. David, Nick G and I discovered this Orange County brewery last year at the LA Beer Fest and particularly loved their seasonal Saison de Lente, which sells out quickly. Mischief, I've never seen before but has a very handsome label. Dark and brooding. Nothing like the beer but it does compliment the name. 

Mischief is a Belgian-Style Golden Strong Ale with a dash of hops. After two busts in a row, we needed a win and The Bruery delivered. If this is at a bar, I will drink it. Welcome to THE ROCK.

As David mentioned, Sunday was a great evening spent with delicious food and wonderful company, Blake and Lock, whom we both haven't seen in a while. Here's a picture commemorating the excellent chowder and bbq ribs which we will be eating for the next week. 

Ribby Ribby Ribby CHOWDER CHOWDER CHOWDER