HopHeadSaid food.pairings - HopHeadSaid

Dragonstooth Stout

1/6/2013

I love beer with desserts. Beer pairings like these are starting to come out of the shadows and aren't nearly as surprising as they once were. Certainly not as shocking as pairing beer with breakfast foods but the general public is still a little weary of drinking beer and eating dessert at the same time.

Pairing suggestion: Chocolate Brownie covered with raspberries.

This pairing is probably the most common place. Pairing big beers with roasted coffee/dark chocolate flavors and velvety mouthfeel with brownies is a now brainer. But this recipe takes a turn with the addition of raspberries. The divine tartness of a raspberry adds the perfect counter point to such a rich dessert and beer.

I found this suggestion and a few others (you might have to be a chef to make any of the other dishes at home) on an Elysian Brewing Company beer dinner menu.

IPA - Harpoon

1/6/2013

Pairing Suggestion: Sweet Potato Ravioli

I found this beer pairing suggestion while I was researching food pairings for Harpoon Brewery. This is a great suggestion because the malty backbone and fruity esters create a resonating base layer which ties these two together. Then, the sweet potato and bitter hops keep each other in check, not letting the other get too overwhelming through most of each bite. But it's the hops that get the last laugh as they help cleanse the palate alongside the alcohol and carbonation. Your palate is left refreshed and ready for another bite.

Double IPA - Red Brick

1/5/2013

Red Brick Brewery is another brewery that takes their beer pairings seriously. They list several pairing suggestions with each beer just to make things easy for you or a beer blogger who hasn't tried any of their beers.

I found this beer pairing suggestion buried deep in Red Brick's newsletter from last year. I love this pairing because I love Double IPA's! I couldn't have said it better myself and so I won't.

Suggested Beer Pairing: "The hop bitterness and citrus notes of the IPA balance,(or cut) sweetness and richness,(fat), of food and emphasizes spiciness,( chili pepper heat). Our IPA goes great with strong, spicy food such as Chili, Cajun food, and hot ethnic dishes such as Curries, Hot Thai and other Asian foods such as Korean dishes and Szechwan cuisine. Pairing our Double IPA with cheese requires the strongest and tart cheese tastes. Veined cheeses such as Blue, Roquefort, and Gorgonzola provide the strong tastes that stand up to the bitterness and citrus taste of the beer."

Blonde - Red Brick

1/5/2013

Red Brick Brewery is another brewery that takes their beer pairings seriously. They list several pairing suggestions with each beer just to make things easy for you or a beer blogger who hasn't tried any of their beers.

I found this suggestion by Rowdy and Independent Beer Reviews when I was researching beer pairings for Red Brick. It can't get much easier than this, especially if you are serving up a Falcons half-time snack!

Pairing Suggestion: A cheese plate of lighter cheeses (gruyere, parmesan, brie, goat cheese spread) served with water crackers, pears, Pink Lady apples.

Vanilla Gorilla

1/5/2013

Red Brick Brewery is another brewery that takes their beer pairings seriously. They list several pairing suggestions with each beer just to make things easy for you or a beer blogger who hasn't tried any of their beers.

I am really excited about this pairing because it goes beyond the traditional and non-traditional pairings by pairing the Smoked Vanilla Gorilla with smores.

This beer will add the right amount of smoke to a smores created inside in the absence of a campfire. The chocolate notes in the porter will resonate with the chocolate in the smores and marshmallows will keep the roasty flavors from becoming too much. Also, the vanilla part of this gorilla brings new life to the smores.

Loose Cannon

1/4/2013

I love it when breweries supply food pairings for their beers. The folks at Heavy Seas beers have a wonderful website that explains their beers and provides some interesting beer pairings. This saves me a lot of calories in experimenting and sometimes they come up with something totally unexpected like carrot cake.

Pairing Suggestion: Carrot Cake

This is a wonderfully complex beer pairing. The sweet malt backbone helps build a subtle base between the beer and the cake. Hop bitterness and sweet cake keep each other in check, preventing the other from become too overpowering. The spices in the cake resonate with the herbal hop flavors making them more pronounced. Loose Cannon has the last word, though as it cleanses the palate with its resinous hop bitterness.

If sweets aren't your thing you should try their cheese spread recipe. This sounds delicious!

Peg Leg

1/4/2013

I love it when breweries supply food pairings for their beers. The folks at Heavy Seas beers have a wonderful website that explains their beers and provides some interesting beer pairings. This saves me a lot of calories in experimenting. I especially appreciate when breweries go out of their way to pair their beers with vegetarian dishes.

Pairing Suggestion: Vegetarian Chili

It is a no brainer to pair a dish with the same beer you used in it but this one takes it to another level. This recipe doesn't call for a lot of heat spices but you could push it just past your limits because this beer has enough malty sweetness to tamp down quite a bit of spicy heat. No need to roast any of the veggies before adding them to the chili, either. The roasted character (smokey, coffee, bitter chocolate flavors) in this beer will add that counterpoint to the chili as well.

Heavy Seas Pale Ale

1/4/2013

I love it when breweries supply food pairings for their beers. The folks at Heavy Seas beers have a wonderful website that explains their beers and provides some interesting beer pairings. This saves me a lot of calories in experimenting and sometimes they come up with something totally unexpected like bread pudding.

Pairing Suggesting: Bread Pudding

The subtle malt sweetness resonates with the sweetness of the bread pudding that creates a base layer that bridges the gap between the contrasting flavors. The earthy/spicy noble hop flavors resonate with the spices int he bread pudding and strengthen that base layer. The sweet flavors in the bread pudding and the beer's bitterness naturally counteract each other before either can become too pronounced.

If appetizers are more your style then pair this beer with any
English-style cheese: Cheddar, Gloucester, Stilton, Red Dragon, etc.

Peppercorn Saison

1/4/2013

This pairing suggestion is inspired by a beer pairing I read about at DCBeer.com

Pairing suggestion: Pork Sliders with stone ground brown mustard and arugula.

The spicy profile (yeast flavors and additional spices)of the saison resonate with the mustard and the arugula. The beer's citrus notes resonate with the tart mustard flavors and start cleansing the palate of all the savory pork flavors and mouthfeel. The alcohol and carbonation finish the job and leave your palate ready for the next bite.

The crew at 3 Stars Brewing Company has some other suggestions for you as well: "Excellent year round beer, pairs equally well with grilled foods like fish and chicken; as well as heartier fare like stews and roasts"

Pandemic Porter

1/4/2013

This pairing suggestion is inspired by a beer pairing I read about at DCBeer.com

Pairing suggestion: Vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, cocoa nibs and bacon bits.

Can you imagine this pairing?! The roasty malt flavors (smokey, bitter chocolate/coffee) in this beer will resonate with the bacon bits and cocoa nibs creating a bridge that ties the contrasting flavors together. The ice cream contrasts against the bitter chocolate and roasted coffee flavors before they can become too overwhelming. Lastly, the alcohol and carbonation cleanse the palate.

The crew at 3 Stars Brewing Company has some other suggestions for you as well: "This beer can be paired with many different foods, best with big flavors like game, salmon, roasts and bbq. Also works very well paired with desserts like crème brulee, gelato, and chocolate cake."