Today’s post comes from Brett, who shares with us his tips for pairing beer with food!

Food connoisseurs are renowned for their pairings of fabulous wines with exquisite food types, as wine and many different varieties of food have been served together over generations. But in recent years, many food enthusiasts have begun pairing many eclectic beers with various plates. While this has happened for many years as well, popular culture is just beginning to reflect the growing popularity of matching up the perfect beer to the exact course of the meal. If you’re throwing a dinner party or even just have a few friends over for lunch on a fine autumn evening, and you want to pair the right beer with the right plate, consider some of these beer-food pairings below.

Seafood

Seafood can be particularly difficult to pair with the right beer because seafood often has sharper, more distinctive flavors than more casual and commonplace land-based food. Freshly caught lobster and crab often go really well with stouts, as do oysters. For shrimp, wheat beers will often pair best, though you can experiment more with shrimp-beer pairings. If you happen to be throwing a lavish fine dining affair, you may just end up serving caviar. If you want to really impress your guests, pair caviar with light American lagers. That may sound somewhat underwhelming on first listen, but when you taste the two together, you’ll realize you made the right choice.

Vegetarian Food

For those plant-only eaters out there, you want to make sure you have something you can work with as well. Brown ales pair really well across the spectrum of vegetarian dishes, from pairings with garden salads and mashed potatoes to full-blown portabella sandwiches. If you’re going with dishes that contain more fruits than vegetables
though, skip on the brown ale and go with something wheat or fruit-based.

Dessert

The last course is always the most important, mainly because it’s the last memory of the meal your guests will take with them. For many desserts, any kind of chocolate stout will work, though that can be a bit heavy if you’re pairing it with a really filling dessert. If you want something lighter and are serving desserts with fruit contents, you can always do a fruit beer or sweet stout to compliment the sweeter, more sugary taste of those plates.

When the Sept. 3-4 Portland Brew Festival showed up on my radar a while back, I got to thinking: Just where do beer festivals come from? They must be organized by someone, but who, and what motivates them?

I fired off an email and was answered by Portlander Mak Sprague…

Sean: So, the Portland brew festival.  What’s it all about? Spotlighting regional breweries?  Educating the beer-curious?  Just an excuse to drink beer?

Mak: On the one hand, I’m an amateur homebrewer and have been for a few years now.  I brew cider on my own but I get together with friends to brew beer, not having that equipment.  In my experience, brewing in a group is much more rewarding. On the other hand, for more than 30 years my family has owned these great old brick buildings on the edge of Portland’s Old Port.  We’ve been managing our own Maine Boatbuilders Show and Portland Flower Show on site for 25 years. For a few years now I’ve been working both of these angles, trying to get them to join up and fill our buildings with homebrewers, commercial brewers, and the growing enthusiast crowd.  If we get the event really cranking, we could fit 150 booths on the first floor!

S: What’s the New England beer scene like? Coming from the Northwest and living in Texas now, I’m pretty out of touch with it. Is something special happening up there?

M: I’m not sure how to contrast the beer scene here in New England against other regions.  I’ve done some of my own “beer tourism”, dragging my wife to local breweries everywhere I go. I think I’d say that in general, New Englanders (and Mainers especially) are universally proud and loyal to local brews.  It seems like every single restaurant in Portland is a “beer bar” in disguise that features the owner’s favorite local brews matched to the food.  I think at least 5 new breweries pop up every year and the old ones never disappear.

S: Organizing a beer festival sounds like one of the most fun things possible.  What exactly do you do, and how did you get involved?

M: It is a lot of fun, but also a whole lot of work.  Having been to a dozen different fests up and down the east coast, I’m getting to take a little bit of the best of each one and make it my own.  I also see this as an opportunity to provide a vehicle for the home and commercial brewers to reach out to the public in different ways.  Having a homebrew club that meets monthly to brew together is great, but wouldn’t it be even better to do it in front of a crowd of thousands? How else could the commercial brewers use our venue to organize or reach more enthusiasts?

One downside for me is that, being the guy in charge I can’t have a brew in my hand.^[1]

S: There’s another Portland which is pretty well-represented in the craft beer world.  Do you find yourself having to clarify “no not THAT Portland” very often?^[2]

M: Luckily there is not another Portland, MAINE and we’re pretty well known on the east coast to avoid confusion. Oregon is far away and not the first “Portland” people think of around here.

S: Which of the beers that’ll be represented are your favorites?  What do you drink on a normal Friday night?

M: That’s a tough question for me to answer.  When I kicked off the event, I sent invitations to my favorite breweries first!  As to what you’ll find in my hand on a typical Friday night?  I can tell you that it will be lightly hopped (no IPAs) and probably brewed within 100 miles of Porland or Boston… but the rest is up for grabs.

S: Are there still tickets, and where can interested readers pick some up?

M: There are still tickets available on our website: portlandbrewfestival.com   We’ll also sell at the door, but experienced fest attendees know that you don’t want to be waiting in line to buy a ticket when you could be inside!

If you’re in the area, go check it out! (And if you do, report back to us to let us know how it was!)

Also: I’m looking for someone who’s been to a beer festival and can tell us what it was like; what these things are all about. Is that you? If so, drop me a line at sean@barleybuddy.com or fill out the contact form!

A while back, I contacted the authors of educational beer blog The Beer Chronicles, of which I’m very fond, to find out who they are and where they learned so much about beer. What resulted is this little Q&A with Anurag Shrivastava, who may just have the world’s coolest job: Microbrewery Consultant.

Sean: “Microbrewery consultant” sure sounds like a cool job.  I think a lot of people would enjoy reading about it.  Can you tell us what exactly it is that you do?

Anurag: It is a cool job and we truly love it. We provide end-to-end solutions to our clients who need help with various aspects of producing a good beer. It basically starts when someone new wants to brew a new beer and either has very little knowledge about it or doesn’t have enough time on hand to do it professionally themselves. We first look at the market for which we are going to brew the beer. Once we have chosen the market and the kind of beer to brew, we go on to decide the kind of equipment that would be required to produce that beer. We then plan how to market it. Once the planning is done, it all boils down to good execution and sale of the beer. It doesn’t matter if it is a brewpub, a small microbrewery selling in the local market or a big brewery doing mass production, the success will always depend on high quality beer that one produces.

S: Can you describe a typical day on the job?

There is a lot of travelling across the world. From meeting with or responding to brewery manufacturers, raw material suppliers, and owners of good beer brands and clients. You would find us on the plane at least twice in the week.

Our work has a very fluid schedule. It is very difficult to confine the activities to a single day, but can be tracked based on single and multiple projects at the same time. For example a lot of times it comes to tracking shipments, getting the customs clearance, dealing with local government and non-government agencies to establish a brewery.

S: Your blog is great; I’m a big fan of it.  It’s very informative yet not too technical for non-experts (like me).  Where did you learn everything?  Is there a Beer University? (And why didn’t they tell me about it when I was younger?)

Thanks for liking it. We try to share our learnings, experiences, and knowledge about beer through our blog. It comes easy for us to create a comprehensive resource, which we can share with beer enthusiasts and people wanting to start a microbrewery or brewpub.

It all started as a passion and taste for a good beer. I initially learnt a lot though internet — as someone once told me, the ‘Internet is my real father, I learnt most things from it’. I then went on to learn from the experts in the industry — the beer producers, brewery manufacturers, and suppliers. I found most of them to be very friendly and eager to share their knowledge.

I also had the pleasure of going to University of California @ Davis. It was a great help and would love to return and go through a more formal training.

However the best teachers are the fellow drinkers — all those men and women whom you meet at the bar who drink with you. On a day to day basis they tell you about the beers they like and which they don’t. They are the best judges and best teachers for producing a good beer.

S: What’s your relationship with beer? How did you discover it, and why did you decide to pursue it as a career?

A: Beer is like a best friend, who is always around. My love for beer started a few years back when I was working in New York City. So whenever I visited India, the thirst for a good beer remained. First I wanted to establish my own big brewery but once that didn’t happen I thought of following this path.

I am also a foodie and good beer goes with good food. Though I still can’t call myself a food or beer connoisseur, I am learning about them on a day-to-day basis. I also love experimenting and always tend to choose the more obscure and local brands of beer when traveling. It does create a unique problem that you also drink a lot of very bad beers. Maybe I will write a post on that sometime soon.

S: What are your favorite beers?  What does a microbrewery expert drink on a normal evening at home?^[1]

1. St. Martin Blonde (Belgium, from Brunehaut Brewery)
2. Wochinger (Wochinger Brau, from Traunstein, Germany)
3. As I graduated out of Syracuse University, NY, I still love to drink Saranac, which was my staple diet during college.
4. Blue Point Brewery’s  (out of Long Island, NY) Blueberry Ale is one of favorite
5. Westmalle Dubbel is another great beer.
6. Timmerman Lambic beer is a good Lambic beer out of Brussels, Belgium.

S: What’s the microbrewery scene like in India?  Is it exploding like in the US?

A: India is around a decade behind the US in it. The microbrewery scene has just started and as the government norms are relaxing with the increasing pressure from rapidly changing society, it is at the critical point where it is about to explode. A lot of people are enquiring about the setup and sales, but still most people are looking to start a brewpub rather than an independent microbrewery.  As we do end to end consulting our focus is never a single geography but how can we establish a good brand and beer with synergies from across the globe. Most of our clients may be Indians, but the brands that we would produce and the manufacturers that we work with are from every part of beer drinking world.

S: I assume you’re one of the few lucky people in the world who gets to drink on the job. Have you or your clients ever “worked a little too hard” and had to quit early?  (I ask because I imagine this might be a problem for me, if I had your job!)

A: All the time. Our work never ends and au contraire it starts in the evening with friends and clients drinking beer. This is when we either love the beer and keep drinking, or keep hopping bars in hope of that one good beer.

Do you have an interesting beer-related job, or know someone who does? I’d love to talk! Contact us or hit me up at sean@barleybuddy.com!

Well, a week after my 30^th birthday I was still deciding what I wanted to do, and what better than to go to the Rahr & Sons Brewery? So after twisting the in-laws’ arms into watching their grandson, my wife and I headed over to the brewery. It was a balmy 60 degrees and a foggy midday… oh wait, we are in Texas during one of the hottest years on record. How about 105+ for ya? Great day for drinking beer, in my opinion. After arriving at the brewery, there was a decently large crowd eagerly awaiting the delicious nectar of the Gods we call BEER.

Walking up towards the giant bay doors, there’s a man checking everyone’s ID, no matter if your 18 or 60. Past that is where we paid our $7 entry fee, which is good for a Rahr pint glass you keep, and 3 beers. Aha, the beer was near. Picking up our pint glasses, and looking ahead, there are around 8 twenty-foot-tall stainless steel reservoirs where, you guessed it, beer is being fermented as we speak.

In the background we could hear some classic rock being performed by a one man band – just an older guy with an electric guitar playing some familiar tunes. Next was the fun part: Looking over the 3 lines of about 30 or so people each, we found ourselves in line number one. The beers on tap that day were Rahr’s Blonde, Texas Red, Stormcloud, Ugly Pug, and Glazen Boterham, a Belgian Golden which I was told was by one of their brewers was only available at the brewery.

My first choice was their Stormcloud, an IPA and a great one at that. Stormcloud pours up a perfect amber/copper color with about a one-finger head. Nice carbonation, and the first sniff is nice and sweet, with lots of citrus. Now, being more of a malt-head (much like my father-in-law AW) the hoppiness of IPA’s was a bit much at first. But now after drinking quite a few, I am really starting to appreciate everything about them. First sip, and the taste buds awaken. Grapefruit and citrus flavors are definitely in there, along with just enough malt to sweeten it up, and then there’s the hops. Just the right amount; not too bitter, but not lacking, that’s for sure. Fritz and the gang did IPA’s right with this one!

Time for brew number 2. This time around I decide try the Belgian Golden, Glazen Boterham. This blonde bombshell pours up a deep golden yellow color, and smells sweet and fruity, with hints of clove. Somewhat similar to their Summertime Wheat, except there’s no banana in here. Not sure of the ABV on this one; I’m sure it was fairly decent, as towards the end I was starting to feel a little buzz going on. (Of course this could be due to the 110+ degrees that it was inside the brewery.)

For my final choice I had to go with none other that Ugly Pug. Man how I love this brew. Ugly Pug pours a deep black color, with a fairly thick head. Nice and aromatic, lots of chocolate and coffee hints. Plenty of malts in this brew to satisfy my need for some of the dark stuff. Now “Pug” is my kind of beer. I can drink it all day long, and unlike some other black lagers, it doesn’t fill me up at all. Funny thing about this beer is that I really don’t like coffee, but I can’t get enough of the roasted malt and coffee hints, along with the decadent espresso-like after taste it leaves behind.

Well about half way through my Pug, Fritz Rahr himself gets on the mic, and announces that he will be giving the tour, so we headed towards the front of the brewery. Standing among the masses and sweating profusely at this point, Fritz starts explaining the brewing process. “It’s the hardest, easy thing to do!” he says. From start to finish, the process takes around 5-6 weeks, then we get to enjoy one of the oldest beverages in the world. Amazing to think that the earliest civilizations were making this fantastic thing we call beer thousands of years ago.

Finally, the tour concluded, and we headed back in the brewery to meet up and chat with one of their brewers, Tony Drewry. After talking for a bit over some Tang (yes, that orange stuff made for the space program; Fritz mixed it up himself to keep everyone hydrated between beers) it was time to call it a day. Overall, the Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. is a great place to visit, even in the terrible Texas heat. I would recommend it to everyone both visiting and local to the area, and I look forward to going again soon. (Well, maybe once it cools down a few degrees.) Information about their brewery and tours are located on their website, www.rahrbrewing.com, and always remember to drink responsibly!

Have you got a great beer story to share? Barley Buddy wants to hear it! Send your beer stories, memories or experiences to sean@barleybuddy.com and we’ll get ‘er up faster than you can down that pint!

We’re toying with the idea of starting up a link exchange network just for beer bloggers or site owners ... but with a new twist.

We’ve set up a survey to see how many (if any) bloggers and site owners would be interested. If that’s you, couldja do us a favor and fill it out?

As a wee tyke, I used to love it when my father’d give me just a sip of the foam from the top of his beer. It was basically a mouthful of tasteless air, with only a hint of any actual beer flavor. But it meant getting to share the grown up drink, and I thought that was the bee’s knees.

Fast forward to me as a young man, and I never really picked up beer drinking. Why? Well, beer just wasn’t very good.  Even though I could now crack open a can and drink ‘er on down any time I liked, it still seemed just like a tasteless mouthful, with only a hint of any real, actual flavor. It just never did it for me. On a night out, I was a mixed drink man. Turkey-diet. That was my poison.

And then…

In ’01 I lived in the Bay Area, and I used to go just about every Thursday night to the Covered Wagon Saloon. It was a dirty dive bar, with cigarette butts all over the floor and bathrooms you don’t want to hear about, but they booked great live music. One night on a whim, I decided to drink my yearly beer (to remind myself why I don’t like it) and ordered a glass of whatever it was they had on tap — Lagunita’s IPA.

Man oh man oh wowie zang! Beer for beginners tip: Don’t go from watery macrobrews to India Pale Ale in one jump! It’s like shifting from 1st gear directly to 4th.

Even though it was like a kick in the head, somehow I couldn’t put it down. It was crisp, and bitter, and packed with some flavor I couldn’t identify (but would later come to know as “hoppy”). It was pretty good.

A few Thursday’s and a few more Lagunitases later, I decided I’d loosen up my “no beer” rule while out and about. Of course, I wound up downing a lot of lousy beers, but also discovered a few more gems. Most notable, The Paradise Lounge had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which, like the Lagunita’s, didn’t change my world, but was an enjoyable drink. So I kept trying more.

That’s how my love affair with beer started. Since then, I’ve tried (and rated) a lot more beers.  Today I know that, while I like the occasional IPA, in general I prefer ‘em just a wee bit less face-puckering.  Ambers and reds, that’s my sweet spot, along with the occasional crisp, refreshing pilsner.

I genuinely mean it when I say that I hope Barley Buddy can help you make a similar journey, but with much less beer you don’t like along the way, and more beer that you do.

How’d you discover beer? We love submissions to our blog, so please let us know! Post your story here in the comments and we’ll promote the best ones to full-fledged blog entries, or send them directly to me at sean@barleybuddy.com!