Warren Peterson Schooner Exact Brewing Company
Overview Introduction Philosophy Approaching your event Pairings Cooking tips Brewing tips Final logistics and considerations
Philosophy Simple, straight-forward beer and food Think like a symphony highlight a soloist and build the rest delicately around it My observations, my approaches Learnings on how beer and food flavors interact
Simplicity Avoid muddling your foods and beers Difficult to work nuances against other nuances Historical trends are there for a reason Whether or not they understood it, time proved it People subconsciously understood the balance of palate sensations Sweet balances sour Sweet balance spicy Bitter cuts richness Sweet cuts salt Focus on the important elements
Approaching Beer and Food Pairings and Event Find ways to make it simple but powerful Gives you time to enjoy along with your guests Cooking and food have been around for years You don t have to deconstruct everything to make it delicious
Framing Your Event What do YOU want for your guests from the experience? Casual, social, formal? What is your target audience? Beer dorks or novices? Understand their perception of what they will experience How much work do you want to put in? How many pairings? Several small? A few big? How many people? Are they part of the plan? Move through the beer AND food pairings in a way that doesn t create palate fatigue on either side Work to a crescendo
Pairings Two core approaches Parallel BBQ and Porter Contrast Heavy and refreshing
Saison Classic styles dry, effervescent, light funk Helps lift and cleanse some heavy flavors Can work well with fats Easy drinking, doesn t conflict easily with food flavors Brings bready earthiness, fruit, and spice that complement a wide array of light to mid-flavor fare (not dark)
Pilsner Don t want to overwhelm Elegant, simple, and complex Work with the malt elegance to subdue spices Thirst quenching Think salt There is a reason that every culture has a pilsner for pairing with food
Amber Number 1 easy to pair with food Malt integrates so well with so many foods Non-aggressive Easiest to cook with Not too much hops Interesting complement when present
IPA Addictive As a beer batter, great! Reductions are a bad, bad idea IPAs and spicy food don t buy it Spice wakes you up, intense, subtly elegant IPAs crisp but not spicy more fruity Characters clash Violating parallel Violating contrasting Better spicy pairs Lagers clean the palate Malt sweetness balance out the spicy IPAs better for cutting fat Try a burger instead Chocolate
Stout Roasty bitter, not hoppy bitter Most frequently used in the parallel philosophy Chocolate, grilled, roasty But try a dry stout with fish and chips with vinegar Depending on style can work dry to sweet Difficult to reduce as well SECRET WEAPON Malt syrup Possibly use malt syrup to support the character but not overwhelm the bitter intensity
Food Tips Never reduce bitter beers Light lagers replace water incredibly well in just about everything Amber with malty sweet notes are great for braising / stews Dubbels and tripels can provide incredible nuances IPAs in beer batters Malt syrup Secret weapon Beers almost always works in marinades Meats, fish, mushrooms, etc.
Brewing for Food Brew with a spirit of the food Consider earlier principles of balance and contrast Easy drinking pairs quickly But for every extreme beer there is an extreme pairing More challenging Blow for blow balanced For extreme beers, sour beers ring in well Rauchbiers can work very well Think timing and scheduling with your brewing Plan ahead beers take more time than food to prepare
Final Event Logistics Start with something like a highly effervescent Belgian to warm up the palate Guest to beer to size ratio Both in glassware and consumption Timing, timing, timing Balancing out your presence and cooking Write out a timeline Earlier is better Balance in cool plates with hot plates to provide cooking pace Sit down and enjoy some food and beer!
Summary Have fun! Take your time, think, and prepare Make it simple and memorable Learn from your experience and your guests Questions?