Cameron sent me this blog a couple of weeks ago so its my bad I didn’t get it posted fast enough. He timed this subject for a specific week in the world of beer…..

It’s Christmas this week! Oh sorry I guess it’s just American Craft Beer Week, pretty much all the same to me. I thought we could focus on the tastes of beer and paring with food for this post. Now put down that Bud Light and let’s focus on some nice craft beers!

Tasting beer is very similar to wine. It should always be poured into a glass, start with the smell, and look at the color, is it hazy? Clear? Then we can begin to taste. There are so many variables here, does it start sweet like caramel and end bitter like lemon or pine? You are probably holding a double IPA  Do you taste coffee? dark chocolate? then you are probably tasting a stout or a porter. Analyzing your beer will really help you enjoy the experience.

Now for some pairings – its grilling season so let’s start with something lighter. A great pairing for chicken, pork, veggies straight off the grill would be anything lighter, and maybe slightly fruity. I would suggest a pilsner, saison, or a light Belgian beer like a tripel or a Belgian blond. For spicer foods you can step it up to a maltier and hoppier pale ale or maybe an IPA. For that burger there really is no better pairing then a good American style pale ale. Now onto dessert – chocolate anyone? Pair that with a stout, preferably a milk stout or a coffee/cappuccino stout. These are perfect ways to round out your meal!

There are literally thousands of ways to pair beer with food. Once you really start to understand the tasting experience, it gets a lot easier to pair food and beer!

A few quick (and delicious) examples of those types of beers listed above:

Pilsner: Oskar Blues – Mamas Little Yella Pils

Saison: Anchorage Love Buzz Saison

Belgian Blond: Epic – Brainless Belgian Style Golden Ale

Belgian Tripel: La Fin Du Monde

Pale Ale: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale; Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale

IPA: Russian River – Pliny the Elder

Firestone Walker – Union Jack

Bear Republic- Racer 5

Stout: Left Hand – Milk Stout; Lagunitas – Cappuccino Stout; Firestone Walker – Velvet Merlin

Cheers!