Beer and Food Pairings, Part 2

Adding to my initial post here regarding beer and food pairings (where all the fun is, IMHO), some really inspired pairings from a relatively new poster on eGullet.org, Rick Martin, in the Beer Forum there; I'm actually itching to try several of them today:

Unibrau Trois Pistoles and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale and Sushi

Imperial IPAs and Aged Sharp Cheddar

Lindemann's Pomme Lambic and Chicken Liver Pate

Imperial Stout with a salad of Arugula, American Blue Cheese, Figs, and Balsamic reduction

Saison DuPont and New York Style Pizza

Berlinerweisse and Egg on Toast

Any IPA and White Cheddar Cheezits


And a couple of newly discovered ones by yours truly that you've gotta try:

Sierra Nevada Torpedo and spicy Sechuan Hot Pot

Anchor Bock and Amish sourdough pretzels (Benzel's Pennysticks Hard Sourdough pretzels are my new favorite)

The $10 Growler

I was very fortunate on Tuesday night to get a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card and join 15 other foodies for an outrageous dinner of mostly Sechuan food at the new Han Dynasty restaurant in Royersford, PA (70 Buckwalter Rd., just off the Royersford exit of Rte 422 W). Now I've never been to the Royersford outpost of Sly Fox Brewery, so I thought it would be an especially good night for some outstanding beer to go with some outstanding Chinese food. Called SFR to inquire on directions and costs of a growler. The sweet voice on the other end of the phone informed me that on Tuesdays growlers are "just $10, $4 for the bottle and $6 for the beer." Woo-hoo!






Scored three growlers for our Sechuan dinner: Pikeland Pils, of course (my favorite beer style with Asian food), the Route 113 IPA and Dunkel Lager. Each one matched up perfectly during the dinner, consumed in pretty much that order, too. Pairing the Pils with Han Dynasty's Fish and Pickled Vegetable Soup and the Wontons in Chile Oil was just as tasty as it gets, until some of us opened up the Rte 113 IPA with the incendiary Spicy Hot Pot, Fish in Dry Pot, and Tea Smoked Duck in Beer Sauce. The killer pairing for me was the Dunkel Lager with the Taiwanese Sausage and Snow Peas and especially the Braised Bacon with Scallion. Transcendant. We went through 24 dishes on Tuesday night, and the dinner was so great on so many levels, I'm gonna deal with it in a seperate post.

But f'real: a growler of SLY FOX BEER for $10 on Tuesdays! Holey Shamoley!

Beer and Food Pairings

I love pairing good beer with good food; it's just pure magic when the flavors marry and dance together in the mouth. Over the years I've discovered, and been told about some really good beer food pairings, and I'd love to hear about yours. Here are some of mine, along with some pairings suggested by some beer friends whose palates I really respect:

Red Hook IPA and an Italian hoagie (from Mike Gates, Haddonfield, NJ)

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale and a plate of nachos

Victory Hop Devil and Thai curries

Maredsous 8 and creme brulee (Bob Rescinito, Oklahoma City, OK)

Ommegang Brown Ale and creme brulee

Saranac Caramel Porter and Amish sourdough pretzels

Yuengling Porter and beef stew

Guinness Stout and oysters

Victory Prima Pils or Pilsner Urqell and Sechuan Chinese food

Sierra Nevada Celebration and a thick grilled steak

Spaten Oktoberfest and pork chops braised with apples and cabbage

Rolling Rock and pizza

Tsing Tsao and red gravy Italian, like lasagna and/or linguine and meatballs

Troegs Troeginator Dopplebock and braised lamb shank over polenta

Troegs Mad Elf and Christmas cookies!

One Guy Brewing Cinnamon Boldy and apple fritters (Lew Bryson, Newtown, PA)

Hefeweizen and Indian cuisine (Tom Cizauskas, Baltimore, MD)

A bowl of spicy chili and Boulevard Brewing's Bob's 47 (Bob Rescinito, Oklahoma City, OK)

A Christmas ham sandwich and Saranac Season's Best Nut Brown Lager

A NJ Italian hot dog and Grolsch lager (John Fox, Union, NJ)



OK, I've started the list, now I want to hear YOUR pairings!