Category Archives: Beer and Food

A world first?

Posted on January 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

It may be one for the overhyping files but it still sounds interesting…

Prime Beer has just been released as the first beer in the world made from the start to complement Red Meat flavours. Prime Beer is the third food matching beer by Australia’s multi-award winning Fusion Brewing.

Prime Beer is intended to be the perfect accompaniment to red meat. Prime is a deep amber ale with complex malty flavours and strong bitterness designed to enhance the flavours of red meat from the grill.

Prime Beer is the third beer created by Fusion Brewing with the express intention of matching specific food flavours.

Whether paired with beef, lamb or gamier red meats such as kangaroo or venison, Prime Beer has been carefully crafted using the expertise of gastronomer Matthew Evans and master brewer Brian Watson.

Prime has a long list of accolades to live up to among its peers at Fusion Brewing; Bluebottle Beer won ‘Best Lager’ at the 2008 Australian Beer Awards, Bronze Medal at the Australian International Beer Awards 2009 and recently was the only Australian Lager to be awarded 5 stars by Winestate Magazine.

Firefly Beer was awarded a Silver Medal at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2009.

Prime was created and released to coincide with the Australian summer and BBQs across the nation – particularly during the Christmas, New Year and Australia Day celebrations.

No other beer has been crafted from the start to be the perfect complement to red meat.

I think the key here is made from the START to complement. It certainly sounds like it will and I’m keen to try it, but let’s not get carried away with the claim of first!

Even though it was engineered to go with meat I’m keen to see how it matches up against some of my favourite beers that, though not necessarily designed to go with red meat manage to do it through a wonderful serendipity….such as Coopers Vintage Ale with steak (especially with a blue cheese butter) and Redoak Bock with lamb shank, or their Rauchbier with lamb chops.

Great to see that the concept of beer and food matching is getting to the stage that beers like this are appearing – and more importantly – selling.

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Beer –v– wine smackdown

Posted on November 16, 2009 | 1 Comment

beer_vs_wine About a year ago we did a beer versus wine smackdown on the Beer Show on 4BC. Three foods matched to three beers selected by me and three wines selected by James McIlwain from Southern Cross Wine Merchants who does a wine show on alternate weeks. On that occasion beer lost, 2-1. I was devastated.

Last night we had a rematch. Beer won and won well.

The three foods were prawns, chicken satay and dark chocolate. The matchups were:

Prawns: Schneider Weisse Original –v– Meadowbank 2006 Riesling (Tasmania)
Chicken Satay: Singha Lager –v– d’Arenberg 2006 Grenache (McLaren Vale)
75% Cocoa Dark Chocolate: Trois Pistoles –v– Rutherglen Port.

The judging was done by the host, Walter Williams, his producer, myself and James. Beer won the prawns match 2-2, but on points. Not convincing. I think if I had gone with Ian Watson’s suggestion of a nice golden lager, such as Jever Pilsner, I would have even done better, but the Schneider Weisse is an old favourite and I couldn’t be told. It worked but not perfectly.

With the chicken satay I had no clue what to match, as I wasn’t sure how it would be prepared. It ended up being quite spicy. I hadn’t had a Singha for several years and hadn’t realised that what was once an aromatic and fairly distinctive lager of 6% abv is these days a much sweeter, less hoppy beer of 5%. It was steamrollered by the spice in the sauce. Nice enough, but just didn’t stand up. In hindsight, I would have gone with something bolder – maybe even Alpha Pale Ale. I was amazed at how well the Grenache worked with it. Even I gave the round to the wine. Beer 0-4.

Then came chocolate. I knew I was on a good thing here. I pulled out Trois Pistoles from Unibroue. The Port went really well but the Trois Pistoles was superb with the dark chocolate. James declared the round even before the judging. Beer 4-0. Then I pulled out a haymaker…I had a packet of chocolate covered blueberries from the Noosa Chocolate Company. I passed them around and the panel tried again. The beer tasted very different, but worked. The panel was in raptures. Beer 4-0 and dancing around singing “In your face, wine!”

It was great fun and, as always, I found some wonderful flavours in wine and some surprising matches – that as a largely non-wine drinker I often forget. James is a great bloke with a fantastic palate. We might try and do a dinner somewhere together doing the same thing.

The great thing for me is that beer always holds its own in the match ups…something that surprises many and is another reason why increasing the profile of beer and food matching is good for beer.

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Beer and food

Posted on November 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

One of the best beer and food matching dinners that I have ever been to was at last year’s Australian National Homebrew Conference, where they matched four beers from award-winning homebrewers with a menu devised by the cooking (cheffing?) teachers at the William Angliss TAFE. The beers were superb and the food matched perfectly.

The same team are hosting another one in two week…if you live in Melbourne, or have an excuse to be there I would highly recommend attending.

The ANHC 2009 Food and Beer Pairing Dinner is nearly here.

We’re excited about beer. We’re even more excited about food and beer together, and this year’s tasting dinner should be a very special treat indeed.

The menu has been designed by Chris Badenoch (from BeerMasons and Masterchef~) and David Whitfield (William Angliss’ very own master chef), and is a real adventure, drawing on Chris’ passion for the exotic, but down-to-earth elements of food.

Prepared by the students at William Angliss and accompanied by beers from four of Australia’s best homebrewers, this dinner really is a showcase of the best from up and coming chefs and brewers.

The Beers

Like last year, four beers have been especially brewed for the dinner by award-winning homebrewers. They are:

  • Kölsch (a delicately-flavoured, German-style, cool-fermented ale), brewed by John Kingston (VIC), winner of “Best Brewer” at Beerfest 2009, a first place at Vicbrew 2009 and a second place at AABC 2009.
  • American Rye IPA (a big, citrusy, strongly hopped India Pale Ale with a twist of rye), brewed by Lyndon Wilson (SA). A version of this beer won its category at AABC 2008, won its category at the SA state championships 2009 and finished sixth at AABC 2009.
  • Czech Dark Lager (a smooth and seductive lager in the great tradition of dark Czech beers), brewed by Scott Simpson (NSW), winner of gold at AABC 2008.

Dry Stout (roasty, dry and silky with a hint of hickory), brewed by Geoff Daly (VIC), winner of medals at Beerfest 2009, Vicbrew 2009 and AABC 2009.

Commercial beers? We’ve got those too. On top of these unique homebrews, we’ll also be pouring these beers from our generous sponsors:

  • Otway Estate Summer Ale
  • Kooinda Pale Ale
  • Matilda Bay Big Helga
  • Temple Brewing Company Saison

Non-beer drinkers will be catered for by our wine sponsors:

  • Otway Estate Chardonnay 2006
  • Hickinbotham of Dromana Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

And of course there will be plenty of soft drinks available as well.

All beverages are included in the price of the dinner.

The Menu^

Chris’ passion for down-to-earth meals with the raw ingredients of beer (as well as the finished product) as well as David and his team’s technical ability have combined to create a unique dining experience.

Appetiser: Assiette of cured meats, antipasti, malted barley bread – Kölsch

Entree: Pig’s trotter and baby lentil terrine, grilled king brown mushrooms and smoked tomato jelly – American rye IPA

Main: Braised beef cheek (marinated in hefeweizen), cauliflower puree, red onion fondue and semolina gnocchi – Czech dark lager

Dessert: Chocolate tian, coffee pearls, crystal malt and white chocolate icecream – dry stout

Please note that vegetarians and those with other dietary requirements will also be catered for – please let us know when you purchase your tickets.

You won’t want to miss this. Tickets are selling fast at $80 per person (all food and drink included). Book now at www.anhc.com.au

~ Chris was a contestant on Network 10′s “Masterchef” programme. There is no connection between the ANHC Pty Ltd, the organisers of this dinner, and Network 10′s Masterchef programme.

^ Menu subject to change without notice.

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