Gastronome

PINTS ‘N’ PLATES

BY NANCY DAVIDSON

When pairing your next meal, look beyond wine to a refreshing brew.

When you think about the perfect beverage to accompany a meal, wine typically comes to mind. Think again: Beer and fine dining also go hand in hand. With the increasing production of sophisticated beers from microbreweries around the US and the availability of excellent imported beers, coupling dinner with a delicious brew has never been better.

“The small breweries are making quality products these days,” says Todd Rushing, a wine expert with Atlanta’s Concentrics Restaurant Group, which includes TAP (www.tapat1180.com; 404-347-2220). Together with TAP Chef Todd Ginsberg, Rushing hosts frequent beer-tasting dinners on various topics, like pairing light beers with healthy dishes and high-end beers with upscale meals.

Pairing with beer versus wine is a very different art form. The first thing to consider: “Wine tends to work off of the flavor profile of grapes,” Rushing says. “You tend to work with opposites of what you are trying to pair, but with beer you are looking for commonality.”

One favorite pairing is Guinness stout, a dark, thick Irish beer boasting “a flavor of coffee, a touch of bitterness on front, creamy on the back end,” with fresh, raw oysters. These match up well because they have similar characteristics: Oysters start briny and finish with a creamy texture that perfectly complements the stout.

Scott Kerkmans, chief beer officer for Four Points by Sheraton (www.. fourpoints.com/beer), a chain of business hotels around the country (each property has a beer ambassador and unique list of regional beers), recommends pairing lighter beers, such as German Hefewiezen (a slightly citrusy wheat beer) with a fish like tilapia. “You want something that has more subdued flavors,” he says of pairing more subtle dishes.

However, Kerkmans also suggests contrasting flavors. “You don’t have to complement fruit with fruit,” he says. “You can pair fruit flavors with spicy beer, such as Thai or Mexican food with hoppy, bitter India Pale Ale. The ‘hopsiness’ that comes through on the finish dries out your mouth like the tannins in red wines, and helps prepare your palate for the next bite, so you get to taste the full flavor of that food.”

Whether you prefer to complement or contrast flavors, just remember to consider the impact on the palate. A strong beer may overwhelm a light pasta dish, while the flavor of a too-light beer may disappear on your tongue.

While wine pairings aren’t going anywhere, the time has come to give three cheers to beer.

BEER BREAD

8 whole-wheat flour
2/3 sugar
4 baking powder
24 dry stout or oatmeal stout
3 salt
4 eggs

METHOD:

Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs and stout. Knead 10 times after mixing. Split in half and set into two 9-inch-by-5-inch loaf pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. It’s best fresh out of the oven.

—courtesy Scott Kerkmans, chief beer officer for Four Points by Sheraton