BBQ Ribs recipe - perfect Saturday night food.

For me, Saturdays are a good day for going to the local market, and getting something to cook for the evening. Saturdays are actually more relaxed than Sundays, in so much that you've got a night in or out to look forward to, rather than that unsettling wait for work the next day that happens on Sunday evening.
TV is pretty rubbish too - low brow, uncomplicated stuff. I like that. And I like to pair food to match. Something you can eat with your fingers on the sofa or in bed. Comfort food taking away Friday nights over indulgence, or lining your stomach for another night out.

It's fun to go to the local market, because you've generally got much more choice than a supermarket, both in terms of availability and freshness. Much cheaper too.

My typical Saturday dinner is often slow cooked. I've got time to get home around 3pm, stick the food on, and then settle down to watch some football on TV, before cracking open a beer or gin and tonic and prepping the food ready for about 8pm.

Ribs are perfect finger food, and if you can get hold of some good pork ones, then it's  simple and satisfying dish to make. I know that in America, they are seen as the Holy Grail of BBQ food, with literally thousands of "secret" recipes available on the net to follow. I've tried all sorts of methods, but this one is easy to make and you end up with great results. Pair them with fries and a home made coleslaw, and you've got the perfect TV dinner. Oh, don't forget the beer. I've gone for Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. It's a great hoppy beer with a suitable malt back bone to compliment the smoky flavours of the ribs.

You'll need:

A large rack of pork loin ribs
1 tablespoon strong mustard
1 and a half teaspoons of paprika
2 tablespoons of ketchup
2 and a half tablespoons of dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce
1 tablespoon of Bourbon (optional)

What to do:

1) Turn the racks curved side down with the wider end facing you. Use a knife to peel away the membrane from the bones. This results in much tender ribs.

2) Mix together the marinade ingredients and rub half of it into the ribs well. Put in a shallow dish and then put in the fridge for 3 hours or so. Turn it once or twice so that the entire ribs are coated.

3)Pre-heat the oven to 150c. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and cook for 2 and a half hours, basting every half hour. Remove the foil for the last 15 mins of cooking. Once done - the rack should end up floppy. Not burnt to a crisp.

4) Heat up a griddle pan, or heavy frying pan (or BBQ if you are outdoors), brush the ribs with the remainder of the marinade and cook until caramelised.

5) Serve with fries and garnish of your choice. As mentioned, coleslaw works well, and so does corn on the cob. And a beer of course.

Christmas cake

For me, it wouldn't be Christmas without a traditional cake to soak up some of the many beers, that most of us consume over Christmas. With this in mind, I always add beer to the recipe. Only half a bottle - that way, you get to drink the other half when baking.

This recipe should be made at least a couple of weeks in advance. The cake needs "feeding" once a week with brandy, rum or in this case whisky. I'm choosing whisky this year, because I plan to pair the finished cake with a nice bottle of  "Ola Dubh 30", a a dark Scottish ale which has been matured in 30 year old Highland Park whisky casks.

Don't put marzipan on until a couple of days before. Let it sit overnight, and then apply the icing.  I'll post instructions nearer the date!
Serve on its own, or do as Yorkshire folk do and serve it with a nice lump of strong English cheese.
You can make a large round cake, or two loaf sized cakes with this recipe.

You'll need:
225g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
200g butter
200g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon black syrup/treacle
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
800g dried mixed fruits (raisins, sultanas, apricots, cranberries, dates)
150g glace cherries cut in half
100g lemon peel
100g orange peel
100g almonds cut in half
4 eggs lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
20cl dark beer (I used Mikkeller Santa's little helper, but any dark spiced Christmas beer will do)
Brandy, Whisky or rum for feeding

How to do it:
1) Preheat the oven to 150c. Grease a 20cm round cake tin, or a 26cm pound cake tin and line with baking paper (enough to come at least 5cm above the sides to prevent burning).

2) Sieve the flour, salt and spices into a bowl.

3) Cream the butter and sugar in another large bowl. Then mix in the treacle, marmalade and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.

4) Mix the eggs a little at a time to the mixture, adding a tablespoon of flour towards the end.

5) Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well mixed. Add the beer, not forgetting to pour yourself a glass while you are at it. Mix in the dried fruit, cherries, peel and almonds.

6) Pour the mix into your baking tin - make a small hollow in the centre to prevent cracking.

7) Bake in the oven for two/two and a half hours and test with a knife. It it comes out clean, then the cake is ready. If not, put in for another twenty minutes.

8) Take out and make some small holes with a knife. When cooled, pour over a tablespoon of brandy, whisky or rum.

9) Wrap in baking paper, and then tightly in foil. Each week, unwrap and pour a tablespoon of your preferred spirit over the cake.

10) A couple of days before you want to serve the cake, marzipan it and ice it. Instructions nearer the date!

11) Open another bottle of beer, pat yourself on the back, and look forward to Christmas. Be sure to hide the cake somewhere cool and dark. This will keep it moist, and also prevent anyone eating it!

A step by step guide to tasting beer.

I recently did a beer tasting event, and when I explained that it's important to taste beer the correct way, I got a few laughs. When I explained that, just as you do with wine, you have to look, smell and taste the beer correctly, I got even more laughs.

Why should wine get all the fuss, and not beer? Today there is virtually no aspect of social life from which beer is excluded, and seldom must the beer drinker endure the scorn of the surrounding wine tippler. Beer is exciting, beer is gastronomic, beer is as social as it has ever been - and beer is worth talking and reading about, and its also worth doing it right.

To appreciate a beer properly, you should always enjoy it from a glass and never swig it from the bottle or can, since doing so deletes the contribution made to flavour by aroma and appearance. A fine beer is deserving of a more thoughtful, planned approach.

1. Observe.

This might seem elemental, but brewers go to great lengths to give their beers just the right appearance. If you look closely enough, your beer could be telling you something.

 Clouding can be deliberate or not, excessive or incidental foaming could be a sign of infection or old age, and if the colour is darker than it should be for the style, oxidisation may be an issue. 

The beer should have a steady stream of bubbles rising from the bottom if it's a lager, less if it's an ale, resulting in a creamy white foam. The more foam there is, is usually an indication of the amount of hops in the glass. 

Certain glass shapes and sizes are designed specifically to enhance the tasting experience. For example, the over sized tulip glass for Duvel allows necessary foaming, the tall vase like Weissbier glass aids even distribution of the unfiltered beer, and the chalice style glass used for Trappist beers enables the warming of the beer in the palm of your hand. A stemmed wine glass with a broad bowl is the simplest way to present many styles of beer.

2. Smell.

Sniffing your beer can certainly draw strange looks from others when you are in a bar, but appreciating the aroma is essential. Humans can discern hundreds if not thousands of smells, yet only a handful of tastes, so when our brain combines the two to create flavour, it is the nose that brings the subtleties together. 

In an ale, try to detect fruity aromas. In a lager, look for notes of straw, hay or fresh cut grass. In a malty beer such as a Bock or Vienna, hints of toffee or caramel can be detected. IPA's can display citrus, pines and tropical fruits, and in Lambics, you can find musty barnyard scents.

3. Taste.

Take your time to discern the tastes within your beer, thinking about what is in your glass and your mouth.  

Sip slowly, allowing the beer to roll over your tongue and around your palate, appreciating the tones before you swallow. Then, before returning for another sip, consider the after taste - is it bitter or malty, sharp or warming, short or lingering? 

Creating a personal catalogue of the flavours you find is a good idea and is rewarding, but takes time. It becomes easier with experience and you'll soon be able to detect different flavours without referring to your notes.

Above all, trying to absorb what it is that you have just tasted will lead to a better appreciation not only of the beer just finished, but also of all subsequent beers you plan to explore.

4. Consider.

It's unlikely that your first impression of a beer remains unchanged to the end of the glass. Nor may it be set in stone by just one sampling. In the way that a song or work of art can at first be dismissed or even disliked, but then over time grow on you and become a favourite, so it is that some beers, unimpressive at first, may after full consideration become part of your regular drinking experience.

 It might even depend on the weather. A beer which your tried in the summer could be a firm favourite due to its refreshment properties, but fails to hit the spot in winter. It's often the same the other way around, which is why many of us don't drink or appreciate darker beers during the warmer months.

Once you get into the habit of tasting beer like this, you'll find flavours and aromas you never knew existed in beers. You'll also be able to identify reasons why the beer isn't performing as expected. Is it too cold - because temperature plays a key role in aroma and flavour. The colder the beer, the less it will taste. Is the beer foaming too much or not enough - maybe you've got it in the wrong glass?

It only takes a few minutes to perform each of the stages, but you'll be rewarded with a whole spectrum of tastes and aromas.

Make time for beer!

James

How things have changed.....

It's been a while since I last posted a blog. You see, I normally write when I am listening to football on the internet, and seeing as today is the start of the football season again, then it seems only natural that I pen something while in front of the laptop with a beer in hand.

Loads has happened since I last wrote. I'm delighted to say that Estonia has totally embraced the craft beer scene. More and more craft beers from Denmark, America and the UK are on sale, and more importantly, locally produced micro brewed beers are available and are selling out nearly as fast as they are made.

Pudel bar, which I'm part owner of, has grown from strength to strength, and it's not unusual to struggle to find an available table both inside and outside on a weekend. And this is a bar that got famous for being a "Saku free zone". Finally, drinkers in Estonia have a choice of some great beers, without being bombarded with 2=3 offers and free t-shirts. It also is good to see, that Tallinn's drinkers are happy to pay a little bit extra for quality, rather than look for the quantity of beer they can get for the money in their pocket.

And what can I say about Põhjala Brewery? They dared to challenge the current local market with some premium, niche craft beer. Starting out with just a few cases of bottles, they've now progressed to producing kegs of beer, being served in some of the main beer outlets in Tallinn. They are struggling to keep up with demand, and it's this demand that is driving more bars to stock their beers, and more "home" brewers to add foundation to their dream of starting their own brewery.  This year alone, I've been given about fifty different samples from home brewers, who are looking to expand their current production from friends to customers.

I import Mikkeller, Brewdog and several others to Estonia. Since I started two years ago, my orders have gone from two or three brands from each brewer, to two or three pallets (that's 72 cases) every couple of weeks. Just yesterday, I had a delivery of 15 pallets and I'm already looking to place my order next week, as I don't think that 1080 cases of beer will satisfy the demand of the 50 plus bars and restaurants that stock my beer.

What's driving this demand? I think it's the Estonian desire to be individual that is the main moving force. The Kalamaja distict, where Pudel Bar is located is getting more and more fashionable - it's an industrial setting which a couple of years ago was pretty much a "no go area". As prices have risen in the old and new parts of Tallinn, people have decided that they need to move away from the centre and into an area which is different, has attitude and potential. It's these same people who make decisions based away from the norm, who want to drink a beer that shares the same values as their lifestyle. They don't want a commercially produced beer which is for the masses, they want something that is alternative and with taste. It's no secret that we opened Pudel Bar up in this area, because we knew that there was a demographic who would visit the bar and keep it crowded week in week out. The knock on effect, is that the other bars in this area and around, are also stocking craft beers. These bars don't have the old attitude of "we won't sell the same beer as other bars", but rather "we want to be a select group of bars that serve beers that our customers want".

So what's up next for the Estonian beer scene? I can see a few more local micro breweries opening up, I can see a lot more restaurants realising the potential for matching good, quality beer with food, and I can see a lot more demand from customers. We've raised the bar to the highest level its been - and the only way is up. I can now start to import styles of beer that I didn't think were possible a year or so ago. Sours, barrel aged, smoked and high strength beers are now on my shopping list. Limited edition beers sell out within a few hours. Põhjala beers are being asked about in many bars. Supermarkets are ringing me up saying that they need to stock craft beer.

It's a nice business to be in at the moment, and the biggest reward is seeing the satisfied faces on the customer when they drink the beer. It's almost as good, as seeing the dis-satisfied faces of customers when they visit a bar that doesn't stock craft beer, and they move onto another that does.

Let's keep that bar raised high, and together we can work to make the beer drinking experience an excellent one.

James

Estonian micro revolution starting to get big.

Last weekend, I went down to Tartu to visit fellow beer shop owner, and beer geek Karmo. Karmo owns the excellent "õllepood Nr.1". The reason for my visit, was that there was a gathering of Tartu home brewers and Karmo wanted me to help judge their beers.

                                 

"Make sure you stay overnight" said Karmo, which I took to mean that there was going to be plenty of sampling going on.

Before I did the judging, I went next door to Möku, which is a nice little bar that has recently expanded its beer range. Lauri asked me if I'd like to give his staff a brief training session about some of their new beers, which of course I was very happy to do. Beer culture in Estonia has expanded so rapidly, that more and more beers are appearing on taps and in fridges each month - with the staff needing to know a bit about them. That in itself is refreshing - staff actually wanting to know about the beer they are serving. I think it goes to show that craft beer actually has a personality, with each having its own story to tell. Mainstream generic beers are boring - they all have the same life story - which is not really that exciting to tell the truth. So we had a good chat about beer, how it's made, why it tastes like it does bla bla bla, so much so that I over-ran and was late for my date by half an hour. I could have gone on for hours more.

                                     


So I arrived at Karmo's place, and there were already people there waiting for me. It was good to see that the usual photo fit of a home brewer wasn't present here. No socks, sandals and beards, but regular guys including two smartly dressed young educated gentlemen, a biker, a DJ and me. And Karmo - who has a beard and was wearing sandals with socks.



Now I have to admit - I'm not a fan of all home brewed beers. Some are very good, some are passable, but to be honest, most are pretty bloody awful. The people who make them, have to drink them. When you've spent a good few hours brewing and bottling them, you'll drink the sweat of your labours, no matter how it tastes. And what you'll also do - is give some to your friends and ask them to try  it. I get a lot of these - with requests of "honest feedback". Most of the time, I'm not entirely honest, but forthright enough to make sure that I don't get any second bottles sent to me.

Life is too short for bad beer. So I take a sip, and if I don't like it, then it gets poured down the sink.  Which is interesting in itself. I told an Estonian friend that I pour the beer away if I don't like it, and he looked at me shocked. "But it's free" he said. "How can you waste something that is free?" he asked. Whereas my viewpoint is that if I didn't pay for it, then I'm losing nothing by pouring it down the drain.

So when I was told that there was going to be over 20 different beers to try, I tried to work out how I was going to throw away the beer I didn't like - when I had the guy who made it sitting right in front of me.

                                       

As it turned out, it was pleasantly suprising. There were 28 different beers, which at times was a bit of a chore - because not all of them hit the mark. Some of them were not, how shall I put it...."to my taste". As all the narrative was in Estonian, I did my best to work out the ingredients, and in one beer I was sure there were bananas. A banana IPA I wrote on my tasting notes. When I submitted my feedback, I was given looks of astonishment and hilarity. "What sort of bananas do you have in England?" They all laughed. The beer didn't have any banana in it at all. Shame it tasted like it did. Drainpour!

But on the whole the beers were good. Some were excellent, with one Imperial Black IPA in my opinion, being good enough to sell to the public. It was the overall winner out of the bunch, with an IPA brewed by the same brewer coming in second place.

                                       

I left Tartu smiling, not only because I had tasted some nice new beer, but because I managed to sell six copies of my book to these home brewers too. That's the hotel sorted then ;)

So what's happening in Tallinn? What's not happening in Tallinn is more to the point. Talk of the town this month is that a new beer bar called Pudel has opened up in the up and coming area of Telliskivi. I'm lucky enough to be co-owner of it, and once again I'm glad that I decided to enter the beer industry when I left University, not sell washing machines like my old man wanted me to. The great thing about being involved in small scale bars, is that you get to pick and choose what brands you sell. If you're boring and want to make a sure fire profit, you go with the major brands, and basically sell your soul to them. If you are a bit more gung ho, and want to work hard at making a profit by being non mainstream, then you get to play around with some interesting beers, hoping that the fact you are being different will bring the punters in.

                                               

Pudel has its foot firmly in the non mainstream camp. It has the largest selection of beers in Tallinn (read, Estonia) with many of the brands making their debut. Punk IPA, Baltic Frontier, Thornbridge beers are all on tap, and there are world class ratebeer 100/100 beers on the shelves in the name of Mikkeller George Cognac Edition, Nelson Sauvignon and Trappist beers from Rochefort, Achel among others.



One of the other co-owners, also happens to be a brewer. Not a kitchen or garden shed brewer, but a full on "we're gonna make so much we're gonna keg it" brewer.  They call it Põhjala, which means Nordic Territory in English. They've been putting together a few brews, sampling it (I get bottles too, and I'm pleased to say that I don't have to drain pour them), re brewing it, sampling it over and over to ensure it's ready. Ready for what? Bottling and kegging with the intention of becoming the first Estonian micro/gypsy brewed beer available to buy in Estonia. They are so intent on becoming the best, that they learnt and borrowed resource from the best. Two of the brewers spent a week at Brewdog, and then Brewdogs brewer came over to Estonia to help them put together the beer.

Next Friday, the 8th of Feb in Pudel bar, the boys will be having a launch night for their new beer. It's called ÖÖ, which means Night in English. It's a Baltic Imperial Stout coming in at 9,5% abv, and like the name suggests, is a black as the night. Look out for the Facebook invitation - the brewer from Brewdog will be coming over too, so it's a great chance to try the beer and ask questions to the guys who created it. The very cool thing is that the beer is packaged in Key Kegs, which uses compressed air to dispense. No gas enters the beer, which means you get to taste it just as the brewer intended.

Just to whet your appetite for the 7th, I managed to blag myself a bottle, and reviewed it.

It's a 33cl bottle (50cl at 9,5% abv would be too much), with a striking design on the label. It depicts a black night, with twin, vanilla coloured moons, reminding me a bit of Tatooine's binary sunset in the Star Wars film.

The pour is nice and thick, and it is at this moment when you realise that the beer is as black as the label. It comes out like a sludgy engine oil, building a thick creamy foam which is coffee cream in colour. It's the sort of head Guinness drinkers like to boast they can rest a penny on top. Except this one didn't require any nitrogen or 181 seconds to pour.

                                   
                                     
The aroma is as you would expect (if you are experienced at this game) of a Baltic Stout. Loads of roasted scents such as burnt oak, coffee, caramel, liquorice, spice, raisins and alcohol. It's worth pointing out, that the head has diminished from its original state, but is still there, almost like a vicars collar on top of the beer.

The taste is similar to the aromas you pick up - but there is a little sweetness too, almost like black syrup or molasses. It's not overly bitter, and any bitterness that is picked up is mostly from the malts rather than the hops. It's nice and smoky, and has a good depth of flavour, starting with smoke, which turns into chocolate, which then turns to dark fruits. The alcohol is there, but it's very well hidden, making this an easy 9,5% beer to drink.

The finish is smooth, but also a little salty. I'm not sure if this salt is intended, as it gives a little medicinal saline finish to the beer - which doesn't really fit in with the rest of the flavour portfolio. I'm not talking sea water salt, but just a little hint towards the end. Normal people probably won't notice it at all. Such is my curse for being a geek.

                             

The overall impression of the beer is that it's very good. It's up there in style with such luminaries as Mikkeller Black Hole, and Brewdog Alice Porter (which maybe even had the same brewer). Of course the real success story of this beer will be its loyal, Estonian fans. Estonian beer geeks have always been hunting for that really good beer made by one of their own, and now they have one. There is talk of more styles coming from them, including one called "Topelt Nelson", which is a dry hopped IPA using the Nelson Sauvin hop. Looking forward to that.

So, if you want to check out the new bar, and also check out the new beer, and also check out the brewers - then put a date in your diary/iphone/Samsung for the 8th of Feb. Check out Pudel Baar on Facebook for further updates. This stuff is great in bottle, but I suspect it will reach another level on tap.

Hoppy Christmas!

Christmas is a time for taking it easy, eating large amounts of food, and drinking more than your daily limit of alcohol.

Lots of people are realising that it's just as acceptable to bring beer to the table, as well as wine. But what beer goes best with Christmas food?

Christmas food, especially in Estonia, is particularly heavy. It's more often than not a little fatty too - think goose, pork, turkey and roast potatoes. There are some spices involved, such as black pepper, cloves, caraway and nutmeg. Sauces play a big part, with meat gravy, cherry, apple and orange all served as accompaniments.


That's a lot of flavours. But fortunately, there are plenty of beers to match.

Traditional Christmas beers are dark, and more often than not, contain a combination of spices similar to the ones I've already mentioned. These are great to go with smoked hams, pork and traditional Estonian food. Blood sausages and dark beer are a match made in heaven. You can even cook with dark beer. Sauerkraut slowly simmered in a dark Christmas beer stock, is a real crowd pleaser.

Here's a recipe taken from the excellent Estonian Nami Nami blogspot. www.nami-nami.blogspot.com

BEER BRAISED SAUERKRAUT

Serves 12

1KG Fresh Sauerkraut
100 grams soft brown sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
500ml strong dark Christmas beer
Pinch of caraway seeds
50g butter

Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat on a medium setting. Stir every now and again until the cabbage is golden, soft and caramelised. Should be about an hour.

I'd then pair this with a dark Christmas beer when eating. The caramel, burnt sugar flavours in the cabbage, go absolutely hand in hand with the roasted, caramel malts and spices.

What if you're having duck or goose? I'd go for a fruit beer. Especially a cherry one. The acidity of the beer cuts through the fat of the bird, while the subtle fruit flavours provide a beautiful counterpoint.

Here's a selection of my recommended dark traditional Christmas beers, which will go nicely with a dish of Pork, Saurkraut, blood sausages and all the trimmings

A Le Coq Jouluporter.
A nice traditional Baltic Porter, with some spices, and nice dry bitterness from the roasted malts.
Puls Joulu Legend.
Not as bitter as it's other Estonian counterparts, but a bit more spiced. Some nice juniper taste.
Brewdog Christmas Porter.
Lots of roast malts, chili and chocolate in this one. I think it'd go great with blood sausage.
Mikkeller Fra Til Via.
Super roasty, bitter, dry porter. It's got cloves, cumin and coriander in it. Christmas in a bottle!
Santa's Little Helper 2011 Speyside whisky edition.
Serve this after the meal in a 4cl glass. Super peaty, super whisky, super woody. Super!

Of course, there has to always be an alternative Christmas. Just as we've seen that the trend in beers is moving towards hop forward, refreshing beers, the same has happened with Christmas beers. Danish Brewer To Øl states on it's beer "Snowball":

"Enough heavy dark obnoxious sweet super malty x-mas and winter beers. When you eat heavy duck with fat gravy, the last thing you want is another heavy sweet malt liquor!
NO! you want something that can help you sink the dinner, ease you stomach and cleanse your throat"

I've got to admit I agree with them. Quite often my plate is so crammed with food at Christmas time, that I'm struggling to fit any liquid down my gullet. As I've mentioned before, temperature plays a big part in "drinkability", and for me, I prefer a nice cold beer sliding down my throat as I'm eating my third helping of turkey, than a heavy porter. If we take turkey as an example, it's often served with lemon, or has been basted or stuffed with lemon. Think of some of the modern beers packed with fresh new world hops - citrus, grapefruit and pine. These flavours will absolutely sing with a lemon basted turkey.

Here are some of the beers which should be served chilled at the table, and will provide a nice refreshing zing with your turkey:

To Øl Snowball.
A hopped Saison style beer. Nicely carbonated, it's almost like a sparkling wine. Refreshingly hoppy.
Mikkeller Hoppy Lovin Christmas.
An IPA made with ginger and pine needles. Really refreshing, with a great ginger bite towards the end.
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.
Not a Christmas beer as such, but contains cloves, cardomon, cinnamon and other "Xmas" spices.
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted. 
Again, not a Christmas beer, but it's got so much lemon zest, that it just works so well with white meat and fish.

And now we come to fruit. As I mentioned, a good cherry lambic will provide a little acidity to cut through the fat of a goose, turkey or piece of pork, as well as giving a bit of sweetness which goes nice with the meat. If you are going to serve some sort of sauce - like a cherry compote, or some cowberry jam, why not stir a little fruit beer into it just before serving? A glass of cherry beer with goose, chicken, turkey, duck and even pork is a real treat. You'll find that even those who say they don't like beer, will be totally amazed at what they are drinking. I'm willing to bet money that even Granny will love a Belgian fruit beer!

Ok, here's my recommendations:

Kasteel Rouge. 
The old favourite. I have yet to find someone who doesn't like it.  Hate beer? It's my trump card. Loves duck.
Lindemans kriek. 
Takes the cherry up a notch. Expensive, but worth it. Expensive because it contains so much fruit.
Baltic Frontier. 
Made with sea buckthorn. Super bitter, but this and some fatty meat are a match in heaven. Great paired with lamb.

So there you have it. And as I always say - if it doesn't work, sit back and decide why it didn't and try something else. That's the great thing about beer - there is ALWAYS a beer out there that will go with your food. Christmas time is an occasion to relax and let things come to you - maybe you'll just happen to stumble across a beer which you find a total favourite, and you'll make some food that goes with the beer, not the other way around :)

A big Happy hoppy Christmas from me, and a big thank you for all that read this blog!

Have a good one!
James

Beer and food - not as good as wine surely?

Wining for dining, beering for cheering. That's what we're led to believe, and of course in some cases it's correct. It all depends what type of beer you are drinking.

Craft beer (that's the stuff that is brewed with real ingredients, has a specific style and bags of taste. Can be called real ale in the UK, or traditional ale in the States) is the new star with the international cuisines that we are all eating today. Craft beer can do amazing things with food, and it goes places where wine cannot go. Don't get me wrong - I love wine. I've spent some very pleasurable days of my life in France, sipping Burgundy over four hour lunches. I've even got a minor diploma in wine tasting. I'm not just a beer geek. Wine is wonderful, but lets be honest - it can't do everything.

Craft beer can do everything. Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Cajun and Middle Eastern food, and barbecue, are far better with real beer than with wine. Even with traditionally wine friendly foods, beer often shows superior versatility and flavour compatibility. The range of flavours and aromas in beer is vast - it's deep and wide and tall, and it easily surpasses that of wine. Beer has bitterness to slice through the fat, carbonation to refresh the palate, caramelised flavours to match those in your food, and sweetness to quench the fire of chilies.

If you've tasted only mass-market beer, I'm afraid that you haven't actually tasted beer at all. Craft beer can be imperial stout, matching your dessert with flavours as bold, chocolatey, and roasty as espresso, or it can be a Belgian wit, matching your fish dish with flavours as light and citrusy as fresh lemons. It can be American pale ale, full of bright grapefruit and smelling of pine needles, or a Belgian Framboise, as fruity and as sharp as a raspberry sorbet. It can be a ten year old British barley wine, as warming and complex as a vintage port, or an Indian pale ale, spritzy and full of the aromas of a tropical fruit orchard.

When paired with food, these flavourful beers can really make the meal sing. No matter how complex or refined the dish, whether it's foie gras or a simple smoked sausage, there is a beer out there that will provide the perfect accompaniment. If you love food, but only know wine, then you are trying to write a song using only half the notes and half the band.

Beer by itself can be wonderful. Food however, is where it all comes together. Most of us, myself included, can clearly remember some of the best meals we've ever had. Those meals stand out as peak moments in our lives. Mine was the De Karmeliet in Brugge about twenty five years ago. It was the first real six course meal in a posh restaurant I'd ever had - I couldn't believe you got free sorbet between each course!

Unfortunately,  not all meals can be Michelin standard. There are times when meals seem rushed and food is little more than fuel. Even when you've had a good meal, there's often something missing. This is where beer can help you.

As I mentioned, if, to you, "beer" means the yellow fizzy stuff sitting in cans on supermarket shelves, I want you to empty your mind of the fact that these beers actually exist.  We're not including them in this little project. We're talking about the real thing here. And this is what real beer can do: it can make every single meal you have an interesting and flavourful experience. It's something that can actually make you pay attention to what's happening on your palate. Paying a little attention to both your food and your beer, is the difference to having an "ok" cooking and eating experience, and having one filled with flavour and lots of it. You'll have to cook or buy nice meals though, beer won't turn a Big Mac into a feast, but it can turn a good chilli into a firework display, or a simple roast chicken into a spectacular meal.

Can't wine do the same thing? Yes and no. I like wine, and frequently enjoy it with my meals. But I don't enjoy wine with all meals. A rack of lamb or some roast beef? Sure, I'd probably crack open a bottle of red. But how about Mexican, Thai, Indian, Chinese? I love this type of food, and I don't want wine with it. I've had the wine that is supposed to match these foods, but in my opinion, they are a poor substitute for beer. The spices in these dishes distorts the delicate wine flavours, turning white wines sickly and red wines bitter. Wine doesn't refresh the palate like beer does. Nor does wine have caramelised flavours to match my Chinese sticky ribs.

Even wine experts admit that there are many foods that are simply no good with wine. They call these "tricky ingredients". Here's a list: Eggs, chili, smoked meat, smoked fish, tomato, ginger, curry, chocolate, avocado, garlic, spinach, artichokes, asparagus, cumin.

You guessed it, beer has no problem with these ingredients. Wheat beers are great with eggs, spicy Saison or Double IPA's are great with chili, cumin, curry and ginger. Imperial stouts are perfectly suited for chocolate desserts. Each beer really has it's own match for all the types of food and flavours we enjoy.

Another food product that people always associate with wine is cheese. I bet you can't believe I'm about to say that cheese doesn't go with wine. The much hidden secret in the world of wine, is that most wine, especially red, is a very poor match for cheese. Ask any honest sommelier. One well respected wine writer says in this book, that he's had to conclude that the idea of matching red wine with cheese "basically doesn't really work most of the time". He goes onto say that the relationship between cheese and wine is more like a "wary relationship than a real marriage". Another writer says that matching cheese and wine is "fraught with confrontations", and yet another goes onto say that even mild cheeses like Brie, can "clash horribly, especially if you let them get too ripe and runny".

Someone once told me an interesting observation. He said that the places you are normally offered wine and cheese together, are weddings, parties and functions opening a new art gallery or something. He went onto say that the reason why many people end up serving wine with cheese, is that the cheese coats the palate, blunting the flavour of the wine. This makes cheap wine taste pretty much ok. It's why quite a lot of wine shops try and push the cheese and wine combination.

Traditional beer and cheese on the other hand, are absolutely perfect together. And it's not very suprising when you think about it. Beer and cheese are both traditionally farmhouse products, and back in the old days, they were made by the same person. They both derive, to some extent from grasses, they are both fermented and aged, and they both have bacteria (although not the same type) doing the fermenting. And they both have similar flavour attributes - sweetness and acidity, fruitiness and yeasty. Many cheese makers have gone on to become brewers and vice versa. As I said, beer was traditionally made on a farm.

Have you ever seen a cow in a vineyard?

Of course we're talking about cheese with serious, complex and for want of a better word, funky flavours. So just as I said disregard the fizzy yellow beer on the supermarket shelves, do the same with those packets of hiirte juust (mouse cheese in English) on the shelves in the next aisle. The key thing to matching beer with cheese is that you can find harmony as well as contrast. If you take one of my favourite cheeses, Cheddar, you'll find nutty, fruit flavours, and a sharp acidity in the cheese. This means you'll look for a beer that has some nice bitterness to work with the cheeses sharpness, and some nice fruit character and maltiness to match the fruit and nuts in the cheese. An India Pale Ale fits the bill perfectly. Think of one of the very first pub meals - the ploughmans lunch (again, the farm connection), and you now start to understand why cheese, cold meat and fresh bread were paired with a traditional ale.

Want some Gruyere? It's easy to match a beer to the cheeses nutty, acidic, milky flavours. Think of a wine that tastes milky with hints of nuts? Neither can I.

I once was part of a dinner event that not only matched cheese and wine, but also beer and wine. There were seven different cheeses, and each had a wine and beer paired with them. Many of the people thought it was crazy that a beer could even sit on the same table as cheese and wine, but as each course finished, more and more of them were siding with the beer. There is just no way a wine can pair better with a strong cheese like Stilton or even Stinking Bishop, like a Barley wine, French Saison, or Belgian   Tripel. The people begrudgingly admitted that the beer had won the battle, and they were all suprised to hear the wine sommelier admit that he knew he would lose the competition. For the record, not one of the wines that were paired with the cheese was red - they were all dry whites.

If you're at a dinner party, the host traditionally wheels out the dessert wine to go with the sweet stuff. Most decline. It's sweetness vs sweetness. Traditional fruit beers open up a whole different set of possibilities, especially with sweet cheeses like mascarpone and goats cheese. Here the sweetness, compared with the tart flavours of fruits such as cherry, raspberry or blackcurrants, work very well.

And as for coffee - why not try an imperial stout or coffee porter instead? Believe me, once you've tried beer with not just cheese, but dessert, roasts, Chinese, Indian, whatever - you just won't go back.

I think the market has advanced so much now, that it's socially acceptable to bring (good) beer to a dinner party. In years gone by, when the only beer available was the aforementioned yellow fizzy stuff in cans, it would have been pretty embarrassing if you turned up and put your four pack down next to all the bottles of wine that the others had brought. Wine was the sophisticated drink, beer was looked down upon.  I think there as now been a bit of a role reversal. When I turn up to a dinner party (it rarely happens to be honest!), I always make sure I choose and interesting beer - most likely in a 75cl bottle. So many people assume it's a wine, and when it's poured into their glass and they taste it, you can see them struggling, trying to work out what sort of wine it is. A bottle of Deus is mistaken for champagne, a bottle of Kasteel Rouge is mistaken for some sort of Italian strawberry sparkling wine, and a merlot barrel aged Mikkeller stout, is mistaken for a good, vintage red.

Think about it next time you are offered wine at that next function you attend, you might want to embarrass them and bring some decent beer with you next time.

Cheers!
James

Ps....for those who don't know (is there really anyone I haven't told yet?!), I like beer and food so much, I've written a book about it. Specifically British pub food and what beer to drink with it. Let me know if you're interested in the book if you're not in Estonia.....