Beer & Wine & Food

I've done a lot of reading and experimenting on cooking with beer and wine. My rule of thumb is to cook with what you like. When you add wine or beer to your cooking you are consentrating the flavors. So if you don't like pinot noir and you add it to your speghetti sauce, you aren't going to like the sauce.


When it comes to drinking beer and wine with your food, use the same rule. Drink what you like. Do certain beers or wine enhance the flavors of your food? The answer is yes. But again, if you don't like an ale and you pour a glass to have with your grilled steak, it's not going to do anything to your palate except make you crinkle your nose every time you take a sip.


It's really that simple. Eating is a full sensory experience. We should enjoy the taste, texture, smell and view of what we eat. If you've taken great care to prepare a meal, don't ruin it with bad choices.

Below are a couple of guidelines that I found very useful, hopefully you will too.

Bon Appetit!

Top Ten Guidelines For Pairing Food and Wine
(http://www.theworldwidewine.com/Wine_and_Food/wine-food-guidelines.php)

1. Match Flavor Intensity. Match delicate wines with delicate foods, and conversely match powerful wines with powerful foods. The Soave goes with the Poached Fish, and the Bordeaux with the Roast Game, and not vice versa.
2. Opposites Sometimes Attract. On occasion you may enjoy spicy foods such as Curries with sweet dessert wines. Personally I avoid applying this guideline too often.
3. Geography Reigns. When in doubt select wine and food from the same area. The soil and microclimate may have a similar effect on both the grapes and the food. For example, Hungarian Cabernet Sauvignon tastes of paprika, the national spice of Hungary.
4. What's Sauce For The Goose Is Sauce For The Wine. Pair powerful wines with powerful sauces, such as those produced by reduction, the boiling off of excess water. It's often wise to employ the same wine in the sauce and in the wine glasses. Subrule- If a wine isn't good enough to drink, it isn't good enough for your sauce.
5. Balance Sweetness. Avoid combinations in which the food is sweeter than the accompanying wine. Otherwise the wine may come off tasting thin.
6. Hot Weather Blues. Avoid highly alcoholic wines on hot sticky days. Either go with a beer or a low alcohol wine such as a German Riesling.
7. Balance Acidity. The food should never be more acidic than the accompanying wines. On the other hand, acidic wines such as Sauvignon Blanc tend to be food-friendly. So should we always drink acidic wines? I would say no.
8. Temperature Counts. If you really want to do it right, use an ice bucket to chill most reds for five minutes before serving. Increase this time to 15 minutes for red Beaujolais and to 15-25 minutes for most whites. If you can't be bothered with an ice bucket, don't forget the fridge. A relatively small difference in temperature can make a big difference in taste.
9. When In Doubt, Open A Champagne Bottle. If, like most of us, you can't justify champagne with most meals, choose a good sparkling wine such as a Spanish Cava. And don't forget Rule 5 (Balance Sweetness).
10. Drink Your Wines In The Right Sequence. If you are lucky enough to accompany a meal with several wines, increase your enjoyment by drinking them in the right order as suggested in the following guidelines. Drink dry before sweet, white before red, young before old, simple before complex, and light before heavy. What about the inevitable conflicts, for example most sweet wines are white and not red. Between wines cleanse your palate with water or a small piece of bread.

How to Pair Beer with Food
(http://www.ehow.com/how_4933983_pair-beer-food.html)
Step 1. The first thing to consider when pairing a frosty brew with your dinner is that neither the beer nor the food should upstage the other. Instead, attempt to create a harmony between the two, with each complimenting the other's flavors, textures and heartiness.  
Step 2. Similar to the red wine with red meat and white wine with fish and chicken school of thought, many prefer to pair dark, heavier beers with meats and lighter beers with fish, chicken and salads. While this doesn't hold true in all occasions, it's a good start to your first foray into pairing beer and food.
Step 3. Another consideration is to cut food's flavor with an appropriately balanced beer; for example, the acidity of highly hopped ales cuts through the richness of fattier foods like cheese or fried fish, whereas sweeter, malty beers can cut through the spiciness of Asian or Mexican dishes.
Step 4. Selecting beers and foods based on regional associations is also generally a good way to ensure a proper pairing. For instance, Mexican beers are often light and acidic, which naturally pairs well with spicy Mexican food, while Japanese lagers are a good compliment to sushi. Conveniently, most ethnic restaurants typically offer several traditional beers to make your pairings easy.
Step 5. These general guidelines will hopefully get you thinking the next time you're out to dinner, but when it's all said and done, beer and food are to be savored and enjoyed, whether together or separate. So if it tastes good to you, go for it.