Clean Beer Glass ... Please

Unfortunately, in our fast paced world of wanting everything NOW,  restaurants and pubs tend to throw a bunch of soap on a beer mug, maybe dip it in a sanitizer, and than rinse it in a nana second, and stick it on the rack.  This is not to say the glass is not ‘clean’ … but it is not beer clean!  A dirty glass can kill the taste of a great beer.  

One immediate tell tale is your beer appears flat – absolutely no head of foam and no bubbles floating to the surface – the mental image hurts!  If the glass is properly cleaned, the sides of the glass should have a lacing effect with every sip from the head of foam; the head should remain in tact for most of the beer; bubbles should constantly rise to the top; and no bubbles should cling to the side of the glass.

You certainly do not want to appear as a pushy beer drinker, but if your beer appears flat, it is most likely not enjoyable and should be sent back and exchanged for a beer in a clean glass.

Pairing Beer with Food

 Once the Nor’easter Brewing Company is in operation, we will revisit this release and recommend our specific beers for pairing with food. In the meantime, we wanted to document something now, because for ‘centuries’, it’s always been “which wine goes best with this meal”; today, beer has finally made it on to the menu.  In fact, more and more restaurants now boost a beer selection as large as the wine choices!  In fact, joining the ranks of wine experts at restaurants, beer sommeliers, or formally referred to as cicerones, have popped up in cities across the country in increasing numbers.

We, at Nor’easter, believe that beer may actually be more food-friendly than wine.  The carbonation from beer actually can serve as a cleanser to your palette and there are now so many beers and various beer styles to choose from.  It is our hope that you will soon discover that not only can beer enhance the flavor of food, but food enhances the flavor of beer as well.  Basically, delicate or light dishes work best with lighter bodied and noncomplex beers, and it is equally true that strongly flavored foods demand more assertive and heavy bodied beers. Intensity of beer flavor may involve many aspects: alcoholic strength, malt character, degree and variety of hop and its bitterness, sweetness, richness, body or mouthfeel, and so on.

Keep in mind that matching food with beer is not an exact science, even for the pros.  But most tend to agree, lighter beers tend to go well with lighter foods, and, heavier beers with heavier foods.  I will note, although the majority of beer cicerones look for commonalities, that is a spicy dish with a heavily hopped IPA, or fish with a pilsner; while a few cicerones believe that contrasting flavors is a better compliment, that is a stout paired with chicken or fish, or an Imperial Porter with a salad.

Some beer cicerones might even recommend to simply thinking ethnic. Try bratwurst (complete with grilled onions and horseradish) with a German dark lager or an English Stout with Shepherd’s Pie; perhaps an American pilsner with raw or steamed New England clams. How about beer from Mexico with Quesadillas, or Italian beer with Pasta. How can you go wrong with this method?  I might add, this makes a wonderful theme for a ‘beer’ dinner party.

Another thought is to treat beer like wine ….OK, you wine lovers, still confused?  Some people say lager is like white wine and ale is like red.  Ales tend to be ‘heavier,’ fruity, more complex, and robust, while lagers are lighter, crisp, and comparatively delicate. Recall the age-old rule, red meat; you should have red wine, the new rule …. Red meat, you should have an IPA. With beer, it may be simply said heavy food, heavy beer - light food, a lighter beer.

We offer the following to assist you wine drinkers trying to convert -  

>If we agree that light body wines examples include -Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Barbera, Pinot Grigio


>Why not substitute these beers:  Lager, Pilsner, and Wheat

>Medium body wines examples include Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah

>Why not substitute these beers:  Ale, IPA, Bock

>Heavy body wines examples include: Cabernet Sauvignon, and Oaky Chardonnay

>Why not substitute these beers:  Stout, Porter, and Barley wine

I provide a simple chart created by Epicurious  -

Why not hang it up in the kitchen?

Ale:

Pair with: Burgers; buffalo wings; Asian food; Mexican food; spicy food; nutty food; fried food; pizza; steaks; Cheddar, Parmesan, or Romano cheeses.

Bock beer:

Pair with: Gruyère, Emmental, and Swiss cheeses; Cajun food; jerk chicken; beef; sausage; seared foods.

Lager:

Pair with: Shellfish; light seafood; sushi; grilled pork and chicken; not-too-heavy pasta dishes (without cream or meat sauces); Southeast Asian food; Latin food; Mexican food; spicy food.

Pilsner:

Pair with: American cheese; Muenster, Havarti, and Monterey Jack cheeses; salads; light seafood; salmon; tuna; trout; asparagus; Asian food; Mexican food; spicy food.

Porter:

Pair with: Smoked foods; barbecue; sausage; rich stews; meats; bacon; chili; braised dishes.

Stout:

Pair with: Roasted foods; smoked foods; barbecued/grilled foods; salty foods; oysters; rich stews; braised dishes; chocolate; desserts (ideally the beer is sweeter than the dish).

Wheat Beers

Pair with: Light soups and salads; vegetarian dishes; sushi; Gruyère cheese and Feta/goat cheese; sweet and fruity Asian dishes; citrus-flavored dishes, including dessert and salad dressings.

Above all else, remember, this is not a science and in the end, drink the beer YOU think is best with your meal. Reality is, like wine, drink what you like, truly, there are no right and wrong pairings.  Beer IS the new wine.

As outlined in prior Nor’easter Brewing Blogs, beer is normally served too cold, it is always best served between 40°F and 50°F.  Review our past releases for the perfect temperature for the beer style you choose.

Please drop us a comment on your thoughts for pairing your favorite craft beers.

What’s the Perfect Temperature for Beer?

The simple answer is the more you want to ‘taste’ the beer, the warmer it should be served, within reason.  Most beer is served too cold in the opinion of many craft beer drinkers.  One would attribute this cold temperature to the fact that over 85% of the beer market is Budweiser, Miller, and Coors and these lagers are all served ice cold.

As a general rule of thumb, the proper temperature for Lagers should be served between 40-50F and Ales slightly warmer at 54-60F.

Although, beyond waiting until the beer becomes warmer, one normally does not have much of a choice at a restaurant or bar, and if the beer is keep in a bucket filled with ice, the 32F beer might not warm up until it’s time to leave!

Aromatic beers that are brewed with more ingredients – Pale Ales for example --should be served around 40 F to 42 F, while beers with big flavor, such as Belgian ales, will not even release their aromas until they hit about 50 F.  Temperature will certainly influence the drinker’s experience. A difference of even 10F could yield an enormous difference.

I include some material from Michael Jackson-

He proposed a five-level scale for serving temperatures: well chilled (7 °C/45 °F) for "light" beers (pale lagers); chilled (8 °C/46 °F) for Berliner Weisse and other wheat beers; lightly chilled (9 °C/48 °F) for all dark lagers, altbier and German wheat beers; cellar temperature (13 °C/55 °F) for regular British ale, stout and most Belgian specialties; and room temperature (15.5 °C/59.9 °F) for strong dark ales (especially trappist beer) and barley wine.

Ratebeer documented the following

Very cold (0-4C/32-39F): Any beer you don’t actually want to taste. Pale Lager, Malt Liquor, Canadian-style Golden Ale and Cream Ale, Low Alcohol, Canadian, American or Scandinavian-style Cider.

Cold (4-7C/39-45F): Hefeweizen, Kristalweizen, Kölsch, Premium Lager, Pilsner, Classic German Pilsner, Fruit Beer, brewpub-style Golden Ale, European Strong Lager, Berliner Weisse, Belgian White, American Dark Lager, sweetened Fruit Lambics and Gueuzes, Duvel-types

Cool (8-12C/45-54F): American Pale Ale, Amber Ale, California Common, Dunkelweizen, Sweet Stout, Stout, Dry Stout, Porter, English-style Golden Ale, unsweetened Fruit Lambics and Gueuzes, Faro, Belgian Ale, Bohemian Pilsner, Dunkel, Dortmunder/Helles, Vienna, Schwarzbier, Smoked, Altbier, Tripel, Irish Ale, French or Spanish-style Cider

Cellar (12-14C/54-57F): Bitter, Premium Bitter, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, English Pale Ale, English Strong Ale, Old Ale, Saison, Unblended Lambic, Flemish Sour Ale, Bière de Garde, Baltic Porter, Abbey Dubbel, Belgian Strong Ale, Weizen Bock, Bock, Foreign Stout, Zwickel/Keller/Landbier, Scottish Ale, Scotch Ale, American Strong Ale, Mild, English-style Cider

Warm (14-16C/57-61F): Barley Wine, Abt/Quadrupel, Imperial Stout, Imperial/Double IPA, Doppelbock, Eisbock, Mead

Hot (70C/158F): Quelque Chose, Liefmans Glühkriek, dark, spiced winter ales like Daleside Morocco Ale.

Women Healthier with a Drink of Alcohol

Harvard University recently reported on the results from data taken on women in their 50's and the relationship on alcohol.  The study concluded that their minds were sharper, bodies fitter, and they were in better mental health!  The women in the study had an average age of 58. The researchers stated that the equivalent of four small glass of wine, 4 single measurements of spirits, or a few beers boosted the odds of a healthful life.  The study went on to show that daily drinking is more beneficial than just once or twice a week.
Although Harvard researchers expected similar benefits for men, there was no convincing evidence. 

So, I guess the moral of the study is drink responsible, have fun, and you will live a longer, happier life!  I'll certainly drink to that! Cheers!

Testing the Limits of Alcohol

Many people figure a few beers at a ballgame or a couple of glasses of wine with dinner won't put them over the legal limit for driving. But how alcohol affects people is highly individual, with a number of factors in the mix.

A few  comments

-Quick shots effect the blood stream faster than sipping

-Drinking on an empty stomach impairs reflexes

-Women and older drinkers reach intoxication faster than men and younger drinkers

-Conditions of stress, fatigue and depression increases the impact of alcohol

-Heavier drinkers can tolerate more alcohol than skinny folks 

-People that drink often are able to drink more before becoming intoxicated than those that only occasionally drink.

Drinkers who think they can tell when they have had enough are very often wrong . Further, in America, it is illegal for adults to drive with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above .08%, which represents the percentage of alcohol in the bloodstream. For drivers under 21, any alcohol in the blood is illegal. Most experts agree, consuming one drink slowly over an entire hour is unlikely to make a person inebriated.   

Remember, drink your craft beer responsibly and have a designated driver .... just in case.