By: Jackie Varriano | October 12 2011
Posted in Eugene - Share It - Eugene

This Two Cats Kolsch by Captured By Porches brewing in St. Helens, Oregon works magic with a simple grilled bratwurst. Photo by: Jackie Varriano

When it comes to pairing food with drinks, many people jump to wine. However, pairing beer with food yields surprisingly delicious results. To get some input on the basics of pairing beer and food, The Local Dish turned to Mike Coplin, owner of Eugene’s 16 Tons Beer and Wine Shop and Ginger Johnson of Ashlands’s Women Enjoying Beer, who helped us pair up stouts, hop-filled ales, and seasonal pumpkin brews with everything from ice cream and chocolate cake to bratwurst and salads.

“All beers are not created equal… they all have their own profiles and personalities,” says Johnson. The goal of pairing beer with food is a match game, you are matching flavors and intensities, and trial and error is your best bet on the road to success. “I think the best thing is trial and error, so crack open a few beers and try it, you might hit a homerun,” says Coplin.

“The profile of the flavor is what you are looking to match,” says Johnson. “The intensity can be really overwhelming, it can be eye-popping, it can be slow and delicate - it also goes hand in hand with what your taste buds are happy with.”

Just like with wine, beer can be (and should be) paired with every course. For example, you might not gravitate towards pairing a beer with your favorite dessert, but as Johnson says, “Anybody who’s not thinking about that has a whole world out there they need to explore and dig into with a spoon. Beer and dessert is quintessential.”

Skip the milk and grab a pint of Laurelwood Brewing Company's Stingy Jack Pumpkin Ale to sip while munching some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Photo by: Jackie Varriano

They both agreed that beer floats are a delicious way to marry beer and dessert. Johnson likes Irish stout with coffee ice cream. Coplin has hosted an event with Coconut Bliss ice cream, one of his favorites from the event was the coconut porter from Maui Brewing Company paired with Coconut Bliss’ Cherry Amaretto Bliss ice cream.

What if you have a particular type of beer you love? For fans of hoppy beers, keep in mind that hops are an astringent, meaning they can strip the palate of fats and oils, refreshing your mouth between bites of food. One style of hopped beer is Kolsch, something that would pair perfectly with something like a bratwurst.

For fans of seasonal beers like pumpkin ales, Coplin suggests something like a spice cake. He also recommends taking the pumpkin ale and using it as an ingredient in a salad dressing, then pouring it over a salad with mixed greens with apple slices or dried cranberries. Johnson suggests pairing pumpkin ale with a stone fruit cobbler, or if making a salad dressing to pair the ale “with a mild olive oil and some complementary spices like cinnamon and nutmeg over a spinach and fall fruit (pears) & pecan salad.”

Try pairing a rich piece of chocolate cake with Ninkasi Brewing's Oatis Oatmeal Stout in Eugene. Photo by: Jackie Varriano

Like a hefeweisen or marzen? “Those are all really great beers to pair with very traditional brunch foods, the French toast, the waffles, the bacon, all those kinds of things that we think when we fantasize about the romantic vision of brunch,” says Johnson.

Lastly, don’t discount cooking with beer as a way to pair it with your foods. Coplin recommends a pilsner for use in the popular beer can chicken method, while Johnson says to substitute items with a low viscosity (like water) when baking, broiling, or even making rice.

After talking to these two beer experts, we tried some of the suggested pairings with beer from Oregon breweries Captured by Porches, Laurelwood Brewing Co., and Ninkaski and discovered some delicious new taste sensations (beer and dessert, who knew?). We encourage you try to your own pairings for new culinary delights.

Have a beer and food pairing you love? Share it with us in the comments!

Jackie Varriano is a Eugene-based writer spending more and more time getting to know the beers on at 16 Tons. Keep up with her at seejackwrite.tumblr.com.

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