| Beer Goes With Salad You Know Matching Beer with healthy salads by A. Bruce Sandson For those of you who have met Bob you realize this is one guy who must eat a lot of salads. It's either that or he works out 8 hours a day. When I was trying to begin a more healthy diet I asked Bob for advice and he said "Beer (well he always says that) and salads. Well, I took his advice, lost nearly 20 pounds and now feel great. As I ate more and more salad I experimented with which beers would enhance their flavors. First, remember that salads are now are among the world's most perfect foods, especially this time of year. They can be sweet, tart, savory, spicy, herbal, fruity, and funky, sometimes all at once. But with so many simultaneous flavors, they can pose problems when trying to choose the perfect beer. The acidity of a vinaigrette, for instance, and the bitterness of certain greens can be hard to partner up. In the beginning it was really hard for me to decide which flavors to focus my beer matching on when there's so many things to deal with. By the way, I even tried wine at first. However it was quickly evident that the wine was often knocked out by a salad. Beer easily stood up to the most aggressive salad flavors and had the added bonus of offering a wide range of flavors to partner well with just about anything you might slice, dice, or toss. Here are my simple rules of thumb to keep in mind when you make your beer selection- 1. Keep it on the lighter side: Lighter-weight salads need a beer to match. Reach first for pilsners, hefeweizens, and American wheat beers. 2. Acid + Acid = Less Acid: While this seems counter-intuitive, pouring an acidic beverage with acidic foods lessens the perception of acidity in both. Sour Flanders red ales are amazing with pickled herring, for instance. Pick beers with some pronounced acidity to serve with strong vinaigrette. Lambic, gueuze, Berliner weisse and geuze all work well. 3. Hops and fizz cut fat: For salads with fatty components, whether that comes from avocado, mayonnaise, or meat, hoppy and fizzy beers will leave your palate feeling clean and fresh. Consider pilsners, saisons, or American-style pale ales. 4. Pick an anchor flavor: With some salads there's so much going on that it's easy to become a deer in the headlights. Look at all the ingredients of your salad, then pick a flavor and go with it. It might be the dressing or it might be a light crumbling of blue cheese or bacon. Focus on choosing a beer that will draw out that flavor. I generally pick the beer I want first then decide on which salad to make to match it. I guess most people do it the other way around but remember we're beer people first and foremost! The keywords to keep in mind in deciding how the beer will impact the food are "cut," "complement" and "contrast." One warning - I learned the hard way - drinking the wrong beer with certain salads will detract from both the food and the beer. The flavors in the beer can overwhelm the salad, but the reverse can also occur. Just remember that matching any type of food with beer is not an exact science. There are no set rules which makes it fun. All I know is that every time I try a different beer with a different food, I'm awed by the possibilities. Many thanks to Bob for allowing me to write this month's column. It's been a blast! |
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| Cheers! See you next time to "speak about beer". Bob Montemurro |
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