Beer Pairing: The Essential Guide from the Pairing Pros

by Julia Herz, Gwen Conley

Overview

Inspire a lifelong exploration of your senses as you learn to pair beer and food like a pro.

*2016 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award Finalist*

Beer has reclaimed its place at the dinner table. Yet unlike wine, there just aren’t many in-depth resources to guide both beginners and beer geeks in pairing beer with food. Julia Herz and Gwen Conley are here to change that.

As you start your journey with Beer Pairing, you’ll learn how aroma, taste, preference, and personal experience can affect flavor. Just as important, you’ll become a tasting Anarchist—throw out the conventional advice and figure out what works for you!

Then, on to the pairing. Begin with beer styles, start with your favorite foods, or join the authors on a series of wild palate trips. From classics like barbecue ribs with American Brown Ale to unusual matches like pineapple upside-down cake with Double India Pale Ale, you’ll learn why some pairings stand the test of time and you’ll find plenty of new ideas as well. Discover:

• How we experience flavor and the science and anatomy behind it
• How to taste beer, step by step, with pouring and glassware tips
• Pairings by beer style and specific foods
• Complete information for planning beer dinners
• How to work beer into your cooking repertoire
• Tips and stories from pro brewers
• Geek Out science features with facts to impress your friends

Never look at beer—or food—the same way again!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760375662
Publisher:	Harvard Common Press
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.35(d)

About the Author

Julia Herz is the former Craft Beer Program Director at the Brewers Association and Publisher of CraftBeer.com. She has been featured by Splendid Table, The Food Network's Unwrapped, CNBC’s Closing Bell, Good Morning America Live, and numerous other national media outlets. She also is a BJCP beer judge, Certified Cicerone(R), and homebrewer. She tweets about beer as @HerzMuses.

Gwen Conley spent years as the Director of Brewery Production and Quality at Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey in San Marcos, California, one of the most highly regarded and award-winning breweries in the United States. She has also worked as Quality Assurance and Sensory Director at Flying Dog Brewery and as a Flavor Panel Leader for Ball Packaging Corporation. In a previous life, she was a microbiologist, environmental chemist, and biology teacher. She is a veteran judge at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival and an instructor for the American Brewer’s Guild and the University of California, San Diego, Brewer’s Certificate Program. She tweets about beer as @SensoryGoddess.

Table of Contents

Foreword 6

Introduction 8

Chapter 1 Talking about Beer and Pairing 10

Describing Beer

Malts (Barley and Other Grains)

Hops

Yeast

Water

Other Ingredients

Pairing Terminology

The Building Blocks of Pairing

Pairing in Action

The Three Types of Pairing

Chapter 2 How We Perceive 24

Seek Out Anarchy!

Tasting Basics

Aroma

Sensory Vocabulary and Variation

Conscious Smelling

Taste

Tasting Exercises

The Sweetest Thing

Salivating for Sour

The Zen of Salt

Bitter by Nature

Umami = Delicious Taste

Additional Flavor Fat

Additional Flavor: Alcohol

Mouthfeel

Flavor is a Fusion

Chapter 3 Tasting Beer 50

How to Taste Beer

Set Up for Success

Pour and Examine

Smell

Take a Sip

Evaluate Intensity

American Pale Ale Profile

Glassware for Beer

Glassware Types

How to Pour Beer

Chapter 4 Pairing Practices 66

Pairing in a Nutshell

Consider Beer and Food Elements Separately

Find Flavor Harmonies

Think about Potential Interactions

Complement, Contrast, Cut

Carefully Match Overall Intensities

Perform a Test Tasting

Describe What Stands Our

Tweak and Modify the Pairing

Chapter 5 Palate Trips 86

Your First Trip

Visiting Belgium with All the Comforts of Home

Driving Solo

A Most Unusual Kind of Trip

Nice and Easy

Not Your Average Picnic Basket

Design Your Own Palate Trip

Chapter 6 Pairing by Beer Style 100

About Beer Styles

What Do the Numbers Mean?

About the Pairings

Belgian-Style Weisse

Bohemian-Style Pilsener

American Amber Lager

German-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest

English-Style Pale Ale/Extra Special Bitter

American Pale Ale

American Brown Ale

Belgian-Style Dubbel

Robust Porter

American Stout

American India Pale Ale (IPA)

Imperial/Double India Pale Ale (DIPA)

Belgian-Style Tripel

Belgian-Style Saison

American Barley Wine

American Brett Beer

Belgian-Style Flanders

German-Style Doppelbock

Barrel-Aged Beers

Chapter 7 Cheese, Chocolate, and Other Sure Things 146

Cheese

Milk's Role in Cheese

Age and Cheese Classification

Pairing Cheese and Beer

A Sample Set of Cheese and Beer Pairings

Chocolate

Making Chocolate

Pairing Chocolate and Beer

Sweet Pairing

Girl Scout Cookies

Flavored Candy Corn

Cake

Ice Cream

Savory Pairings

Chips and Dips

Pizza

Nuts

Wings

Mac-and-Cheese or Grilled Cheese

Chapter 8 Beer Dinners 170

Themes

Seasonal Thinking

A Sample Pairing Menu

Other Considerations

Water

Glassware Placement

The Welcome Beer

Incorporate Beer Ingredients into the Meal

Menu Alternatives

Execution

Beer Dinner Checklist

Chapter 9 Cooking with Beer 190

Beer's Flavor Elements

Alcohol

Carbonation

Bitterness

Residual Sugar

Acidity

Salt

Heat

Maillard Reaction

Caramelization

Resources and Works Cited 208

Acknowledgments 213

About the Authors 213

Index 214

Editorial Reviews

"I suggest you not only read Beer Pairing, but use it like a guide book, a lab manual....Beat it up, wear it out, and fill its margins with notes." - From the foreword by Randy Mosher, author of Tasting Beer

"Talking beer and food with Julia and Gwen is a seriously fun experience—and this book is the next best thing. Beer Pairing will truly enhance your life one delicious palate trip at a time." - Lauren Salazar, sensory specialist and wood cellar blender, New Belgium Brewing

"This book fills a big gap in my reference library. Gwen and Julia have taken a deep dive into how and why pairings work and produced an invaluable guide." - Janet Fletcher, author of Cheese Beer and publisher of Planet Cheese

"Thanks to Gwen and Julia, now everyone can taste beers like an expert, pair beer with wonderful foods, and get maximum enjoyment from the experience." - Mitch Steele, brewmaster, Stone Brewing, and author of IPA

"Passion is an understatement when describing Gwen and Julia's fervent love of both beer and food. Their collective knowledge, experience, and intuition present the reader with an easy to understand yet comprehensive guide to all there is to know about beer, food, and pairing." - Matt Brophy, brewmaster and chief operation officer, Flying Dog Brewery

"Part science experiment, part magical mystery tour—Gwen and Julia have brilliantly fused decades of expertise and knowledge to create the most detailed, innovative, and visually stimulating beer pairing guide in the world. Each page will leave your mind buzzing with knowledge and your tongue tingling with anticipation." - Ashley V. Routson, author of The Beer Wench's Guide to Beer

"Beer friends, this is a must add to your library collection, and it will sit nicely somewhere between your Oxford Companion and Tasting Beer on the shelf." - The Better Beer Society

From the Publisher