Is craft beer the new wine?

Hey all,

It's been a while since my last update here in the recipe section. We've been busy at the brewery with the new bottles. So much so, some stuff tends to go by the wayside - like my kitchen renovation at home! I've got the cupboards in, but no doors. I figure if I stare at the box of couscous long enough, eventually I put up the doors, or do the full out Moroccan meal.

We have still been participating in beer & food dinners put on by many of the top chef's in Winnipeg. Not to brag but - for example:

The Winnipeg Winter Club's Annual Bru Ha Ha Dinner: Chef Craig Geunther really does these types of dinners right. A mix of upscale, yet relaxed atmosphere with an attention to details really puts the room at ease. Our contribution to the meal was the Stir Stick Stout which was paired with a Stout Chocolate Cake and an assortment of fresh fruit and chocolate.

Later in the month, we participated in a dinner at the Dandelion Eatery. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Chef Ben Kramer runs the kitchen here in the restaurant attached to the Organza Organic Food Market. Emphasis is placed on local food first here so the ingredients are farm fresh. In this particular instance, we paired all the courses with our beers, and in some cases even used the beer as ingredients. I think the shining example for me was the Weizen Heimer banana smoothies we were served as an amuse bouche. Someone at the Dandelion has a sense of humour, as well as the palette to pull it all off.

So, on June 24Th, we'll be doing a dinner at Fude on Osbourne with Chef Helena Fontaine. Here's the menu:

June Beer Dinner

Appy: Olive and goat feta Stuffed Lamb chop wrapped in bacon on mint couscous
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Salad: Fresh Tarragon butter leaf salad with house pickled beets and Oak Island Goat Cheddar
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Soup: stout (O' Hara Celtic or Marston’s Oyster) and cheese soup
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Main: Malt Vinegar Chip Crusted Pike with chive cream on roasted garlic herb Mashed potatoes. Served with our feature vegetables tossed in Lemon butter.
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Dessert: House made Stir Stick Stout Ice cream sandwiches!


So, given that Fude is a decidedly wine-centric establishment, what does that mean for our craft beer in general?

I think it has a lot to do with the people of Winnipeg coming forth and demanding better beers.

The MLCC is obviously trying to bolster it's numbers on the premium and super premium beer selection side (I don't think it would be too off base to say we've been helping them quite a bit in that department). But even without counting our stellar beers in the last few months, they've avoided the usual trappings of 3rd world lagers (do we really need another corn based pilsner?) by bringing in interesting, and in some cases, world class beers.

I went to see Marnie Old speak at McNally Robinson's new Polo Park store recently on this issue. Her new book with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Brewery (Delaware) speaks to the similarities between wine and beer, and really does leave the choice up to the reader. So, as biased as I may sound being the local sounding board for beer with food, Marnie had a lot of good things to say, too. Thankfully, when it comes to craft beer the pretensions are usually left at home, and the real winners are the people who find the issue suddenly crystal clear.

There is a world of flavour beyond the outdated image of frat boys and chug-a-lug beer bashes.

And so, to answer the question (what does this mean for craft beer in general?):
There are more light bulbs going off for the average beer drinker every day. That doesn't make craft beer the new wine, it simply co-exists on a level playing field more so than at any other time in history.

The real question should be:
If we've seen these same revolutions in bread, coffee, wine, and now beer, what's next?

Labels: Pairings, Reccomended Reading