By J. Wilson

September 19, 2001 -- Raleigh,NC

We’ve all heard the story of the man who met with greater success in building his home on a foundation of stone than the fellow who built his home on sand. A little deductive reasoning might sort out that this same principle applies when planning a meal. Of course, we need to consider our lifestyles.

If we are buffalo-following Sioux, an easy-to-move teepee would be appropriate. If we are Eskimos, igloos made from ice make sense. And if we are from the desert Southwest, adobe would emerge as the architectural norm. As homebrewers, our beers might serve as the foundation to our meals, but we’ll need to have flexibility when building our menus around them.

A great deal has been written on the subject of pairing food with beer, so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. For our purposes, I’ll assume that we’ve all acquired some basic information, which generally states that lighter brews (Pils, wheats, etc.) do well to complement lighter offerings such as chicken, salads or fish, without overpowering the delicate flavors, while bolder beers (IPAs, porters, etc.) stand up to the assertive flavors of smoked, grilled or otherwise richly-flavored meats. And just when the logic behind the taste marriage of a fruit beer and a fruit dessert seems to slap one in the face, something strange yet wonderful happens when a barley wine or stout matches up with chocolates or a cheesecake.

Keeping all this information in our back pockets, let’s turn to the refrigerator, where I’ve cooled a hand-picked six-pack for the purposes of building six dinner menus around six solid foundations: Anchor Steam Beer (Anchor Brewing Co.); Sunshine Wheat (New Belgium Brewing Co.); Murphy’s Irish Stout (Murphy’s Brewery); Oktoberfest Ur-Marzen (Spaten-Frankiskaner-Brau); Samuel Adams IPA (Boston Brewing Co.); and Pilsner Urquell (Pilsner Urquell-Plzensky Prazdroj).

The premise here is basic, but with a twist. I’m looking to create a nutritionally balanced dinner menu with personality. This means not only do I want the dishes to complement the chosen brew and vice versa, I also want to create atmosphere, making everything, the food, the beer and the experience taste better.

To start, let’s open that Anchor Steam. When I consider what to serve with this, I think of its San Francisco origins. I think Gold Rush. I think West. When I think of all the western meals I’ve enjoyed, I can’t help but notice that Grandad Dave’s Green Chili Elk ranks high on my list of life’s pleasures. To my San Francisco beer, I will bring foods from all over the West, the older the West, the better. Along with the elk (you can substitute beef if you must), I’ll serve cowboy beans, a greens salad topped with guacamole and, of course, sourdough bread. For dessert, I’ll employ a simple, but tasty Mexican Chocolate Cake. Having established an Old West theme that stretches all the way down to Mexico, I’ve met my criteria: beer matches food, food complements beer, and beer and food create atmosphere.

Next, let’s look at the wheat beer. I usually just grill brats, but there are so many possibilities, as there are varieties of wheat beer. Since I mentioned that wheat is light and appropriate for fish dishes, let’s move in that direction for the sake of variety. The wheat I’ve selected is New Belgium Brewing Co.’s Sunshine Wheat, a beer that brings a smile to my face each summer. My entrée will be a light, but flavorful one: shrimp scampi. I’ll also keep my side dishes light and relatively healthy, as I add steamed asparagus, rice pilaf and whole wheat bread, to which I usually add spent grains from my mash, both for texture and conversation. For dessert, though, we need to indulge, and a Bananas Foster Parfait will effectively do the job.