Food and Beer
Whether you think of it as the sauce of life or a beverage to be slathered on your grilled cheese, beer adds flavor and texture to many dishes. It can also be used as a base in soups and stews, for a rich, thick sauce, or to add flavorful moisture to roasted or grilled meats. It’s a versatile ingredient, with flavors that can range from the subtle bitterness of hops to a sweet, malty taste, the funky edge of lactic acid or the effervescence created by the yeast.
The American craft brew movement has been praised not only for helping revive heritage styles but also for reestablishing the viability of small-scale food and drink production. This course will introduce culinary students and staff to the world of American craft breweries while demonstrating that pairing beer with food can be both delicious and informative.
Food and Beer
The plethora of flavor options in beer reflects the many types of foods that can be served with it. The different brewing processes give beer its unique characteristics, from the color and ABV of pale ales to the toasty notes of dark stouts and porters. Depending on the brewing process, beer may have a strong bitterness from hops, a mild sweetness from malts or a sour flavor from lactic acid or brettanomyces (wild yeast), which add to the complexity of its flavors.
At the sprawling headquarters of Stone Brewing, which takes up more space than most local restaurants, you can sample a wide array of brews while eating food made with ingredients sourced from nearby farms and dairies. For example, the Wrecking Bar menu might include a grilled cheese sandwich with cheddar and bacon from Meat Hook, or roasted Georgia trout with Hickory Hills Farm butternut squash, blistered shishito peppers and a toasted hemp seed and Sriracha crostini.