For the beer
'sommelier'...
TRENDS INNOVATIONS
The recent 'Beer Serves Europe' event in Brussels, supported by Heineken,
outlined the social, economic and cultural contribution of beer to the EU.
It also highlighted a growing trend - the pairing of fine cuisine with quality
beer served in appropriate glassware. A perfect opportunity to grow the
beer segment.
World ofHeineken 43 - winter 2010
The Perfect Complement
The trend toward combining beer
with food is driving the need for a
new level of professionalism. Training
from the likes of Heineken is leading
to a new generation of qualified 'beer'
sommeliers. For newcomers to this
increasingly popular movement, here
are a few pointers on marrying fine food
with quality beers:
1. Ensure the flavour intensity of the beer
fits with the flavour intensity of the
food. A light summer salad is perfectly
accompanied by a pils or white beer,
while a bock beer is more fitting with
a heavier dish. For example, a stew fits
better with a dubbel. This is a strong
brown ale, with understated bitterness,
and a pronounced fruitiness and cereal
character. Or alternatively a bock beer,
a strong malty lager-type beer, would
also work.
2. Look for a taste component that either
complements or contrasts. A grilled
steak might best be accompanied with
malt beer which has been through the
same caramelising process.
Due to their fresh tastes, vegetarian
dishes are particularly suited to enjoying
with a beer, as the bitter taste and the
light bubbles cleanse the palate. Blonde
or white beers harmonise well with fish
dishes. For a chocolate-based dessert,
consider a cherry beer or a strong stout.
At the end of the day it's a question
of experimentation. Happily, with
more than 230 beers in the Heineken
portfolio, there's enough choice to make
every meal a celebration.
Cheers!
The Brewers of Europe, the Union of Belgian
Brewers and Euro-Toques International - the
European Community of Top Chefs - partnered
to present the richness of beer.
The core message from the Beer Serves
Europe event was that beer is a social, culture-
specific, traditional beverage which promotes
conviviality and the sharing of good times with
friends. To further reinforce the message that
beer is a nutritional, low-alcohol beverage that
perfectly complements fine dining, conference-
goers were invited to a post-discussion beer and
food reception.
A focus on beer image is not new to Heineken,
which has been communicating the positive
story of beer globally for some time. By
emphasising the qualities of beer as a natural
product, many Heineken operating companies
have been promoting beer as a perfect
complement to food. This is most notable in
Spain, where the combination of beer and tapas
is well established.
For example, Heineken's Cruzcampo Gran
Reserva went beyond the casual dining mix of
food and beer to become the highlight of the
Cuina Oberta-Valencia Restaurant Week earlier
this year. Cruzcampo Gran Reserva
was treated in the same way as fine wine at
the annual gastronomic festival, with
professional wine stewards, or sommeliers,
serving beer as the perfect accompaniment to
various food combinations.
In Italy, Heineken has teamed up with 12
respected national chefs to prepare the
Nazionale del Gusto menu as part of the
promotion of a more modern beer culture.
Heineken Italy combined all six specialities of
the 'Birra Moretti' national beer together with
Italian cuisine to produce a 12-course meal
using beer as an ingredient in every dish. In
addition, Heineken Italy has produced the
Birra Moretti recipe book in collaboration
with the Institute for the Promotion of Food
Culture (IPCA).
This summer, the Dutch Brewing Association,
Nederlandse Brouwers, of which Heineken
Netherlands is a key member, held a high profile
event to raise awareness about pairing gourmet
food with beer. Guests at the event included
influential members of parliament. Dutch
celebrity chef Ramon Beuk, and winner of the
2009 Dutch cookbook of the year, presented
tips on cooking with, and pairing food with
beer. All guests were given a copy of the recipe
book, 'bier aan tafel' (beer at the table), which
included recipes from the demonstration along
with beer pairing tips.
Hans Wiegel of the association, and former
leader of the Dutch Liberal Party, said: "In
recent years, the Dutch gastronomy sector
has discovered that a carefully chosen glass
of beer complements a meal perfectly, often
even better than wine. While the taste of
wine consists of sweet and sour flavours, beer
has the third dimension - bitter. That makes
beer much more exciting to combine with
food. Dutch beer drinkers are giving more
attention to having a beer with, and cooked in,
their food."
The Dutch Brewing Association also recently
published a survey of Dutch beer drinkers,
which found that more than half felt that
beer deserved more attention in the kitchen
and in restaurants. Although six out of every ten
glasses of beer are drunk without food, more
than a quarter of those questioned had the
intention of cooking with beer more
often, particularly with either Dutch or
Chinese cuisine.
The alliance forged between the Brewers of
Europe and Euro-Toques International for
the Beer Serves Europe event may inspire
similar initiatives elsewhere and the continued
enjoyment of beer as a food accompaniment.
The long-accepted dominance of wine at the
table may yet be usurped as the growing trend
for lower alcohol, healthy, and complementary
alternatives takes off.
18
