Yankee Brew News Archive

Cuisine A La Biere

Originally Published: 07/95

By: Gregg Glaser

Until the last few years, beer has not had much of a place in the American kitchen, both professionally and at home. Beer was mostly relegated to use in a batter, bread, stew or soup. "Cuisine a la Biere," as the French and Belgians call it, was almost unknown in America. That has now begun to change as the American craft beer renaissance continues.

American chefs, both professional and amateur, have begun to discover and to have readily available the myriad number of beer styles being produced by America's five-hundred-plus specialty brewing companies and brewpubs. These chefs are beginning to cook with beer in ways they hadn't dreamed of just a few years ago. Menus including dishes made with beer and special beer dinners are being offered in New England as well as all over the country.

Wine, of course, has long held a preeminent position in the kitchen, as well as on the table to accompany a meal. But beer's place in history is just as old and noble--perhaps older and nobler than wine's place. Archaeologists and anthropologists theorize that civilization may have developed out of mankind's desire to cultivate grains for the brewing of beer. Since beer has been with us for so many centuries, it's logical to assume that cooking with beer has been around for just as long.

In the last several years, a number of new books have been published which examine the relationship between beer and food. These books often explain the differences between internationally recognized beer styles, but mainly they discuss the history of cooking with beer and some of the guidelines of using beer as an ingredient in the kitchen. Of course, they also include many recipes that include using beer in everything that comes out of the kitchen-- appetizers, salads, soups, stews, fish, poultry, meats, breads and even desserts.

One of the first beer and food books to be published in America in recent years was beer writer Jack Erickson's Great Cooking With Beer (1989, Red Brick Press, $10.95). Erickson says that all the elements in beer enhance the taste of food. "There is such a great variety in specialty beers that almost any dish can have beer as an ingredient to bring out a special flavor or taste." Erickson subscribes to restaurateur Dane Wells' three "C" system of matching beer with food - Cut, Complement or Contrast. A tart or bitter beer, for example, can be used to "cut" the flavor of a rich creamy sauce. You can "complement" a spicy or hearty food with an equally spicy or hearty beer. Finally, bland food can be "contrasted" with full-flavored, full-bodied beer.

Chef, cooking teacher and food writer Jay Harlow has written Jay Harlow's Beer Cuisine: A Cookbook for Beer Lovers (Harlow & Ratner, $16.99). In this book Harlow says, "If anything, beer is a more food-friendly beverage than wine. Many of the foods that create problems in matching with wine, especially those with hot or sour flavors, blend very well with beer." He goes on to say, "Used properly, beer adds flavor and depth to certain cooked dishes, and acts as a carrier for other flavors."

Candy Schermerhorn, food writer and cooking teacher, has written Great American Beer Cookbook (1993, Brewers Publications, $24.95). Schermerhorn, who also writes the Homebrew Cooking column for Zymurgy, the magazine of the American Homebrewers Association, says, "I sometimes feel like the proverbial mad scientist, entering my laboratory and concocting edible potions that bring to life previously unknown dishes which embrace both beer and food. As I studiously measure the mystical potion of beer into the victuals, I am struck by how the addition of beer seems to breathe animation into the food's very essence, lifting it from the deathbed of the mundane to a vibrancy it might never have attained."

Michael Jackson's most recent beer book, Michael Jackson's Beer Companion, (1993, Running Press, $35.00) is primarily an extensively and wonderfully written book on world beer styles. He also is a firm believer in matching beer with food. "The notion that wine is the only drink to accompany food, or to be used in the kitchen as an ingredient, was always foolish and snobbish, and fortunately is now in retreat. Diners and cooks are rediscovering beer in each of these roles."

What are some of the basic guidelines on which these writers and chefs agree when matching beer with food in the kitchen? For one thing, they all believe that you have to know your beer styles, as well as your food styles, to properly cook with beer. You certainly don't want to limit your beer cooking experiments to the nationally brewed light pilsener-style beers. Don't let your use of beer overpower the food you're cooking. The flavors of the beer should balance with the food, heightening and enhancing the flavors of the food.

If a recipe calls for any type of liquid - water, wine, broth, milk, whatever - beer can easily be substituted. Know the basic ingredients of beer and what they will bring to your food: hops add bitterness; malt adds sweetness, nuttiness and spiciness; and yeast adds tartness, fruitiness and some acidity. There are no hard and formal rules about cooking with beer as there are with wine, but keep in mind several points: the lighter colored and lighter bodied beers (pilseners, pale ales, amber lagers, wheat beers) pair best with fish, poultry and lighter meats; darker, fuller-bodied and stronger beers (porters, stouts, bocks, strong ales) pair best with red meats and heartier and heavier foods; winey beers (lambics) are a perfect substitute for wine in recipes; and fruit beers work wonderfully in fruit-based desserts.

Cooking with beer concentrates the flavors in the beer as the water and alcohol in the beer evaporate. Remember that beer can be extensively used in the kitchen: to marinade, tenderize, baste and glaze meats; as the basis for soups, stews and sauces; and to lighten soufflis, doughs and puddings.

Finally, don't be afraid to experiment. Beer is less costly to cook with than wine, and more than likely your end results will be fine. And since you'll hardly ever use a full bottle of beer in your recipes, think of the great beer you'll have to drink while you're cooking.