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When it comes to pairing beer and food, Durango has a world-class expert. Sean Clark is the chief operations officer and executive chef at Peak Food & Beverage, which runs Bird\u2019s, El Moro Spirits & Tavern and Steamworks Brewing Co. He has also cooked at the James Beard House five times, three of them for beer-pairing dinners celebrating National Beer Week.<\/p>\n
The James Beard Foundation is like the food equivalent of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and winning one of its awards is like winning an Oscar. We suppose this makes cooking for the foundation kind of like performing at the Academy Awards. Following this logic, we\u2019re pretty sure this makes Clark the Lady Gaga of beer pairing.<\/p>\n
Anyway, he\u2019s arguably as good at it as anyone on the planet. So when we wanted to know more about how to do it ourselves \u2013 match up beer and food flavors \u2013 we gave him a ring. Over a spread at Steamworks, he imparted some sage advice.<\/p>\n
People have just started appreciating beer as something that can be paired with food over the last 20 years, and there has been a tendency for people to develop hard and fast rules saying certain foods go with certain styles of beer. This is a good starting point, Clark said.<\/p>\n
But food and beer have too much nuance to just stick to the rules. After all, if you have five different beers of the same style, they\u2019re each going to taste different.<\/p>\n
To achieve a zen mastery of beer pairing, you have to understand all the ways it affects your palate. Most beer drinkers can recognize the influence of hops and malts on a beer in a few sips. But you also have to be aware of how the yeast affects the flavor. (Does your beer taste a bit like clove or banana? That was the yeast that fermented the alcohol.)<\/p>\n
Similarly, both the alcohol content of the beer and its carbonation will change your experience. Carbonation will impart a bit more bite, and both elements will scrub any fatty, residual flavors away from your palate. In contrast, a creamy, smooth nitrogenated beer will not.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t even get us started on aroma profiles.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have these really great aha moments when you\u2019ve got a beer that tastes this way, and you\u2019ve got food that tastes this way, but they make a little love child together. And everything tastes better and different together,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n
Finding out what goes well together is mostly just experimentation \u2013 trying two flavors and seeing how they feel together in your mouth. Orange juice and toothpaste? Bad. Blueberries and lemon? Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you really start getting into it and dissecting, you\u2019re like, \u2018Wow, this is amazing. This is way better than what wine can do.\u2019 And a lot of people pooh-pooh that. Granted, I\u2019ve had some amazing wine variants, but beer in its nature is just so vast,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To demonstrate how a beer can completely change the flavor of food, Clark had us try five Steamworks beers against three of the brewpub\u2019s dishes.<\/p>\n
The Big Surf Tuna Bowl \u2013 sesame-crusted tuna, grains, arugula, mango, edamame and citrus habanero dressing \u2013 was surprisingly not great with a Lizard Head Red ale. It transformed the taste of the beer into an almost coffee flavor, something you\u2019re not expecting with fish. But experimentation taught us that it might be great with a citrusy hazy IPA.<\/p>\n
Speaking of pale ales, the Third Eye P.A. paired well with carrot cake, creating an almost pineapple flavor on the tongue. We wouldn\u2019t necessarily have expected this just based on the spiciness of the beer\u2019s hops. But it works.<\/p>\n
The greatest revelation, though, was how well the Bangers N\u2019 Curds (blue cheese sausage and buffalo-dusted, breaded Wisconsin cheese curds) and Backside Stout go together. It was eye-opening, especially because it\u2019s not something you\u2019ll necessarily find in a guide to beer pairing. But if you\u2019ve tasted enough things to know that intense blue cheese sausages won\u2019t be overpowered by the stout\u2019s flavor, and the smooth beer won\u2019t wipe away the spicy cheesiness of it all, it just seems natural.<\/p>\n
If there was one takeaway from our conversation with Clark, it\u2019s that we really ought to experiment with our foods and beers a bit more. A random lager is fine with whatever, but when you discover those ideal flavor combinations, they\u2019re mind-blowing.<\/p>\n