Kelowna Craft Ale Enthusiasts Treated to Brewmaster’s Dinner

It’s hard to cover the entire territory of B.C. single-handed in any great detail. Therefore, I’ve decided to invite those who are involved in our craft beer scene in some capacity to contribute to the B.C. Beer Blog about their particular niche or region. Here is my first guest blogger from the Okanagan, Rob Trent, who is spreading the word about craft beer in wine country, along with his cohorts at the Okanagan Tapmasters Society.

Craft beer enthusiasts in the Okanagan had something to cheer about recently when Kelowna’s Tree Brewing teamed up with Cabana Bar and Grille to present a Brewmaster’s Dinner. Cabana chef, Ned Bell, one of Canada’s foremost culinary talents, created four sumptuous courses plus appetizers to pair with six different Tree brews.

The evening started in grand Okanagan fashion with appetizers of Jumbo Prawns and Hot Wings served on the patio. Tree Brewmaster, Stefan Buhl, provided a unique cask-conditioned Kelowna Pilsner and his seasonal Hefeweizen to accompany the plethora of pre-dinner treats.

Indonesian Restaurant Reaches Beyond Lager

When it comes to beer, most Asian restaurants typically offer little but lager because that is the dominant, if not only, style of beer brewed in their respective countries. For the lager loather, they may have Guinness, but that doesn’t mean it actually pairs well with any items on their menu. This is a shame because there are a number of beer styles that go very well with different Asian dishes. For example, every Indian restaurant should have an India Pale Ale (Alexander Keith’s not being an IPA), not only because the style was created for India but because it also happens to go well with many spicy Indian dishes.

From top left: saté lamb chop, krupuk (shrimp chips), coconut prawn & sambal mayonnaise, green beans & kecap manis, beef rendang (centre). The beer, from left: Saison Dupont, Fernie First Trax, R & B Hop Goblin'

A Vancouver restaurant is changing this stereotype. I hosted beer-tasting dinners on April 27 and November 8 at Saté Satu, an Indonesian restaurant in Cambie Village, to highlight pairing Asian food with ales (more photos on Picasa) . The menu was as follows:

• Gado Gado with Blanche de Chambly
• Coconut Prawn & sambal mayonnaise with Saison Dupont
• Lamb Sate/Loin with Fernie First Trax Brown Ale
• Beef Rendang with R & B Hop Goblin’ IPA
• Pisang Gulung Manis (deep-fried banana) with Aventinus Weizen Eisbock

Salads pair well with wheat beers. In this case, I chose a Belgian wit to go with the Gado Gado. Wheat beers also pair well with seafood. But to change things up a bit and showcase another style of beer, I chose to match the prawn with a saison, a very versatile and palate-cleansing food beer.

Darker beers typically pair well with dark meats. The trick is to discover which style. Depending on how it is prepared, lamb can have a strong flavour. In this case, the spices it is marinated in cut down on the gaminess, while grilling brings out some sweetness from caramelization. Therefore, I chose a brown ale that complements this, but won’t overwhelm the taste of the food with heavy body and full flavour.

One might be tempted to pair the beef rendang with a porter or stout. However, this one was spicy. If you aren’t able to handle a lot of chili heat, either of these styles will be completely inadequate to stand up to the spiciness. Therefore, I chose an India pale ale to dampen the heat. If you can find one, even better would be an India brown ale. The hop bitterness would counteract the chilis on the one hand, while the malt sweetness would be a better match for the beef.

How much spiciness you can handle in your food actually makes a difference as to what style of beer will pair best with your food. The less heat you can handle, the bigger a beer you need; the converse is also true.

Finally, the deep-fried banana has some options, depending on how it is presented. If there is any chocolate sauce, a chocolate or roasty imperial stout would work. In this case, however, it was plated with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fruit. Consequently, I chose a wheat Eisbock because the caramel of the beer goes well with the carmelized batter of the banana. Also, the banana esters from the wheat beer yeast complement the dessert perfectly.

The owners of Saté Satu were very pleased with the outcome of the dinners, not only because their customers were satisfied with the experience but it gives them an opportunity to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Consequently, they modified their beer selection to include the ones above.

My next beer pairing dinner will be on November 19 at the House of Dosas (1391 Kingsway, Vancouver) with dishes from Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.

B.C. Recognized at Canadian Brewing Awards

B.C. brewers won 14 out of a possible 63 awards at this year’s 6th Annual Canadian Brewing Awards in Toronto. A panel of 14 certified beer judges evaluated 239 beers from 50 breweries entered in 21 style categories. The following B.C. beers were winners:

Gold

• Lighthouse Lager, Lighthouse Brewing (North American Style Premium Lager)
• Tessier’s Witbier, Buckerfield’s Brewery—Swans (Wheat Beer Belgian Style)
• Hefeweizen, Tree Brewing (Wheat Beer German Style)
• Longboat Chocolate Porter, Phillips Brewing (Fruit and Vegetable)

Silver

• Rocky Mountain Genuine Lager, Fernie Brewing (European Style Lager—Pilsner)
• Belgian Wit, Granville Island Brewing (Wheat Beer Belgian Style)
• Sungod Wheat Ale, R & B Brewing (Wheat Beer North American Style)
• Hop Head IPA, Tree Brewing (India Pale Ale)
• Appleton Brown Ale, Buckerfield’s Brewery—Swans (Brown Ale)

Bronze

• Whistler Weissbier, Whistler Brewing (Wheat Beer German Style)
• Surley Blonde, Phillips Brewing (Belgian Style Ale)
• Swans ESB, Buckerfield’s Brewery—Swans (English Style Pale Ale Bitter)
• Amnesiac IPA, Phillips Brewing (India Pale Ale)
• First Trax Brown Ale, Fernie Brewing (Brown Ale)

Congratulations to the winners in their quest for excellence. Be sure to sample all of the above.