Beer and cheese, or why I will never be a food critic
Published by Becky S November 18th, 2004 in philadelphia, food
Have you heard? Beer and cheese is the new wine and cheese. You probably have heard, since I’m usually a latecomer to culinary trends.
Anyway, next month I’m throwing a pre-holiday beer and cheese party, and I recruited my friend Clair—beer judge and brewer extraordinaire—to help with the pairings. First requirement for such an undertaking? Research!
Tria is a fantastic Philadelphia tapas bar that "celebrates the fermentation trio of wine, cheese and beer:"
Sadly, almost all wines, cheeses and beers sold in the United States are bland, insipid products churned out by scientists in factories. Tria’s mission is to bring to you only the good stuff—wines, cheeses and beers crafted by artisans, as in the past, before the Wonder Breadification of our food supply.
As I review the notes from this mission, I understand why my career as a food critic never took off. In my defense, this conversation happened towards the end of the evening, after several strong beers.
Clair: Try this. It’s J.W. Lee’s 1999 Harvest Ale.
Becky: 1999? This beer smells seriously rancid.
Clair: Just taste it!
Becky: Fine.
Becky: Holy shit, this beer sucks!* What did you think?
Clair: Very reminiscent of a port wine. I taste licorice, anise, caramel, and toffee. The alcohol is very evident, the hops are virtually non-existent, probably as a result of the 5 year aging. Very drinkable.
Becky: Not. So how ’bout this gouda? It rules. Five year gouda good. Five year beer bad.
Clair: How’s the gouda with the Ommegang?
Becky: Intellectually, I understand how the Ommegang compliments the gouda. However, this is my tasting note:
Clair: I say that this beer is rich, fruity, and aromatic.
Becky: Uh, okay. I wish they would change the music because Coldplay makes me cry.
Clair: Yeah, kind of like Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell album. "Two Out of Three" is a heart-wrenching song.
The bill came with a comment card, which I promptly filled out as follows: the gouda rulz!
* In fairness, beer geeks seem unanimously enthusiastic about the Harvest Ale, so I’m sure it doesn’t really suck. Barley wines just ain’t my thing.
Skeptical about the whole beer and cheese idea? Internet to the rescue!
From All About Beer:
…Willy Gluckstern, a somewhat cranky New York wine critic, called wine and cheese a "train wreck in the mouth."
Not many folks realize that beer and cheese have far more in common than wine and cheese. Both are simple and nutritious, each born of Graminae and carefully nurtured in an ancient fermentation process. Of course, the beer aficionado must be forgiving of the fact that cheese residue remaining on the lips will crash the finest head formations of any beer. If you can put up with that inconvenience, you’ll find that most beer styles are quite compatible with most cheese types.
The same cannot be said of wine and cheese. Naturally, some wines do go well with some cheeses, but the pairing is much trickier.
From the ratebeer.com site:
No TagsBeer works well with cheese. The carbonation and elegant maltiness of a fine beer compliment the creamy texture and thick mouthfeel of cheese. The biased opinion that wine goes best with cheese is simply not true. Wine is very acidic with cheese — it quickly washes the cheese coating (and flavor) off the tongue. Beer nurtures the flavors of the cheese in the mouth, thus producing quite an interesting array of remarkable combinations.
YES. I knew one day I could be hip. 2,789,984 beers later, I’m cool. Heh.
Ever since I started brewing my own beer I have found that all other beer on the planet sucks. There is nothing like the taste of home-brewed beer.
I had a very bad experience with beer and cheese at a microbrew. The combination wreaked havoc on my digestive system. That night, I vowed never to do it again.
I am sad for you, Dave, and feel very fortunate that I did not suffer these effects after the Tria outing (believe me, I was a little worried).
Cool. I live in Philly, and I will take your recommendation for “Tria” to heart! I can recommend “Ludwigs Beer Garden” at 13th and Samson…
#1 - Anyone in the Beer and Cheese-flavored Pretzel crowd could have predicted this trend.
#2 - What about the small but devoted Beer and Tomato Juice faction?
Sounds like a complete fart-fest to me… beer & cheese. *poot*
John, Ludwigs is a great recommendation. I was only there once, but I love that you can order flights from anything on their extensive beer menu. Flights are fun!
Suzette, unfortunately I will not be able to accommodate the beer and tomato juice faction at my party, nor do I know of any local restaurants that specialize in this pairing.
I did notice, however, that there are lots of recipes for beer and cheese soup!
Oooh, a new place that my fella might be willing to try (and by “new place” I mean either Tria or Ludwig’s)!
I must commend Suzette on both her foresight and the frightening combination of hops and tomato. I’m sure it has its charms, but I’m not so sure I want to try those charms….
Barley wine rulz! I remember trying some locally brewed barley wine at the General Lafayette Inn, just outside the city. I dig it.
Beer and tomato juice, though– the thought makes my stomach curdle. Acid and carbonation? ouch.
next time we’re in Philly, we will definitely try Tria. SH is a total beer snob and brewer, too. while I am not, I do like a good barley wine.
as for the beer and tomato juice, you must also add salt. then stand back. there’s a reason it’s called an “ugly”.
Oh, now I understand what Suzette was talking about. Thanks, Theresa. Ew.
It’s great to hear from the local Philly beer lovers. A word of warning if you decide to visit Tria–it is small! There are maybe six tables for two, and the rest is bar-type seating. So go early if you want a table.
By the way, the service was excellent, and we were repeatedly and sincerely encouraged to “take our time,” even though there were lots of people who wanted our seats.
Welcome to my world - now you know how it is. Oh, if only life was all about handbags and hairdos! But the world is not always a pretty place, is it?
Alas, I don’t drink. But I do really like cheese.
Mmm, cheese. And I’ve had some very good beer and cheese soups, I must say.
Is that my hand?
Yes, yes that is your hand.
I thought so. Damn, even my hand is hot!
Is that a pint glass?
Clair, you’re a giant!
We prefer the term “Enlarged-American.”
I’m sorry, I am just not that sensitive, giant! hahaha.