Most beer drinkers will be aware that fermentation is part of the brewing process through which micro-organisms (like yeast) convert carbohydrates into alcohol or, in the case of food, acids. But at a recent special event, the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association for small and independent American craft brewers, set out to explore the synergies between both beer and fermented foods. Fermented food develops a distinctive tartness. It therefore makes sense that beer and fermented foods should marry well together with beer adding hop bitterness and flavour to the zingy acidity of fermented foods.
The event took place at Brat x Climpson’s Arch in trendy Hackney and featured two renowned global experts in fermentation; chef Song So Kim of Super 8 Restaurants in London and chef Mara King from Id Est Hospitality in Boulder, Colorado, along with Adam Dulye, executive chef of the Brewers Association, who curated the American craft beer list and is himself an expert in beer and food pairing.
Mara King explained that fermentation is having a resurgence within restaurant culture and one of the reasons is because it reduces waste. Fermentation techniques can be applied to foods that would otherwise go to waste such as bread. Mara repurposes bread by adding Koji, a speciality malt extract from Japan, along with salt and chillies, to break down the bread into a delicious umami sauce that can be used in another dish.
The menu comprised four courses each paired with a different beer style, exploring fermentation in different ways. Adam Dulye commented, “The menu married fermented flavours together to demonstrate how they can complement and elevate the flavours of American craft beer and explored the highlights of fermentation from spice to salt, sweet to tangy and to fermentation’s ultimate by-product, alcohol. The flavours of each dish were designed with the respective American craft beer in mind, building to a peak with the squab and finishing gently with a lightly sour beer and ice cream.”
The menu:
Welcome beer – Rahr Texas Red, an amber American lager using Tettnang hops.
Amuse bouche – Rogue Honey Kolsch, brewed with Wildflower honey, subtle floral notes served with bread and butter, radish and fresno sriracha. The sriracha was made over an approximate seven-day ferment period and incorporated the key elements of this fermented sauce; spicy (fresno chili), sweet (sugar), salty (salt and radish), and tangy (fermentation). The subtle kiss of sweet honey from the Kolsch tamed the heat of the spice to give a harmonious match.
First course – Paradox Pils; an old-world pilsner malt and Noble hops create a golden, crisp and crushable pilsner served with beef Tartare with sourdough gochuchang, new potato chip and cured egg yolk. This used leftover sourdough bread to ferment into a gochuchang paste, similar to a miso, with huge umami flavours and subtle spice. The crisp refreshing character and lively carbonation of the pilsner helped cleanse the palate of deep, savoury flavours ready for the next bite.
Second course – Allagash White; a Belgian style witbier brewed with oats, malted wheat and unmalted raw wheat spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel, accompanied by Konbu cured fish with fresh and aged daikon radish with brodo and apricot kosho. This dish showcased the bold vegetal and herb flavours with the brine of sea water. Brodo is a stronger flavour than stock but has clean notes. Kosho is a fermented sauce made from chilies and, in this case, apricot instead of the traditional yuzu. The flavour notes were more stone fruit than citrus, which was the key focus of the pairing. The strong saline flavours in this dish were perfectly balanced by the nuanced and gently spiced taste of the beer.
Third course – Alpine Duet, a West coast style single IPA brewed with Simcoe and Amarillo hops, served with Squab (young pigeon), rice and pickles, home-made Worcestershire sauce and Koda farms rice. Koda farms rice is from a small, family run farm in California that arguably grows the best rice in the world. It takes six years for each harvest from seed to dried. The squab is dry rubbed, deep fried, then rubbed again, stuffed with herbs and finished in Brat’s wood fired oven. It was served over the rice with pickles to cleanse the palate along with the beer. A blast of resin, pine, cedar and orange zest from this hop-forward IPA was the ideal accompaniment to the powerful combination of squab and flavour-packed pickles.
Fourth course – Virginia Beer Co’s Lovey Dovey, a stone fruit sour beer featuring peach, apricot and mango served with Amazake Ice cream with ‘Chocolate’ made from spent brewer’s yeast and fruit. Amazake is a Japanese beverage made from rice and koji. Koji produces enzymes that break the starch down into sugars and carbohydrates. If left for a few days lactic acid bacteria will start to turn it sour, then eventually break the sugars into alcohol and if left even longer… it becomes sake! An ice cream that tasted like beer cried out for a partner with a different taste profile. In stepped a stone fruit sour beer with its tangy, zingy, fruity notes that was a heavenly match for the ice cream and ‘chocolate’.
The UK is an important export market for American craft beer, accounting for 7.9% of all exports and ranking as the third largest market globally. In the UK, American craft beer is available from selected national wholesalers for the trade and on-line retailers such as Athletic Brewing, Sierra Nevada shop, Brew Export, Beer Merchants.com, Beers of America, select bottle shops, off licences, on-line subscription services, supermarkets and select pubs and bars.
Lotte Peplow
Lotte is the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe. You can find out more about the Brewers Association.