VIEWPOINTS
ON FOOD
i know it’s a
bold
claim tomake–not
least given the rise
of locavoreculture,
molecular gastronomy
andall the rest–but
perhaps thebest thing
that’shappened to foodanddrinkduring the
past 10 yearshasbeencraft beer.
Thesedeliciousconcoctions,madeby
creativebrewersona small scale, brashly
exposedwhat hadbeen lacking in thepallid
blandnessof the
factorybreweries.
They’vebeena
welcome sight
during the
recession, and
haveofferedbeer drinkersanexploratory
arrayof newflavours andbottleart to savour.
The trendhasalmost beenEurope
wide, thoughconcentrated inhistorically
beer-gluggingareas suchasBritain,
Germanyand theNordiccountries. Someof
thebest newbreweries includeOmnipollo
inSweden, itsbeer sogood that it feels like
you’rebeing let intoa secret;Denmark’s
Evil Twin, foundedbya former teacher and
belovedof Brooklynhipsters; andBritain’s
BrewDog, its intention forworlddomination
best demonstratedwhen the founder turned
up toopenhisLondonbar– it doesgreat
BBQ food, by theway–drivinga tank.
But,whilemost regular drinkershave
got their heads around thecraft revolution,
many still don’t realisehowwell these
brews–with
their complex
flavour profiles–
complement food in
much the sameway
asfinewine.
Fortunately, bars across thecontinent are
nowhelping tomake that connection.
DasMeisterstück
(dasmeisterstueck.de)
inBerlin, for instance, serves sausagesmade
inhousewith ingredients suchasduckand
lamb, includingfineCoburger bratwurst
with sauerkraut andwasabi –ahot, salty,
umami-richmatch for dozensof beers from
small Europeanbreweries.
ToØl
(to-ol.dk)
inCopenhagen is acraft
brewerywithaneat sideline inwell-sourced
cheeses,whichprovea fatty, yieldinghit
withbeers including theprize-winning
ReparationsbajerAmericanPaleAle.
In theUK,Manchester isequallywell
catered for. TrofNQ
(trofnq.co.uk)
serves
more than20beers, including the
Cheshire-basedRedwillowWreckless and
an IndiaPaleAle fromLondon’sPartizan, to
match itseasygoingmenu,which includes
huevos rancheros.
Thiswelcome trend looks likely to
continue.Most remarkably, latenext year,
theCaliforniancompanyStoneBrewing
will opena$25m (€19.4m) crowdfunded
complex ina former gasworksoutside
Berlin, set to featurea restaurant, shop
andbrewhouse.When theAmericans are
teaching theGermans about beer-making,
youcanbe surebig thingsareafoot.
“What acraftymatch forfine food...”
Likeafinewine, thenewbreedof artisanbeer is just the ticketwhenpaired
withagreatmeal.
OliverThring
hails the revolution
ILLUSTRATION
ELIOT WYATT
“Thesebrews–with their
complexflavourprofiles–
complement food likefinewine”
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