…And a Beer in every glass
April 10th, 2007 by mikeI’m introducing a new section today in which I will discuss one of my favorite things in the world: Beer. I’ll start off my postings in this section by doing one of my other favorite things: Complaining.
I went out to dinner with my family on Sunday for Easter (their tradition, not mine). We went to a place called “The River Palm Terrace,” there are currently three locations, all in northern New Jersey and the restaurant touts it’s Zagat’s rating as “… New Jersey’s top steak house and one of America’s top restaurants” proudly. The restaurant boasts a very long wine list which “… has won a Wine Spectator Award” and offers “…U.S.D.A. prime beef, the genuine article, [aged] for 28 days.” It sounds delicious.
I ordered the fillet mignon - black and blue. It came rare, overcooked if you ask me. But I digress. The beer list was significantly less impressive. They offered a selection of pretty standard, dive-bar, American beers such as Budweiser and Coors, and a single import: Heineken. Of course, my response to the waiter was “so you don’t serve beer, I’ll have a Coke.” He replied, almost comedically, “Did I mention Heineken?” Er… OK.
I don’t understand how a restaurant sporting such credentials can fail to recognize the importance of having a good beer selection. There are many styles of beer beyond the traditional American (or German) lager. And we live in a day and age where the level of education among the consumer is getting to rival that of their knowledge about wine.
I do realize that the average customer at a ‘fine’ restaurant knows little to nothing about wine, hence the need for the Sommelier. But I will say that this level of knowledge is close to that which they have of beer. I think that most people are aware that good beer exists, and with a little assistance, they might be willing to try one that pairs well with their food.
So, I suggest that restaurants that cater to the ‘upper’ class of food aficionados while their main customer base is people of average palette should consider adding a small selection of good beers to their repetiore. Even those who’s customers are solely “foodies” will probably benefit from adding some craft brews to their beverage selection.
For those that don’t know where to start (I’m speaking to you River Palm Terrace), I would suggest the following:
- A nice English, Brown, or Scotch Ale to go with steak selections
- A clean Lager to go with light fish or poultry
- A Hefeweizen for fruity dishes or fruit salad
It can be dauting, but the thing to keep in mind is that with beer pairings, you’re not trying to balance or counter the flavors of the food as you are with wine. Instead you are looking to accent or complement those flavors. You would select a hoppy IPA or ESB to go with a spicy dish, a nice smooth Stout to go with a lobster or crab dish, or a Cherry or Cassis Lambic to go with a rich chocolate cake. I wish you all good luck and good drinking, and I hope to find you taking my advice in the near future.
But what do I know?
April 13th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I finally got around to reading this article and I have a few comments (not that you asked for them):
1) There are a number of resteraunts in New York and in other major cities that are hiring the somelier equivelant for beer. Though I have not heard of any compiling as extensive a list as many resteraunts have for wine they have worked to create a list for the resteraunt that there is at least one well crafted beer for each dish on the menu.
2) Beer will is a long way away from replacing or even equaling wine in the mind of most Americans. While the concept of well crafted beer has spread and has created a strong following it is still considered a “lower class” beverage by many “average” citizens. Most resteraunts still see little advantage in branching past teh widely accessible and easily identifiable mass-produced swill. And regretfully they are probably right. The other major bump in the road to good beer lists at fine resteraunts (though a number of upper tier steak and BBQ places are exceptions) is quantity. Craft brewers and importers can not provide large quantities to many resteraunts around the country. Without name recognition and/or a point of reference patrons are less likely to be convinced to drink beer regardless what people tell them or the fact that these high class bastions of food knowledge even offer them.
It’s sad, but true. The fact is the well crafted beer doesn’t even have a strong foothold in the most obvious place - the bar. Most often when one wants a high quality beer they have to go to specialized bars or liquor stores where they are surrounded by there ilk. So while there are more and more good beers to be had, and more people enjoying them there are no where near the numbers to warrant most restaraunts carrying anything beyond one or two non-mass produced swill beers if that.