Menus tap taste for craft brews

Great beer and food article from Lucy Saunders enjoy......

By LUCY SAUNDERS Special to the Journal Sentinel
Posted: April 29, 2008

Outside Chippewa Falls, back roads curve around the inlets of Lake Wissota to the Native Bay restaurant. Chef Nathan Berg is known for his creative cuisine featuring local food - and that includes almost two dozen craft beers on the menu. "We offer beer dinners every other month," the chef says. They often sell out far in advance. Across the country, a similar wave of menu marketing is bringing better beer to the table, at fine dining restaurants as well as casual cafes. A new online program trains servers to become "cicerones," or beer sommeliers (http://www.cicerone.com/).

And next month, a new festival in Washington D.C., SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience, will assemble brewers to meet the public and offer samples of almost 100 different food and beer combinations. Sprecher Brewery will be the sole Wisconsin brewery represented in the festival (see sidebar); because of high demand, participants were selected by lottery.
Little wonder that the National Restaurant Association ranked craft beer in the top 10 list of "What's Hot" for 2008.

The days of monotonous beer lists are numbered. According to chef Berg, restaurant managers are now hearing from customers demanding better beer selections. And in some instances, brewers are working directly with chefs to drive the change. One of the highest-profile examples is the collaboration between acclaimed chef David Burke of New York City and Jim Koch, CEO of the Boston Beer Co.

"We did our first beer dinner in 1986," says Koch, "and what we are doing now with chef Burke is so much more sophisticated. Chefs are drawing inspiration from tropical cuisines, which are spicier, bigger, heartier and expansive, and go really well with craft beer."
Though wine continues to be a profitable beverage in fine dining establishments, the new generation of chefs has grown up with craft beer and wants to include it as part of the meal.
Dick Leinenkugel, vice president of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., says that consumers choose craft beer because they're willing to experiment.

"Consumers are not drinking the same thing on every occasion, but rather trying different varieties depending on where they are, time of day, what they are doing and their mood," he said. "The wine industry has done a good job of 'romancing' (consumers) - through education, tastings, signature glasses and sommelier programs, and through enticing tourism to destinations such as Napa and Sonoma. I do think craft brewers are starting to do the same through beer tastings and tourism." At the same time, craft brewers are including chefs in their outreach. And Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewery is one of the most active, partnering with chefs for beer dinners at least once a month.

"We've even developed beers specifically for chefs who are trying to accomplish unique things with their menus," says Lakefront's marketing manager, Orlando Segura. "We developed a biere de garde called Rendezvous for chef Sanford D'Amato (Sanford, Coquette Café), a strong ale called National Avenue Ale for Peter Sandroni of La Merenda, a special lager for chef Mark Weber at Mason Street Grill and more."

Most recently, Lakefront launched a special beer for the Waukesha Symphony's 60th anniversary bash, Symphony Diamond Ale, modeled after a Belgian wit bier. The ale was launched at a fund-raising banquet April 19 prepared by Mark Mastain, chef of the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel, with dishes inspired by classic Belgian cuisine. (Proceeds from the sales of the beer, available for a limited time this spring, will be contributed to the Waukesha Symphony by the distributor, W.O.W. Distributing Co.)

Sprecher Brewery has taken it a step further, with its contract brewing of the Mamma Mia Pizza Beer for entrepreneur Tom Seefurth of Illinois and his wife, Athena. This is truly a culinary beer, made with herbs and spices and other "secret ingredients" to taste like pizza in a pint glass - and designed both to go well with pizza and to cook with in a variety of dishes (www.pizzabeer.net).
Some of the more daring food combinations mentioned by chefs include a beer-cheese risotto made with the Viking Brewing Co.'s Copperhead red lager and Wisconsin Gruyere cheese, served at a beer dinner at Native Bay.

And at a beer dinner at Milwaukee's Roots Restaurant last fall, Lakefront Brewery's Klisch Pilsner was paired with a red boudin sausage with buckwheat pancake and green chile mustard ("basically the fanciest and most delicious corndog you'll ever eat," says Segura).
Though the wine industry has done a better job than the beer industry of educating consumers about food, craft brewers are catching up.

Just as wine drinkers are now accustomed to a wide array of high-quality wines from California and places as far-flung as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the growth of craft brewing in the United States - "combined with an entrepreneurial spirit" - has enabled brewers to introduce an array of beer styles that has "broadened the stereotypical conceptions of beer," says Anne Sprecher, director of communications for Sprecher.

Adds Segura: "Milwaukee is very fortunate in that you can go into just about any place and be able to get a great beer with your meal. "I think in 5 to 10 years, there will be even more movement toward smaller brands and niche beers. The focus will definitely be on using local products . . . and that can only help our communities and our beers." Sprecher selected for national showcase Sprecher Brewery in Glendale is the sole Wisconsin brewery among 40 nationwide selected through a lottery to showcase the pleasures of cuisine and craft beer in Washington, D.C., next month.

SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience will highlight the culinary delights of beer May 16 and 17 as part of the Brewers Association's annual American Craft Beer Week.
Sprecher really wanted to be part of this event in its first year, said Anne Sprecher, director of communications. "We are seeing more craft beers offered in dining establishments at all price levels," she said, attributing this welcome trend to chefs, mixologists (consultants who create cocktails), consumer demand and efforts by the Brewers Association and leading craft brewers.
At the event, Sprecher will pair its Hefe Weiss with a strawberry chicken salad, and its Pub Ale with pan-seared pilsner sirloin tips.

Here is the recipe for the chicken salad, adapted to savor at home. It's from my latest book, "The Best of American Beer and Food: Pairing and Cooking with Craft Beer" (Brewers Association, $22.95, www.bestofamericanbeerandfood.com).
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Granite City Food & Brewery, a fast-growing pub chain based in St. Cloud, Minn., shares one of the brewmaster's favorite recipes.
Granite City's Strawberry Chicken SaladMakes 4 servings
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon mirin
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
3 cups mixed spring greens or mesclun lettuce
1 cup fresh sliced strawberries
½ cup canned pineapple, drained and chopped
½ cup canned mandarin oranges (drained)
1/3 cup fresh red onion, thinly sliced
1 medium peeled and seeded cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/3 cup shredded carrot
Strawberry vinaigrette (see recipe)
3 large whole pieces of leaf lettuce
2 ounces sliced toasted almonds
Suggested pairing: Unfiltered wheat ale or hefeweiss
Flatten chicken breasts with a meat pounder or rolling pin. Grill chicken over medium heat, turning twice for crosshatched grill marks, and brush with soy sauce mixed with mirin during last 5 minutes of cooking. Cook until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Set aside to cool.
Place romaine, spring greens, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, red onion, cucumber and carrot in large stainless mixing bowl.
Add strawberry vinaigrette to taste. Toss ingredients until evenly coated.
Line both ends of a large oval platter with leaf lettuce and fill with tossed salad. Arrange sliced chicken on top of salad. Garnish with toasted almonds.
Strawberry vinaigrette:Makes 1 1/4 cups
½ cup melted strawberry fruit-only spread (no sugar added)
6 fresh strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup raspberry vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced shallot
Pinch of sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch of white pepper, or to taste
Place all ingredients in blender; cover and pulse on high until emulsified.
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A finalist in the National Beer Wholesalers Association's first Cooking with Beer Challenge, Veronica Callaghan of Glastonbury, Conn., produced this rich beef dish that pairs well with nut brown ale or dark lager.
Pan-Seared Pilsner Sirloin Tips with Herbed-Pecan Orzo and Shiitake-Blue Cheese SauceMakes 4 to 6 servings
1 ½ pounds beef sirloin tips
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons pilsner (divided)
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (divided)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (divided)
1 cup orzo
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
½ cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup crumbled blue cheese
Rosemary sprigs for garnish
Suggested pairing: American dark lager or nut brown ale
Place sirloin tips in large zipper-lock plastic bag. Add 1 cup pilsner, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper sauce, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Marinate at least 20 minutes.
Cook orzo in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and toss with 2 tablespoons butter, the 1 teaspoon salt and remaining ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir in herbs and pecans. Cover with foil and set aside.

In large heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Remove beef from marinade, reserving marinade for later use. Add meat to pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side until slight crust is formed and meat is just browned. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.

In same skillet, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Add shallot and mushrooms. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes or until just tender. Stir in remaining 6 tablespoons pilsner and cook until almost completely absorbed. Sprinkle salt and flour over mushrooms, stirring to coat. Pour in reserved marinade. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, 3 to 4 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

Return meat to pan, pouring in any accumulated juices from the plate, and cook 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare, or until desired doneness.
Arrange herbed-pecan orzo on large serving platter. Fan sirloin tips over orzo and pour sauce over top. Sprinkle with blue cheese and garnish with fresh rosemary.

Lucy Saunders is a freelance writer and editor of beercook.com, based in Shorewood.