The Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers, demonstrated that high quality American craft beer can accompany food as well as wine by collaborating with wine-oriented, modern London restaurant, Sager & Wilde.
In a unique, one-off event, Brewers Association Executive Chef, Adam Dulye and Sager & Wilde Head Chef, Chris Leach, devised a five-course menu using seasonal and local ingredients expertly paired with two full-flavoured, bold and distinctive American craft beers per course to demonstrate beer’s diverse range of flavours and their affinity to food. In a break from the norm, Dulye ended the meal on a lighter note by pairing lemon tart with a witbier and a blonde ale. Sager & Wilde’s award-winning wine list took a back seat as selected guests, and members of the public, explored the gastronomic kinship between creative and inspirational beer and food pairings.
Adam Dulye, comments: “Within the last few years there has been a major shift in how beer is perceived with food. The so called rules that used to be in place, whether it be building a menu by weight of abv or richness of style, are no longer needed. A well written menu, a beautifully executed dish, a thought-out pairing can now take the palate back and forth from big roasty flavors to light crisp notes or from tart, funky and sour notes to big hoppy flavors. When we started pairings a few years ago it was about what beer can do with food. Now it has evolved into what beer and food can do together.
“It was important to search out a chef like Chris and a team such as Sager + Wilde’s that has built the trust of their guests and their culinary community. In doing so more and more guests are likely to put aside any preconceived notions about beer pairings and put their trust in what Chris and his team can do on the plate. When you introduce a new idea, a new pairing it is best to have at least part of the adventure known. Knowing that the flavors, textures and tastes on the plate are carefully crafted relaxes the diner and allows a more open minded experience into what beer and food can do together.”
Menu
On arrival:
Tropical Torpedo, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Panic IPA, Track 7 Brewing Co.
Starters
Grilled Peach Salad
Seacoast Pilsner, Coronado Brewing Co.
Pils, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Crab with Gazpacho & Chilli
Colette, Great Divide Brewing Co
pFriem Saison, pFriem Family Brewers
Pasta
Tagliarini with Summer Truffles
Big Swell IPA, Maui Brewing Co.
Singapore IPA, Saugatuck Brewing Co.
Mains
Smoked Middlewhite Pork, Fennel & Baby Turnips
Melange à Trois, Nebraska Brewing Co.
Dessert
Lemon Tart
Optimal Wit, Port City Brewing Co.
Blonde Cougar, Wormtown Brewery
The following brewers travelled from America to support the event:
Richard Miller, Export Director, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Richmond, Virginia
Robert Henry, Brewer, City Brewing Co, Alexandria, Virginia
Ryan Graham, Owner/brewerTrack 7 Brewing Co, Sacramento, California
The American craft beer scene continues to demonstrate growth in the U.S. with craft beer production increasing 5% during the first half of 2017. Total American craft beer exports grew by 4.4% in 2016. The UK is the second largest export market for American craft beer and exports also grew to this country by 4.4% in 2016. There are now 5,562 operating breweries in the UK, an increase of 906 from the same time last year, with over 2,700 in planning.
Chefs, restauranteurs and beer educators are welcome to download the newly updated CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course, the definitive beer and food course for elevating beer and food pairings. Available free of charge here: https://www.craftbeer.com/food/beer-and-food-course
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About the Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 4,000-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA organizes events including the World Beer CupSM, Great American Beer Festival®, Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America®, SAVOR℠: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, Homebrew Con, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week®. The BA publishes The New Brewer® magazine, and Brewers Publications™ is the largest publisher of brewing literature in the U.S.
Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association and the free Brew Guru™ mobile app. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Issued on behalf of the Brewers Association, 1327 Spruce Street, Boulder, Colorado, 80302 USA. www.brewersassociation.org
For further press information please contact Lotte Peplow at Peplow PR on 07973 698 414. Lotte@peplowpr.com