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Our Brewers

Brief History of Brewing

Diagram of The
Brewing Process

Rule of Thumb for
Beer/Food Pairings

Nutritional Value of
the Average Pint
of Micro-Brewed Beer

Beer Fun Facts

Beer and Food

Matching beer and food is not too different from pairing wine with food. The basic idea is to complement or contrast the flavors in the beverage to the flavors of the dish. Since there are about as many different types of beers as there are wines, this task can prove challenging. However, if you can remember a few simple guidelines, you should have a fair amount of success:

1) Lighter beers generally are paired with lighter foods, while heavy beers are needed to cut through rich foods.
2) The spicier the food, the more maltiness needed to balance the oils of the spice.
3) Beer should not be served with wine based dishes unless they are corresponding flavors, as the chart below describes.
4) As a general rule, the entree should be served with the beer used in its preparation.

Beer type Characteristic Flavor Wine type Food Pairings
Pilsner, Pale Lager (Cornhusker Lager) Crisp, clean, dry Chardonnay White fish, lobster, shrimp, pork, light cheese, lightly spicy food
Wheat, Hefeweizen Sparkle, acidity, effervescence Champagne Mollusks (mussels, clams) chicken, pork, veal, blue cheese, Brie
Pale Ale, IPA ( Indiana Pale Ale) Complex, big maltiness, tangy, spicy Cabernet Sauvignon Rich sauces, salmon, prime rib, red meat, and heavily spiced foods.
Red Ale, Brown Ale (Red Rooster, Steam) Sweet maltiness, full
bodied, rich caramel
Pinot Noir/Red Zinfandel Pizza, lamb, salmon, duck, Salads with nut dressings, Mexican foods, nachos, burgers, roasted meats
Stout, Porter (Oatmeal Stout, Not Tonight Honey Porter) Nutty, coffee-like, intense, full flavor Dessert Sherry/
Port
Oysters, mussels, smoked salmon, rich steaks, BBQ Ribs, chocolates, vanilla ice cream