If you’ve ever been lucky enough to attend a beer dinner, you’re fully aware of how excellently food and beer pair together. The establishments hosting such dinners have gone great lengths generally to pair each course with the proper beer. It’s been a subject of interest as long as beer and food have existed. And you probably would not be surprised to learn that I have multiple books on the subject. The Brewmaster’s Table by Garret Oliver, head brewer for Brooklyn Brewing, is a personal favorite. I also have enjoyed everything that Michael Jackson wrote about the subject as well. I usually enjoy a good meal whenever I visit a brewery or a tap room, and decided I would devote this article to the subject of the food at breweries.
This subject became very interesting to me during this pandemic while I was in Pennsylvania. Current law mandates that anyone drinking in any Taproom must also order food as long as this crisis exists. It’s probably a good idea to have snacks with alcohol on a basic level so I was not at all upset. Les and I enjoyed good food all over the state, and I particularly liked the brunch menu at the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport. I also found it ingenious the way the taprooms pushed tables up against the bar to make good use of the space since bar seating is currently outlawed in the Keystone State. It’s a creative loophole and I appreciated the way the bartenders could still hand us drinks across the bar!
This was not my first venture to Pennsylvania and I have been eating in their taprooms for over two decades. German beer culture has long been associated with food, and Pittsburgh’s Penn Brewery has been serving good German fare in their Northside taproom since 1986. We made it there on this trip and I am still thinking about the amazing brat I had with an authentic tasting Pilsner. Across town the Church Brew Works also serves excellent food with a Pittsburgh flair in their sanctuary turned beer hall. I can honestly say it’s the only taproom that I have ever been served a Caesar salad with french fries on it!
I could go on and mention at least another dozen Taproom‘s in Pennsylvania with good food that I have experienced, but I will move on and say that good food awaits you in Pennsylvania taprooms should you make the trip. However I don’t think you have to travel very far to find good food because nearly every brewery seems to be offering food in their taproom. And those I don’t often have a really neat food truck in the parking lot! Some places do simple bar food, and I can honestly say I’ve probably had more scotch eggs than anyone should have in their lifetime! It’s probably a good idea to have food anyway, so I encourage you to look at the menu whenever you visit a craft beer establishment.
I also want to look at the topic of pizza with beer. This is long been a popular pairing, and I have been to at least a dozen places in the Midwest that are pizza places with a brewery. New Holland in Michigan instantly comes to mind when I think of Pizza. Recently I was in Crown Point at Crown Brewing and the smell of pizza baking was heaven to my senses as I enjoyed a Java Porter. Turoni’s in Evansville has been brewing at their pizza place for a long time, and my friend Chris and I like Zwanzig in Columbus and am thinking right now about their lasagne pizza. I haven’t had New Albanian pizza yet, but I’m looking forward to that as well. And finally I can’t talk about pizza themed breweries without mentioning Chicago’s Piece. You need to discover for yourself what Connecticut style pizza is like(yes in Chicago seriously!) while sampling their excellent beer!
Even breweries which don’t feature pizza often have flatbreads on their menu as well. Brew Link in my own town has excellent flatbreads, and I recommend their bacon chicken ranch. Chefs often get creative when making food to pair with beer, so if pizza and flatbreads are your thing, I encourage you to try the more unique ones that they feature. I’ve had pastrami pizza, pirogi pizza(yes obviously that was in Pittsburgh!), duck pizza, breakfast pizza, and most likely a few other really awesome ones I have forgotten about. I’m sure a brewery near you features pizza, and if you haven’t tried it yet, there’s no better time than this weekend!
With most craft beer establishments offering food, the more unique places will be the ones we remember. I wrote a few months back about the Small City Taphouse in Sandusky because it’s the only beer bar I’ve been to with a sushi bar, and a Pan Asian menu. I also remember the walnut burger I enjoyed at Red Jacket all the way up in the UP. And I’m still thinking about the duck wings at North Country in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. They were robust and the greasiness of duck makes for an excellent wing. I have always enjoyed the food at their tap room which feels like it came right out of The Hobbit. They used to have a beer called Slippery Rock Dew which featured local honey. It paired up well with a steak sandwich that I used to go hours out of my way to enjoy when I made trips to Pennsylvania.
I know I haven’t talked a lot about the formal pairing of food with beer, though I do know a lot about it. There are certainly many books and articles that have been written about the subject, and this is a topic for you to explore on your own. You get to decide what you order, and if you want to get the most out of your experience, do a little research. I remember traveling through Cleveland and stopping at Great Lakes where I ordered a burger because I knew it would go well with the Elliot Ness brown ale I had been anxious to try. Beer and food pairing is subjective and you can be educated, but I find that it’s fun to mix and match to find what pairs best. And getting to that knowledge is half the fun. Years ago I used to love to boil crab legs, and I discovered that I liked hoppy beers to go with it. Hoppy beers go well with most meals, especially the spicier ones. But that’s my experience, and I think you should find that out for yourself.
So while I’m out exploring every single brewery in the state of Indiana(I hope to complete my project by years end), I will try to eat as much food as I can while I travel. When Pic and I visit breweries, we often go for a meal, and have had many excellent meals in taprooms. I like pub pretzels and will certainly miss the monstrosity that used to be available at the now defunct Black Swan in Plainfield. So I’m out there searching for another amazing pretzel! And I’ll be trying good beer, so you know where to find me!
So Much Beer So Little Time 