Beer And Food Pairing Services San Antonio TX

Seeing as though we’re on the cusp of the holiday season, it’s time to revisit an annual struggle: Encouraging relatives to welcome your formal dinner’s one estranged guest, beer. This topic rears its head every year, and while wine might still be the go-to beverage, it’s always fun to show how beer can share the spotlight at any holiday feast. For the next few months I’ll spend some time showing how you can incorporate our country’s favorite beverage at the dinner table. Today, we start with cheese.

Here’s what Sonny Simonian, a former brewer at Lost Coast and Mad River, and current Cypress Grove Chevre quality assurance manager, has to say:

“Beer, with its balance of sweetness, acidity and carbonation, provides a much larger palate of flavors and aromas, making it more diverse in terms of what foods, and especially cheeses, you can pair with it. Sweet, cloying wines can cover subtle food nuances, and the mouth drying substances produced by tannic acids in dry wine can also mask flavors, so you have to be more careful about pairing selections. In my opinion, lots more beers go with a lot more cheeses.”

The folks at Cypress Grove Chevre have made this task as easy as possible. After traveling across the country, pairing their cheese with craft beer, they’ve come up with a free, downloadable beer-cheese pairing guide that should help you plot out your next gathering of foodies. Download the pairing sheet, or a pairing placemat, and give it a go.

Move over, O.J.: There’s a new beverage ruling the breakfast table.

Pairings by Sean Z. Paxton

French Toast & Lagunitas Brown Shugga’

Maple syrup’s a natural match for French toast, so a sweet, sugary beer is a no-brainer pairing. The eggy bread acts as a sponge, sopping up syrup while its toasted edges temper its sweetness. This beer, actually brewed with brown sugar, adds deeper complexity to the sweet syrup as it delivers a wealth of caramel and brown sugar on the tongue. Its slight hop presence and high carbonation clean your palate up. ALSO TRY: Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head Life & Limb, Yards General Washington Tavern Porter

Yogurt and Granola Parfait & Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Layers of creamy yogurt, crunchy granola and fresh berries beg for a sweet brew that works as well with each tier alone as it does with the whole treat. Stick to robust brown ales: Their toasted malt notes complement cinnamon-dusted granola, their vanilla and hazelnut flavors inject sweetness into tangy yogurt, and their earthy, nutty flavors are brightened by the sugary, acidic blast of strawberries and blueberries. ALSO TRY: Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale, Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale

Bagel with Cream Cheese and Lox & Bell’s Oberon Ale

Tangy cream cheese and fishy cured salmon between two halves of a chewy bagel require a beer that caters to all three elements of this traditional breakfast, and this American wheat does just that. Oberon’s light lemon notes are like a citrus spritz on the heavy salmon, and its yeasty esters and lightly toasted malts accentuate the doughy bagel. The brew’s wheaty tang brightens up the shmear while its high carbonation scrapes the tongue clean after each bite. ALSO TRY: Three Floyds Gumballhead, Magic Hat Circus Boy

Ham and Cheese Omelet & Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold

Omelets are fluffy canvasses for endless flavor compositions, and they require beers that are gentle yet versatile enough to tackle every element. Crisp, clean Dortmunder lagers work well with this version: The beer’s crackerlike malt flavor is a natural complement to the cheese, while spicy hops cut the salty ham’s fat. A sharp grainy finish brushes off the salty tongue while drawing out the subtle earthy qualities of the egg. ALSO TRY: Barrel House Duveneck’s Dortmunder Style Lager, Stoudt’s Gold Lager

Biscuits and Gravy & Otter Creek Copper Ale

Warm buttermilk biscuits smoth...

Slated for coal in your stocking this year? Make a final plea this Christmas Eve with a pint of beer next to the plate of cookies for Old Saint Nick.

Pairings by Sean Z. Paxton

Kolache & Ska Buster Nut Brown Ale
This traditional Czech dessert deserves a drink that complements both its sweet, pillowy dough sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar, as well as the bold, tart raspberry jam filling. An American brown ale’s smooth caramel flavors thread sweetness into the pastry, while its biscuity notes bolster the dough against the strong raspberry. Subsequent nutty flavors add a tempering earthiness to the tart filling while moderate bitterness and spicy hop flavors lighten the pairing after each sip. ALSO TRY: Ale Asylum Madtown Nut Brown, Santa Fe Nut Brown

Gingerbread Man & Founders Breakfast Stout
Only a robust brew can stand up to the sharp ginger that dominates this fairytale cookie. Breakfast Stout’s roasty, chocolate flavors blunt the cookie’s zesty ginger edge while coaxing the cookie’s molasses and brown sugar out from behind the spice. Meanwhile, the beer’s thick, creamy body effortlessly blends the pair into one enjoyably seasonal snack and softens the cookie’s hard crunch. ALSO TRY: Deschutes The Abyss, Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

Sugar Cookie & Duvel
A buttery sugar cookie coated in white frosting and sprinkles demands a drink that accentuates its flavors but tempers its sweetness. A wash of Duvel’s pilsner malts punches up the cookie’s breadiness while the beer’s honey sweetness heightens the sugary frosting. The beer’s spicy yeast and herbal hops sink into the cookie crumbs, cutting the intense sweetness down, while vibrant carbonation chases the flavors away. Want more frosting? Dunk the cookie in Duvel’s superthick, spicy, fruity head for an added treat. ALSO TRY: Russian River Damnation, Goose Island Matilda

Double Chocolate Chip & Bell’s Special Double Cream Stout
Milk and cookies: They’re a natural pair. This silky milk stout’s chocolate-coffee notes merge with this gooey cookie, boosting the already extreme chocolate flavor. While sweetness takes hold, the beer’s slightly tart, sweet milk flavor joins with gentle roasted bitterness to cut through the chocolate. Not aggressively hoppy or carbonated, this brew leaves behind just enough chocolate sweetness to create a rich take on a classic pairing. ALSO TRY: Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout

Peanu...