Arizona Foothills Magazine - Brewers & Skewers

The Meat of the Matter

When barbecuing comes to mind, so do ribs, hamburgers and other hearty grilled meats. With these foods, Gordon suggests a malty, full-flavor beer like the Gordon Biersch Märzen, Brown Ale or Blonde Bock. Saunders also advises grillers to consider the seasonings involved

when pairing meats with beer. “If you like sweeter flavors, or if your condiments tend toward mustards and pickles and those sorts of tangy flavors, then I’d recommend an IPA,” she says. “An IPA has more hops, and that kind of bitter quenching goes really well with toppings like pickled jalapeños and things like that.” Since ribs can be sweet or spicy, depending on the sauce, Saunders also recommends a medium-body amber ale to accompany sweet ribs and a hoppy pale ale to complement spicy varieties.

When it comes to seafood, however, Gordon recommends Pilseners or hefeweizens for their light and crisp flavors. The key, advises Gordon, is to choose a beer that isn’t overly bitter and not too hopped. Märzens, blonde bocks and black lagers are tasty bets.

Top Chef

When it comes to incorporating beer into your cooking, Gordon has some cautions and caveats. “Nothing is gained by basting meat on the grill with beer,” he says. “It is a complete and utter waste of time and money.” He recommends marinating and braising the meat in beer overnight. “I like to braise the ribs first in a 50/50 mixture of beer and water. By braising in the beer mixture, it actually acts like a natural MSG; it retains the flavor of the meat as opposed to diluting it out just by cooking it in water,” Gordon says. Just as they are good for pairing, märzens and blonde bocks are also good choices for braising meat and cooking seafood. “The key for cooking with beer is using beers that are not overly bitter but still have a lot of malt to them,” Gordon says. “Pilseners are generally too bitter for cooking; something like a pale ale or IPA is also too bitter for cooking.” Likewise, he cautions against using domestic beers. “There’s so little body to it, you might as well just use water,” he says.

Decadent Desserts

Many a sweet tooth already has a penchant for pairing a dark bock with anything chocolate, but what makes an apropos summer sensation? Grilled pineapple and peaches make a divine dessert. Saunders recommends serving them with an apricot wheat beer or a berry beer for a light, refreshing and fruity pairing.

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