Yesterday The Globe and Mail ran a story about something being done reflecting the new world order in which beer is the new wine - a beer and cheese tasting in Vancouver:
"It's something that's not done," he says. "But beer and cheese is a great combination because they're so different. A lot of cheese has a grainy, salty content to it. The beer helps bring that out. I'm trying to keep cheese interesting."For those who are keeping track, this is not really all that new as beer and cheese tastings have been happening all over the place. Recently, for example, I've received word of tastings going on at DiBruno Bros in Philadelphia who also sent me a few pcitures of their place.
The next event is being held on Friday, 9 February at which Rogue Brewery will offer tastes of their unusual and excellent beers
handcrafted in Oregon. DiBruno's tells me: "this promises to be an impressive list of big dark beers and big cheeses." Last weekend Di Bruno featured the beers of Sly Fox, one of Pennsylvania's great craft brewers. Heck, even grocery stores and community colleges are running tastings of local craft beer. Somewhat oddly, the Globe's story features a place where the beers highlighted include a can of Guinness and other Euro-macro-brews like 1516 (or maybe this 1516 - we aren't told) and Stella. Except for a dislocated paragraph about recommendations from Ontario Craft Brewers, the Globe's story features some great cheese with some pretty ordinary beer. Why is that? Why in Canada can't we recognize the excellent and craft-made over the popular and mass produced yet when it comes to beer? While our media tout the mass marketer, it is left to quality brewers like John Graham at Church-key to spread the gospel with events like his Spring revivals where local produce is matched with his ales.
By the way, if you are near Philadelphia and interested in contacting DiBruno Bros for a reservation, call them at 215-665-9220 ext. 237. Feel free to post about any other events like this in the comments.
Comments
Greg Clow - January 21, 2007 5:48 pm
I think the poor beers being served at the place in Vancouver are the fault of the chef. If you check the story again, you'll see that he is quoted as saying that his favourite beer is Stella. Yet another example of a gourmet chef having absolutely atrocious taste in beer.
This reminds me of a review that Jacob Richler (I think) wrote a year or so back of a meal at one of Toronto's upscale restos that featured wine & beer pairings with every course. The wines were very high quality, while the beers where a bunch of InBev imports and Innis & Gunn. He said that he vastly preferred the wine to the beer in all cases. Well, duh!
Alan - January 21, 2007 9:20 pm
So how does this chef with poor taste in beer who presenting a non-unique and dully planned out beer and cheese event get space in a national newspaper?
Ian in Cowtown - January 22, 2007 1:03 pm
Slow news day and a looming deadline? Mayhaps the chef has good connections and can hype well. Anyhow, I too was disappointed with the beer choices. Given the number of good English-style ales on the West coast, the chef could have done much better. Overall, I'd rather have Spinnaker's beer and chocolate pairings. It would be easier to convince the wife too:
http://www.spinnakers.com/specials/default.aspx
Oh, and the 1516 mentioned in the article was almost certainly this one:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3753/9444
Like the reviews say, its nice on a hot summer day, but not particularly complex.
Peter - January 24, 2007 12:16 am
Hmm. CBC published a CP wire story back in November that is pretty close to the Globe's story:
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Home+Family/061121/U112108AU.html
As to the Globe story - it is hard to avoid rolling one's eyes at these little tales but I remind myself that beer has come a long way in the past few years in 'man on the street' perception, but it still has a long way to go. So every positive story helps, even annoyingly naive ones.
My question is with the cheese. Is it local BC cheese? The restaurant's website brags about sourcing locally but the chef sounds like the only good cheese is from the old sod!
Here's a Pacific NW cheese blog (why does that sound funnier than beer blog?) that has links to BC cheesemakers and notes a Rogue Ales cheese'n'beer tasting in 2005 at the annual Oregon Brewing Festival:
http://pnwcheese.typepad.com/cheese/2005/07/rogue_ales_beer.html
Joe - January 24, 2007 1:30 am
If someone hosts a beer dinner using Sly Fox beer, then I certainly hope that Sly Fox's quality has improved significantly. I haven't had a beer of theirs in at least 6 years, but back then it was like licking a stick of fake butter.
Alan - January 26, 2007 1:59 pm
Here is a reference to a few such events in North Carolina.
Di Bruno Bros. Upcoming Events - May 14, 2007 2:23 pm
Ommegang Beer & Cheese
Friday June 8th
6 – 8pm
$45. per person
Patrick LaZalle will be co-hosting this event along with our award winning cheese monger Zeke Ferguson. We will taste Omegang’s great beers that are made locally and inspired from full flavored Belgian ales. Patrick will be bringing some surprises and Zeke will make sure they are perfectly paired with a rare selection of Di Bruno Cheeses.
Neal’s Yard Cheeses & English Beer Night
Friday July 6th
6 – 8pm
$50. per person
Our cheese monger, Hunter Fike and Jason Hinds, of Neal’s Yard Dairy in England will put together our first all English beer and cheese night. Our first time featuring products from some oldest cheese and beer recipes in the world. This promises to be a educational culinary evening that will sell out.
Cheese Wars
Thursday, August 23rd
6 – 8:30pm
$50. per person
Join Garrett Oliver from “The Brewmaster’s Table” and sommelier, Brian Freedman from The Wine School of Philadelphia, along with Di Bruno’s cheeses. The evening will include a discussion with our guest hosts and one of our cheese mongers. We pick the cheeses and our guest hosts pick the wine or beer that will be the best pairing.
You make the decision.
Brooklyn Brewery & Garrett Oliver
Thursday September 6th
6 – 8pm
$45. per person