Faith, Beer, and Other Things That Interest Geoff

Thoughts on Beer's Decline, Craft Beer's Rise, and Perceptions Vis a Vis Wine

Not to mention one of my favorite topics, pairing beer with food.

The truth be told, the beer industry is its own worst enemy. The distinction between flavorless fizz water and real beer with layers of character seems to be lost on the public's perception of beer in general. Beer can be more sophisticated than wine, given the fact that it is made from more ingredients, but it still fights the reputation of being fuel for barroom brawls.

But that is changing. If you think out of the box, beer has the ability to run circles around wine in food pairing. With all the flavors going on within beer, there's hardly a food it doesn't complement. There are literally thousands of tastes to work with.

Wine, by comparison, plays off its acidity to contrast with food, which is much more difficult to do. Beer has low acidity, but it can use the bitterness from hops to contrast fatty foods such as cheese, where a wine must be very high in acid to do the job. And the carbonation refreshes the palate nicely with spicy foods, where wine falls flat. Mexican, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Cajun and barbecue can have complex flavors, and craft beer is always the no-brainer choice here. And even desserts ... yes, beer has flavors that are chocolaty, roasty like espresso, or sweet with clove and bananas. It can be dessert all by itself.

Best of all, world class luxury beers are affordable at $6, where top-rated wines start around $40 and go to the moon from there.

So If you love food and have been brainwashed over the years that wine is the best accompaniment, I challenge you to a new, exciting frontier. With wine, it's like trying to paint a masterpiece with only a few paints. But beer can give you the full palette.