The Craft Beer Movement

Unique craft beers are a staple in the fine dining experience

Factoid: Beer is America’s favorite drink, according to a 2010 Gallup poll, and it doesn’t look to be relinquishing that spot any time soon. The presence of the malted beverage translates perfectly to ballparks and stadiums. However, its absence is notable in another of America’s, and specifically Chicagoans’, favorite pastimes – fine dining, where wine and liquor hold court. Given this significant trend, brewers have teamed up with hospitality managers to extend the American brewing tradition to unite craft beer with the fine dining experience. In 1979, when home-brewing laws were redefined, craft brewing was born, opening beer up beyond the domain of brands like Budweiser and Miller. To be frank, if one is stuck with the name brands, they’re not experiencing what depth beer has to offer.

Craft brewing is specifically defined as producing less than a certain number of barrels a year, making each barrel that much more important to the brewers. When this concept hit mainstream at the turn of the century, beer was truly diversified. These small time brewers rooted themselves in the culture and have stayed there, with breweries and brewpubs popping up across the country, with an overwhelming number in Chicago. I already carry Chicago’s famed Goose Island at N9NE Steakhouse and am slowly beginning to add Half Acre Brewing Co. and Metropolitan, also local, to our beer list. These are just a few of numerous craft breweries in the region that rotate through our list.

These breweries and their brewpubs were the first to explore the art of pairing beer with food. A perfect example are my good friends at Goose Island Brewpub, who completely revamp their personally brewed beer menu monthly, with each beer paired with a food offering. With the passion of these brewers, beer can trace a path intertwined with food. Just as chefs work to change and enhance tastes, brewers are constantly experimenting and diversifying the already wide selection of beers.
This diversification has caught the attention of restaurateurs, chefs and managers alike. The beers produced range from light in depth and flavor to pair with a soup or appetizer, to a heavier wheat beer or Belgian Ale for to pair with a steak.

But longer beer lists and food pairings are just the start of beer’s growing presence in restaurants. Restaurants are not just serving beer; they’re serving it precisely as it should be, fully assimilating beer into the fine dining experience. Each type of beer has a unique piece of glassware to accentuate its natural strengths, similar to wine. More unique brews are being served in 750 milliliter bottles. Beer flights promote the wealth of options a restaurant has to offer.

The most exciting recent trend is beer dinners featuring gourmet food pairings. During last year’s Craft Beer Convention, N9NE partnered with Doug Moody of North Coast Brewing Company from Fort Bragg, California, for a spectacular craft beer dinner featuring a sophisticated, multi-course tasting menu. Such dinners are a unique and special opportunity for any beer or fine dining enthusiast to experience.

Next up is to help diners understand how to pair beer with food as intuitively as they know that white wine goes with fish and red wine goes with steaks. For example, while a bone-in filet is traditionally paired with a hearty Italian red wine, I prefer an Allagash White, a hearty wheat beer from Maine. With salmon, a lighter white wine would be traditional; I’d recommend Oud Beersel Kriek. This Belgian Ale includes an infusion of cherries, the acidity of a Champagne and an almondy dryness in the finish, an outstanding exemplification of beer complexity.

The dynamics of beer and its presence in restaurants constantly change. The recent beer revolution has forced its way into fine dining, as the depth and breadth of the beer world has become impossible to overlook. Not only has it forced its way in, but it has also continued to grow, and doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. With the creativity of chefs and brew masters alike, this looks to be a long and happily sustainable marriage of food and beverage.