Beer With Food 

Most people have wine with a meal and some have different ones with each course but what about those of us that don’t like wine and feel it goes on chips. Well how about a beer with food or even a different beer with each course. Now at last it has been recognised that beers work well with food and our local brewery, Hook Norton, has started promoting this way of eating in their pubs. 

I had a phone call from the lovely landlady of the Gate Hangs High, Karen, at Hook Norton to ask if I would be interested in an evening of Beer with Food. Obviously the answer was yes.

Three of us were welcomed with the Aperitif of Hooky Best Bitter 3.4% which went down a treat a few times, then we were ushered to our table and the evening was started with an introduction from James Clarke who described beer as more of a social drink than wine saying that people drink a bottle of wine at home quite easily, but how many would drink six pints of beer, to which I put my hand up, he also described beer as being a more socially responsible drink compared to Alco-pops used in binge drinking. Stewart Main then took over and our food starter soon arrived consisting of Roasted Peppers and Vine Ripened Tomatoes topped with goats cheese, and the beer to accompany was Generation 4% which worked very well together with the dryness of the cheese and the dryness of the beer. 

Stewart started with and introduction of the beers that were to be sampled. He then proceeded to describe how to taste and smell the aromas and the art of beer tasting. After all at wine tasting they spit it out (so it must be bad) but beer has to be swallowed to gain the full experience of the complex flavours and making it more hygienic .  

Crystal malt was brought to the tables and everyone was asked to try it. The next course was Black pudding with a horseradish Rosti and butter sauce and this was served with Copper 4.8% (March , April), the first of the four seasonal ales we tried. This was first produced for the 150^th anniversary of the brewery. Stewart then described the brewing process and the beers throughout the evening between courses with numerous jokes, which livened up the hard job of eating and drinking. 

Grilled sardines with dill and garlic dressing swam in next with Haymaker 5%, the seasonal for July and August.  

A Medley of game meats consisting of Pheasant, Rabbit, Hare and Wood pigeon served with baby new potatoes and vegetables. This was served with Double Stout 4.8% (January, February), which only went to prove why pigeon was placed on Earth, a perfect accompaniment to this beer. 

Next came the selection of puddings made up of baby Crème Brulee, Chocolate fudge cake, lemon flan and orange Cheesecake. The beer for this was the sweeter Old Hooky 4.6%, which on this occasion was a bit green but would have worked very well after a week or so. 

To round off was the cheese board and this was with 12 Days (November, December), which had matured for about 2 to 3 months. It had the wonderful porty type flavour that made it superb with the cheeses and very drinkable again and again but it needs respect at 5.5%. 

Stewart rounded off the evening saying that the only limit is your imagination as to which beer goes with what food for your taste after all there are hundreds of thousands of different beers from around the world. 

Next time you’re in a pub for a meal, ask for the Beer list not the Wine list and awaken to a world of variety and enjoyment. 

Since the above evening, there have been a few more of the beer and food sessions at various Hooky pubs, so for further information about future dates contact the Brewery on 01608 730384.

Beermonster