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You can see the wine snobs turning up their noses at the mere notion. Pairing beer with food? Oooh, how tricky that must be. Should I accompany my meat-in-a-bun main course with a Bud or a Bud Light?
Such disrespect stings those who prefer their fine meal served alongside a stout malt-and-hops beverage as opposed to a glass of sauvignon blanc. Then again, it’s tough for beer connoisseurs to strike back when their wine-sniffing counterparts can earn what amounts to a Ph.D. in oenology.
“The thing is,” Mike Shetler says, “there is no formal certification for beer sommeliers. Anyone can call himself one.”
Shetler is the general manager at Sage in Aria, having recently been promoted to director of beverage for the resort. He’s also a champion of beer, having become an aficionado back in his undergrad days at the University of Iowa. “I was amazed that there were all these nuances and flavors [in beer], so I started reading and tasting.”
Eventually, Shetler’s thirst for beer knowledge took him back to school; he went through and completed two programs—Cicerone and BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program). However, unlike a master sommelier, Shetler can’t flaunt an official title as a “beer expert.”
That doesn’t take away from the fact that he knows his beer—particularly artisanal brew, which, he says, is defined as “made by a brewer using the best possible ingredients, and often in smaller batches than big commercial beers.”
Shetler recently paired some of his favorite artisanal brews with four dishes from Sage creator chef Shawn McClain—and no, they didn’t come off his backyard grill.
(Note: All pairings are available at Sage.)
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Foie Gras Custard Brûlée
Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir, Milton, Del.
This dish, one of McClain’s most celebrated, is served with Bing cherries, toasted cocoa nibs and a salted brioche bun, and has some shaved foie gras torchon on top of it. The classic pairing with foie gras is a Sauternes, a sweet wine from Bordeaux. This beer—brewed with honey and saffron, plus Muscat grapes—has a natural sweetness and aroma perfect for the dish, as well as a dry finish. The Muscat component is aromatic, and the 9.2 percent alcohol content stands up to the richness of the dish.
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Duck-Fat Roasted Heirloom Beets
St. Feuillen Saison, Belgium
This farmhouse ale is brewed in late fall, in order to serve it to farmhands in summer. There is 30 percent wheat in the mash, giving it lightness, and it is naturally dry and spicy, with a hoppy finish that marries well with the earthy quality in the beets. The beets are plated with Ibérico ham, crescenza cheese foam and toasted pecans. The hops in this beer are herbaceous, almost savory, and thus ideal for these accompaniments.
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Sweet Corn Tortelloni with Lobster Mushrooms, Pancetta and Swiss Chard
Duvel, Belgium
“Belgian beers work well with food,” Shetler says, “because they are rich and therefore a match for rich food.” This beer has a clean, creamy texture and is naturally effervescent. The dish has a corn coulis that is finished with cream and mascarpone cheese, so it coats the tongue. It takes an effervescent brew like this to clear the palate.
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Maine Day Boat Scallops with Braised Oxtail, Wild Mushrooms and a Salted Caramel Reduction
Sierra Nevada Ovila Dubbel, Chico, Calif.
This is a limited-release beer that benefits a monastery in Vina, Calif. Proceeds from sales are helping the brothers build their new chapter house. The beer is 7.5 percent alcohol and has a caramelly malt in the mash. The natural sweetness plays with the maltiness in the beer, and goes well with the oxtail component, which gives the dish an almost roast-beef-like quality.
