THE BEST OF BELGIUM WITH STELLA ARTOIS, HOEGAARDEN AND LEFFE ABBEY BEERS
by marc stroobandt – master beer sommelier It’s exciting times for brewers and beer drinkers alike, with the wealth of dif-
ferent beers on tap to suit everyone’s palate and as a great alternative to wine. Beers are now available in every color, flavor, size or style, each brewed with
new and exotic, seasonal ingredients from new emerging craft brewers, but also from established breweries in the U.S. What it is great to see, from my per- spective as a Belgian master beer sommelier, is that many of the these beers, although some very innovative, are inspired by my home country or even are direct copies from long-existing and historic Belgian beer styles. Not only could I say that this is the best form of flattery, it has a large impact back home because our brewers are now taking notice of these new emerging trends from the States, inspiring them to come up with new creations. Like we don’t have enough beer already! This is a similar situation to the one that emerged in the wine world when
the well-established wine makers were confronted with their new kids on the block under the “new world wines” name, forcing them to go through the same evolution as is happening now with the beer world. Did it mean that one overtook the other? No, they learned to cohabit and live happily together and it actually gave birth to an invigorated and improved category, which ultimately benefits us all. However, just like the wine world there is nothing new under the sun in
basic beer. Beer trends like wood or barrel aging, wild fermentation and sours, flavored beers or extreme alcohol strength beers (strongest beer in the world now 67.5 percent) have all been done for many years, although some new brew techniques, like beer made in collaboration with wine makers, is something new to the brewers table. When discovering the new brave beer world it also good to know your clas-
sics from the Old World, so you can better understand what you are drinking now or rediscover what is already out there. Classics like Stella Artois, authen- tic and first Belgian Lager Hoegaarden, original Belgian White beers and the certified Belgian Abbey beers from the Abbey of Leffe. Learning how to taste these beers, the importance of the perfect pour and using the correct glass are vital when learning the art of tasting and pairing beer with food. My visit to the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival will be a great op-
portunity to demonstrate the nine-step pouring ritual for our beers on draft, but I also will take visitors through tastings with unique food pairings in con- junction with attending local and celebrity chefs at the festival. It is a great platform to share some of my beer and food heritage amongst the culinary highlights and the best the wine and spirit world has to offer and to meet people who enjoy food and drinks as we do in Belgium. Meet Master Beer Sommelier Marc Stroobant at the Belgian Beer Luncheon
on Friday, November 22 at Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant in San Diego where he will be on hand for a “cooking with beer” demonstration and beer pairing. For other appearances or more information on the San Diego BayWine and FoodFestival go
tosandiegowineclassic.com.
THE ART OF CRAFTING A COCKTAIL by joel martens, featuring anthony schmidt
To say that the craft cocktail movement has taken off in the U.S. is more
than an understatement. The movement’s concept is as broad as the discus- sion one can have whilst enjoying its offerings, which in the end is a part of what it’s about. Slowing down, enjoying the moment, noticing the rich smokiness in a beautifully-aged scotch and how it spreads on the tongue, or the herbaceous delightfulness of a fabulous gin. It should be something you want to savor—it’s the difference between drinking and enjoying a really great cocktail. Anthony Schmidt head bartender, CH Projects in San Diego and a featured
bartender at the San Diego BayWine and Food Festival, took a moment to explain the basic tenents around the movement: The fine art of distilling spirits is an ancient form and has been in the
process of being refined for many years. Even with all of the advances, for many it can be very difficult to drink spirits straight up. It take an experienced connoisseur to know how to treat it—small sips allowing you to experience all the nuances—its all about the depth and richness of flavors. The highball concept is something that came out of the prohibition move-
ment, a time when quality alcohol was not an easy thing to find. So much of what was available was rotgut, so drowning it out with a heavy dose of soda water made it a little more palatable. It’s an idea that lingers today, if you look at what is by far the most popular, most consumed cocktail out there, the vodka soda. It’s cheap booze; drown to the point which allows for the easiest most palatable way to consume it. There are big differences within the craft cocktail category and a couple
basic axioms around what it means. The first is really about quality of ingredi- ent. In other words, there should be some reason behind why one chooses any ingredient over another, a critical discussion on what elements to use and why. If ingredients that are used are inferior, it not only affects the flavor, it affects perception. If you have the opportunity to choose a better quality or a fresher product and still have just as fair a price, then one should be mindful of that. Think about it this way, a more culinary-style approach to the cocktail.
When we talk about ingredients, it is vital to consider what spirits you are using, everything that goes into the cocktail, how it affect flavor and why. Ingredient choices become much more important, inclusion of fresh juices, that is really at the heart of the craft cocktail movement. A great example of this is fresh citrus. I can’t stress how important it is when pouring, to use fresh juice versus the alternative, which tends to be prepackaged and pasteurized. Lending itself to a flavor that ends up being more artificial than fresh. Mise en place—which is a French cooking term meaning everything in its
place. Mindfulness of ingredients, the concept of blending and how you do it. Consider the example of egg whites. When you take away the yolk, you are left with a valuable ingredient. The egg white doesn’t really have a flavor, so what’s its contribution? It adds a wonderful fluffy texture when whipped up and introduced to a cocktail—picture a meringue. It’s about the experience of it; it totally changes the texture of the cocktail. Quality, craft, level of flavors, it’s not just about taste, which is of course important, it’s about the total sensation of the cocktail.
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RAGE monthly | NOVEMBER 2013
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