Beer and food

One of the best beer and food matching dinners that I have ever been to was at last year's Australian National Homebrew Conference, where they matched four beers from award-winning homebrewers with a menu devised by the cooking (cheffing?) teachers at the William Angliss TAFE. The beers were superb and the food matched perfectly. The same team are hosting another one in two week...if you live in Melbourne, or have an excuse to be there I would highly recommend attending.

The ANHC 2009 Food and Beer Pairing Dinner is nearly here.

We're excited about beer. We're even more excited about food and beer together, and this year's tasting dinner should be a very special treat indeed.

The menu has been designed by Chris Badenoch (from BeerMasons and Masterchef~) and David Whitfield (William Angliss' very own master chef), and is a real adventure, drawing on Chris' passion for the exotic, but down-to-earth elements of food.

Prepared by the students at William Angliss and accompanied by beers from four of Australia's best homebrewers, this dinner really is a showcase of the best from up and coming chefs and brewers.

The Beers

Like last year, four beers have been especially brewed for the dinner by award-winning homebrewers. They are:

• Kölsch (a delicately-flavoured, German-style, cool-fermented ale), brewed by John Kingston (VIC), winner of "Best Brewer" at Beerfest 2009, a first place at Vicbrew 2009 and a second place at AABC 2009.
• American Rye IPA (a big, citrusy, strongly hopped India Pale Ale with a twist of rye), brewed by Lyndon Wilson (SA). A version of this beer won its category at AABC 2008, won its category at the SA state championships 2009 and finished sixth at AABC 2009.
• Czech Dark Lager (a smooth and seductive lager in the great tradition of dark Czech beers), brewed by Scott Simpson (NSW), winner of gold at AABC 2008.

Dry Stout (roasty, dry and silky with a hint of hickory), brewed by Geoff Daly (VIC), winner of medals at Beerfest 2009, Vicbrew 2009 and AABC 2009.

Commercial beers? We've got those too. On top of these unique homebrews, we'll also be pouring these beers from our generous sponsors:

• Otway Estate Summer Ale
• Kooinda Pale Ale
• Matilda Bay Big Helga
• Temple Brewing Company Saison

Non-beer drinkers will be catered for by our wine sponsors:

• Otway Estate Chardonnay 2006
• Hickinbotham of Dromana Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

And of course there will be plenty of soft drinks available as well.

All beverages are included in the price of the dinner.

The Menu^

Chris' passion for down-to-earth meals with the raw ingredients of beer (as well as the finished product) as well as David and his team's technical ability have combined to create a unique dining experience.

Appetiser: Assiette of cured meats, antipasti, malted barley bread - Kölsch

Entree: Pig’s trotter and baby lentil terrine, grilled king brown mushrooms and smoked tomato jelly - American rye IPA

Main: Braised beef cheek (marinated in hefeweizen), cauliflower puree, red onion fondue and semolina gnocchi - Czech dark lager Dessert: Chocolate tian, coffee pearls, crystal malt and white chocolate icecream - dry stout

Please note that vegetarians and those with other dietary requirements will also be catered for - please let us know when you purchase your tickets.

You won't want to miss this. Tickets are selling fast at $80 per person (all food and drink included). Book now at www.anhc.com.au

~ Chris was a contestant on Network 10's “Masterchef” programme. There is no connection between the ANHC Pty Ltd, the organisers of this dinner, and Network 10's Masterchef programme.

^ Menu subject to change without notice.

A beer with Chris Badenoch

No matter how well written a piece about beer is, it can't really give you the taste of a beer. Beer writing is more about preaching to the choir than bringing in new converts so I try spend more time putting beer in people's hands than writing about it. In a country that prides itself on the role beer plays in its national identity, it is often amazing how limited our knowledge of beer is.

While there are a lot of people working to change this, the man who has had the biggest impact on getting people to think a little differently about beer is Chris Badenoch...as in Chris from Masterchef as he is more commonly known these days.

Chris made the top 3 of what I gather was Australia's highest rating, non-sport television show and he did it with a fairly unique approach to food - not least because he cooked with beer and matched his meals to beer as well.

Since the show finished, Chris has been flat out with beer events, both due to his fame from Masterchef and also his main project, BeerMasons, which I have written about previously. He was in town last weekend and so we joined forces to hold a beer tasting raise some money for a charity close to Chris' heart - the Royal Children's Hospital Music Therapy Unit. We featured an exciting range of beers from the Innspire range including Flying Dog, Rogue and Nogne O, had a great time and managed to raise over $1100 for the charity.

The crowd at the tasting was widely varied, but all were interested in both Chris and the beers - and Chris was very generous in his time speaking to everyone who wanted to meet him. It's great to see Chris using his fame to promote the cause of great beer (and raising money for charity). Beer needs more ambassadors and fewer marketers.