Top Chef, Bottom Beers

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

I just posted a little piece over on beerphilosopher.com about my unfortunate reality TV addiction and more specifically about a recent episode of Top Chef ... check it out if you get a chance and let me know your thoughts. I know the show has redeeming qualities (besides the obvious, of course) but their level of beer knowledge seems to be startlingly limited.

[Mike Lauter]

I think that pairing beer and food is a bit younger than pairing wine with food. The microbrewery movement is growing and still relatively young (30 years ish). As a result, people are still learning how things go together...meanwhile, other people are learning what is out there in the ever expanding world of craft beer.

[The Beer Babe]

I suspect, too, that just as there are wine-expert people who spend a long time training and learning how to pair things, it might be difficult for someone to learn from scratch on beer when breweries nonstop seem to be coming up with new styles, variations etc.

Some TV beer knowledge is ok. Alton Brown on good eats has a chili recipe that calls for 1 and 1/4 bottles of beer. Why 1 and 1/4? So that you can finish off the rest of that brew yourself. Good man.

[Shawn, the Beer Philosopher]

On the flipside of that, beer is far more consistent than wine. As Charles Bamforth points out in his new book, "Grape vs. Grain," (an essential read in my opinion!) the notion of 'vintage' is foreign to beer. With the exception of aging beer for the express purpose of altering or softening the flavor and aroma profiles, beer is the same year to year ... i.e., not subject to the same unalterable variables to which wine is subject from one year to the next. This allows for more objectivity when pairing beer with food. You don't have to worry about making sure you pair an '06 Samuel Smith India Pale with your farmhouse artisan sharp cheddar as opposed to the '07!

The Beer Babe said:

I suspect, too, that just as there are wine-expert people who spend a long time training and learning how to pair things, it might be difficult for someone to learn from scratch on beer when breweries nonstop seem to be coming up with new styles, variations etc.

Some TV beer knowledge is ok. Alton Brown on good eats has a chili recipe that calls for 1 and 1/4 bottles of beer. Why 1 and 1/4? So that you can finish off the rest of that brew yourself. Good man.

[Beer Poet]

Yeah, reality TV isn't always what it is cracked up to be. Though I will have to check it out because I am so sick of survivor, lol. It's on Bravo??

So many people don't really appreciate what beer is...all the work going into it that determines what you get...heck, most people don't even know the difference between an ale and a lager. It's a shame, cause it really is quite fascinating stuff. Had I not worked in a brewpub for some time I probably never would have known either.

[gisbrewmaster]

I have been really into craft beers and brewing for about 4 years now before that wine my thing. So of course my wife and I did a lot of wine and food. I never really had great success with pairing. I preferred to drink the wine by it self before or after dinner. With beer I have found it much easier to pair and get the total sensory experience that a proper pair should give you. This works especially well with desserts in my opinion. I still mostly prefer to drink standalone but the proper beer with the proper food is a great thing. I know this is slightly of topic.

Back on topic good or bad beer showing up on big name tv is a a good thing. The more exposure the more people will try different things.

GISBREWMASTER