Right guys, we've finally reached peak craft beer. Turns out people are now bringing it with them to dinner parties instead of wine. Why, you ask? We're not entirely sure. But that's mainly because we're not entirely sure what craft beer *is. *While our boy housemates seem to get terribly excited about all the different types of beer and have an encyclopedic knowledge of the topic, we haven't got a clue where to start. This results in a lot of grimmacing while we force another watery pint of Carslberg down the old hatch.
We talked to David Jackson, who's company Eebria is a marketplace for craft beer, to find out which craft beers are good to start off with, how to convince the non-beer drinkers that it's better than wine and how to order it like a boss.** **
First up – what is craft beer?** Everyone seems to be banging on about them and if we're honest we're a bit confused whether we're ordering one or not.
Craft beer doesn’t have a formal definition in the UK. It refers to beers brewed by small, independent breweries who really care about what they’re producing – effectively a beer that is 'crafted' rather than mass-produced.
Right, gotcha. What makes it better than your standard beers on tap in O'Neills?
Flavour! Craft beers have a huge array of styles and flavours – there is a beer that suits everybody’s tastes and matches brilliantly with every food. Also craft brewers use only the highest-quality ingredients and don’t add chemical additives, so you’re getting a beer of the best quality possible.
What's a good one to get started with?
If you’re not normally a beer person, a good introduction can be to go down the route of darker beers – stouts, porters and imperial stouts. These often have lots of notes of chocolate, coffee and caramel which you don’t get with the standard lagers.
Kernel’s Imperial Brown Stout is a great example, while Siren Craft Brew Broken Dream is superb as it’s matured in bourbon barrels, which adds to the incredible flavour. Alternatively, if you already like lagers, try an IPA – these have a stronger hop flavour and fuller body. Partizan IPA and Kernel IPA are brilliant options, or alternatively go for a craft lager – try Fourpure’s Pils and you’ll wonder why anybody buys 1664 and Stella!
We're off to a barbecue this weekend – what craft beer would work for us and why?
With Burgers and barbecue foods you need to complement the charred and smoky flavours of the meat, so go for a more malty beer. The slightly toasted malts in an American Pale Ale such as Five Points Pale Ale work well, or if you’re going for a more smokey dish such as ribs a black IPA like Fyne Ales Sanda Black is ideal.
How about if we're ordering a curry in?
With spicy food you need strong flavours to avoid the beer being overpowered. American style IPAs have a good hoppiness and typically citrus notes that complement the flavours of the curry well. Try a Partizan IPA or Fourpure IPA.
Is there a lighter one we can serve to our girly friends who have resolutely decided they don't like beer?
Lighter isn’t always the best way to go to win someone over. Be bold and suggest an Imperial Porter (often around 10 per cent – so halves might be best), which have lots of chocolate, coffee and caramel notes. Celt Experience Ogham Ash is a great option (particularly great to serve with blue cheese).If they are put off by strong beers entirely, try a Saison. This is a Belgian farmhouse style beer, which is often brewed with spices and fruits. Brew By Numbers make a great range of saisons with different flavours, and the Bad Seed Saison is very highly regarded.
How do you style out showing up with beer rather than wine – is there a specific glass you can put it in, is there an optimum temperature it needs to be?
Each style of beer has a preferred glass shape, overall smaller challis-shaped glasses and other stemmed glasses (normally about two thirds of a pint) are very popular as they work well for a lot of different types. For a stylish twist you could do a lot worse than using a wine glass! A lot of craft beer producers take real pride in how their brews look as well taste. Partizan’s labels all have the beers names spelled out by characters who reflect the beer, and are all impressive works of art which look great on any table.
**Is there a little known one we can order to show we really know our stuff? **
There are quite a few breweries that make small batches of experimental beers, which are worth giving a go. Siren Craft Brew are one of the most experimental in the UK; at the moment they are offering a Caribbean Chocolate Cake (a stout flavoured with Orange, Chocolate and Coconut, quite an indulgence!). Previously, they’ve made beers to mimic the flavours of Limoncello, Whisky Sours and numerous barrel-aged beers (their Maiden 2013 beer is a blend of beers aged in different barrels).
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.