Some things just go together, like PB&J, Gilligan and the Skipper, fish and chips, wine and cheese. A trend I have observed with the rise of craft brewing in Alberta is a new match made in heaven, namely BBQ and beer.
One of my beer-related missions this summer has been to find the perfect pairing of beer styles with different types of BBQ meats, a quest that has been made easier by a gaggle of nearby brewers offering both options.
Origin Malting & Brewing in Strathmore is a longtime supporter of farm to table, using malted barley from their own farms to produce delicious beer, and I was lucky enough to find a food truck outside their taproom serving up BBQ brisket on my last visit.
The Legal Issues Scottish Export Ale from Origin had nutty overtones, with plenty of caramel malts and residual sweetness from the Scottish yeast strain, and the rich maltiness paired well with the smoky brisket on a bun from the food truck outside the brewery.
While working in downtown Calgary in the naughty nineties, I remember a nearby lunch spot called Sorrenti’s, owned by the eponymous Sorrenti family, who have been caterers and restauranteurs in Calgary for decades.
Imagine my delight when I learned that their commercial kitchen space in Calgary’s so-called Barley Belt was hurting for business due to the downturn in the oil industry, but instead of shutting down or laying off staff in their catering division, they decided to retool part of the space into a BBQ smokehouse and brewery.
Now known as Paddy’s BBQ and Brewery, the taproom serves up slow cooked meats of all flavours, as well as a solid catalog of craft beers, all lovingly prepared on the premises. I popped in there just last week while on a shopping trip to the big city, and gorged myself on the ribs, while washing them down with a Black Lager Schwarzbier that faithful readers will recall as one of my favourite styles.
Despite its dark colour, Schwarzbier is a light-bodied beer, nicely pairing with the lightly seasoned salt & pepper ribs from the professional cooks running the smoker, some of whom have been working at the Sorrenti’s group of companies for decades.
Just a few clicks away is Prairie Dog Brewing, with a gigantic sun-filled taproom, and a kitchen that boasts the largest the largest BBQ smoker west of Toronto, able to prepare up to 800kg of meat in a single batch.
I paired a BBQ chicken with the Prairie Dog Strait Lace Saison, a beer style originally from the French-speaking southern region of Belgium, but now widely produced in the craft breweries of our fair province. Saisons tend to be a highly carbonated spicy summertime ale, and go particularly well with barbequed chicken, as the fruity finish cuts the hot spiciness of the BBQ sauce.
The newest craft brewery to pair its brews with BBQ is Two House Brewing, located on the CP Rail tracks in Calgary, right beside the old Greyhound bus terminal.
I enjoyed what may be one of the last sunny afternoons of our short summer on the patio there, with a giant smoker welded onto a trailer pulled into the parking lot, serving up smoked brisket to the hungry patrons seated just a few steps away.
Although my order only took 10 minutes to arrive, it seemed like forever, thanks to the tantalizing aromas wafting towards me and the sight of the delicious vittles on the grill.
I chose to pair the BBQ brisket with the Hoptimus IPA, with the sharp tang of the hops from the IPA and effervescence from the carbonation in the beer helping to cut the fatty texture in the meat, and cleanses the palate of the smoky BBQ sauce and spicy marinade.
For the pescatarians in the audience that shudder at the thought of red meat, wheat beers pair well with fish, either the filtered wheat variety like Grasshopper, or the more traditional unfiltered and cloudy wheat beer like Hoegaarden. With just a hint of citrus and cloves, wheat beers are still mild enough to complement a grilled salmon without saturating your taste buds, which gives the fish a bland taste by comparison.
Keep these tips in mind for your next backyard BBQ, or when visiting some of our fine Alberta purveyors of both beer and BBQ.
