A professional chef takes on beer styles and fun food pairings.
Temperature’s rising, humidity too. According to our sources, the brew shop’s the place to goooo-oh! For the first time, this soon-to-be summah season, we’re gonna quench our thirst with some wheeee-eats. (I’ll stop butchering It’s Raining Men, the ultimate party anthem. All hail the Weather Girls).
What do I want to sip and savor when the temperature is on the rise? American Wheats and the best shrimp in the south, New Orleans-style BBQ Shrimp.
American Wheat Beers are impressively refreshing. They tend to be more hoppy and less yeasty than their German-inspired brews. AWBs have this fun and festive balance going on, smooth bready-grainy notes spiked with citrusy (sorta spicy, sorta floral) hop pops. I love the fizzy carbonation and sweetly drying finish, almost like a cool breeze (a reprieve from all that summertime sweat). American Wheat Beers…sometimes clear, sometimes hazy, always crushable.
Quick Note on German Weissbier & American Wheat Beers
These brews are similar, but not equals. While German wheats will have those banana and clove elements, AWBs will not. Early US brewers made wheat beers with the ingredients they had on hand, creating an inspired-by-weissbier recipe with a slightly different, hoppier, crisper end product.
Why American Wheat Beer & New Orleans BBQ Shrimp?
Ok, so…NOLA BBQ shrimp is not actually barbecued. Nor is it dressed in BBQ sauce. It has rumored roots in the mashup of cuisine cultures, Creole and Italian, resembling a spicier scampi than anything seen on a grill or smoker.
This saucy shrimp dish is a simmered mix of butter (lots and lots of butter), Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and Creole seasoning (cayenne, bay, paprika, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper…++). All served either with some fresh-baked French bread (the appetizer version) or some creamy-buttery grits.
American Wheat Beers are spectacular with seafood. Those crisp citrusy notes of the beer are the natural BFP (best food pairings) with the typical seasonings and additions you’d find in most seasonal seafood preparations. New Orleans BBQ Shrimp takes this a step further. The super buttery sauce is balanced by the beer’s crisp and refreshing character. The lower ABV and enhanced bubbly carbonation refreshes the palate from the shrimp’s spicier ingredients. The dried herbs almost play off of the floral aromatics of the beer, harmoniously. The cool thing is AWBs don’t take away from this dish, it almost acts like an added, last-minute ingredient that just brings everything together. One helluva tasty bite and sip. Tummy love on a hot summer’s day.
American Wheat Beers to try…
This trio of American Wheat Beers are worth the look-see, check-out. All pair so well with our NOLA BBQ Shrimp and are guaranteed to refresh.
Oberon American Wheat Ale
Oberon is a bright, citrusy beer with a fun spicy-hop character. An easy drinking and refreshingly summer beer.
Goose Island 312 Wheat
312 is a zesty beer with oodles of lemon-citrusy goodness and a touch of hazy smoothness. Lovely pairing for these spicy buttery shrimp
Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen
UFO is a hazy-light sipper with a Belgian wheat beer beat. Orange peel and coriander additives add some aromatic zing and refreshing flavor—shrimpy pairing yum fest.
About me—I am a professional chef working my way up the Cicerone certification ladder. I left the typical cheffy grind (after 15+ years) to focus on fun food play, independently working as a recipe/food content developer and restaurant consultant (freelance, full-time, kicking off in 2017). While studying all of these fabulous profiles and sipping my way through 80++ different beer styles. I created a project for myself…”what do I want to eat with these beers”. As a food obsessed professional, I reached into my memory rolodex of flavors and food profiles to find some worthy contenders (that may fly a little outside the box)…
Want to see what food I would like to eat with your beer? Let’s chat! Email me at contact@pattersonwatkins.com
Need some help pairing beer with your food menu? Or, would you like some help creating a food menu that pairs with your beer? I’m always hungry (and thirsty). Email me at contact@pattersonwatkins.com
Are you interested in food or beer related content development? Hit me up! contact@pattersonwatkins.com or check out my portfolio at www.pattersonwatkins.com