A Beer Summit is a great idea. Cooling tempers and finding common ground over a few cold ones? It's brilliant. (As a New Yorker, it's tempting to wonder whether the fracas in Albany might have ended more swiftly over a few six packs.) From the Wall Street Journal to NPR to the webcomic xkcd, it seems that people have more to say about the beer choices at the Beer Summit than the story behind the Summit itself. Several Examiner.com writers have weighed in already:.jpg)
L. Steven Seiden, the national Cultural Trends Examiner, pointed out that the original beer selections were red, white and blue. President Obama planned to drink Bud Light. Professor Henry Louis Gates chose Jamaican beer Red Stripe. Sgt. Joseph Crowley quaffed Blue Moon. (Interestingly, it's the only one of the three coming from an American brewery.)
As the beer picks changed to Bud Light, Sam Adams Light and Blue Moon, Charlie Papazian, National Beer Examiner, summed it up best: "If these three fellows have made their beer choices based on their own individual beer preferences, then they have made the perfect choice.".jpg)
Microbrew enthusiasts have wished that the Beer Summit's picks could have reflected small American Breweries. Anat Baron, maker of the documentary "Beer Wars," was quoted on the Chicago Tribune's blog "President Obama is always saying to support the American made companies, but he should have chosen a local brewery."
But for all the reporters and bloggers making brew-ha-ha puns, nobody's talking about food pairings. The White House served pretzels and peanuts. But, couldn't they have deepened the sense of goodwill and understanding by pairing these beers with a good meal?
What food pairings would work with both a wheat beer like Blue Moon, and also the extremely mild flavors of light beer?
Steak or hamburgers would work with the Bud Light and Sam Adams Light, but would fight with the wheat beer.. Turkey burgers, however, would harmonize with all three. The Sam Adams light, surprisingly flavorful for a light beer, would pick up flavors like a sweet barbecue sauce, macaroni salad or coleslaw. The somewhat fuller flavors of a Bud would work with grilled, or jerk-seasoned chicken. And any of the beers would be fantastic with grilled veggie kebabs. Hey, Michelle, how's your victory garden growing?
Comments
Sam Adams Light was my go-to beer while on Weight Watchers last year; it's the only light beer I found that approached real beer flavor. (Abita also makes a decent one, as light beers go, but Sam's is better.) It's definitely not as satisfying as a real beer, but it at least approximates a nice mild pale ale and goes well with pretty much any typical summery grilled foods & fresh veggies.
Also, I'm not sure Budweiser counts as strictly unAmerican just because they're now owned by a foreign conglomerate (only true since 2008). I feel Budweiser still counts as an American brand..... or would you call it a Belgian beer now?
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