Recap of KCMPI's January Program: Food and Beer Palatable Pairings

By: Debra Sweeten, Child Health Corporation of America

People involved in event, party and meeting planning know that finding the right beverage to go with specific food can be challenging. Also challenging is getting attendees engaged. What exactly does one look for in selecting the most palatable pairings? How do we move attendees from being passive to being involved? KCMPI members who attended the Jan. 15, 2009, program got the answer to these questions and more.

After enjoying networking, a tour of the brewery and an open beer bar provided by our hosts, Boulevard Brewery, attendees had the opportunity to hear Brew Master, Steven Pauwels, from the Boulevard Brewery. This meeting, like many of the other educational programs I have attended, was a fun way to meet others and learn some new ways to enhance meetings, parties and events. In an entertaining way, Steven led the discussion while keeping attendees involved, engaged and laughing throughout the program.

With wit and humor Steven informed attendees that for great beer and food pairings, a number of things must be considered:

Match strength with strength - Delicate dishes work best with delicate beers; strongly flavored foods demand assertive beers. For example - Boulevard Bully! Porter hits all your flavor profiles when it hits your mouth! It has a strong coffee-like flavor which goes well with a variety of sharp and smoked cheddar cheese.
Contrast or complement flavor or aroma elements - some pairings will be more dependent on the contrasts, others on the complimentary flavors, but all should strive for balance. Combinations generally work best when they share some common flavor or aroma elements. For example - the nutty flavor of a brown ale, such as Boulevard's Lunar Ale, pairs well with smoked and spicy sausage.
Consider the taste buds: sweet, sour, salt, bitter - specific characteristics of food and beer interact with each other in predictable ways, they balance each other, each giving a desire for a taste of the other. For example, as a dessert sampler - Boulevard's Pale Ale paired perfectly with miniature Curry cheesecakes with pineapple and cranberry chutney.

Gone are the days when guests content themselves with being passive audience members! This educational program demonstrated that adding an interactive component to your event will create excitement, increase participation, improve retention, promote teamwork and leave a lasting impression! Through the interactivity, guests not only were engaged in the event but they experienced it. Guests tasted beers perfectly paired with foods (as noted above) and they asked questions, lots of questions!

Brew Master Steven lead participants in seeing, smelling and tasting the beer, and answered questions about glassware and serving temperatures. As the beer was served, attendees observed color and texture, swirled and smelled, and tasted! Attendees learned that proper glassware shows off the color, supports the beer "head," and focuses the aroma of the beer for the best possible tasting experience. We also learned that each beer tastes best at a certain temperature. Serving a beer too cold hides a lot of the flavor and aroma. Served too warm, beer loses its wonderful refreshing quality.

As the evening came to a close, participants remained energetic and enthused, with new skills and knowledge. Moving forward they will carry that excitement and utilize new techniques in planning and delivering meetings, parties, and events. Attendees left the program armed with information that will enable them to set the stage to engage their audience and ensure the success of an interactive event.

KCMPI wishes to thank our Jan. 15, 2009, program host, Mr. Blue Lawrence, Boulevard Brewing Company, 2501 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64108. http://www.boulevard.com/ Should you have any event needs or would just like to call/email to introduce yourself, please contact Mr. Blue Lawrence at blawrence@boulevard.com and his direct line is
816-701-7261.