Beer pairs with food just like a glass of fine wine

My summer-into-autumn menus reflect the transitional nature of the season.

One day it’s sweet golden corn and a grilled chunk of chicken, cozied up next to a pile of herbed and roasted tomatoes. The next, I’m bringing on the pork loin simmered in zesty sauerkraut.

To accompany such meals, I’m just as likely to reach for a beautifully crafted microbrew as I am a pertinent pinot blanc. Indeed, as beer styles have mushroomed, so have our opportunities for delightful pairings with food.

For most beer lovers, whether they realize it or not, when the right beer is paired with the right food both components hum.

With that said, there’s really no right or wrong approach when the question relates to finding a good match with beer and food.

So relax. Discovering which foods taste best with which beers is a delightful journey to embark upon. And experimentation is part of the process.

West Coast brew pubs are a great place to go for inspiration, since their chefs have taken the concept of food and beer pairings to an extravagant level. Far beyond buffalo wings and pizza, these days a brew pub menu is more likely to suggest a lively pilsner with caviar, India Pale Ale with smoked trout, and a porter with a platter of mesquite-grilled ribs.

But you don’t have to be a chef to create successful pairings of beer and food. Where to start?

You have two choices: the beer, or the food. Either way, think about how to create balance between the two.

If you start with the beer, think about what you’re tasting. What are the dominant flavors? Is the maltiness sweet or dry? Are the hops flowery or citric? What’s going on with the yeast flavor?

If you start with the food, is it richly flavored and highly seasoned or light and delicate? For example, a malty beer, such as a Scottish-style ale will fade next to a zippy, vinegary salad. Whereas a German pilsner might be the ticket, since its hoppiness will stand up to the oil and vinegar.

On the other hand, that Scottish ale might be better suited for a heavier autumn feast of sausages, a rich beef stew, or pork and sauerkraut.

If you’re looking for solid guidelines, let’s start with a few of the most popular styles of beer, Amber ales, pale ales, bitter ales and India pale ales.

Amber ale: Probably your safest choice if you’re really not sure which direction you want to go in your pairing. Most amber ales will compliment most dishes that aren’t sweet. From soups and pizzas to Mexican or barbecue, this is a beer that will maintain a complementary flavor profile and quench your thirst.

Bitter, pale ale and India pale ales: Another perfect choice for autumn’s more highly spiced cuisines, such as Thai and Indian. Fried and barbecued dishes also fare well with these beers because the hoppiness in the brew can cut through the greasiness. These beers are also great with beef, lamb, and game.

At Deschutes Brewery and Public House in Bend, Ore. (www.deschutesbrewery.com), executive chef Gene Soto suggests the Cinder Cone Red (“A hearty ale with a distinct hop flavor”) with grilled black cod. Another comforting autumn dinner to pair with the Cinder Cone red, he said, is their homemade bratwurst, with some fresh-out-of-the-oven bread.

“We occasionally have beer dinners where (Deschutes) Quail Springs IPA has been served alongside an entree of duck confit, accompanied by spiced pears and a salad of shaved fennel and frisee. We poach peeled pears in a solution of the IPA, sugar and aromatic spices such as bay leaf, coriander, dried red chili and cloves.” The poaching solution, Soto said, is reduced to concentrate the flavors then emulsified with a bit of vegetable oil to create a dressing for the salad. “The floral hoppiness of the IPA helps to enhance any mixture of greens and is a perfect combination for the rich duck and sweet pears,” he concluded.

“Cheeses and beer could not be a better fit,” Soto said. And when considering pairings of desserts with stout and porter, “we shy away from doing the classic chocolate. Instead, by serving a dish complex in flavors, the beer becomes a component rather than simply a pairing.” For instance, “We love to serve a smooth goat cheese with fruits that have been sweetened and possibly a soft cake that has been lightly griddled,” Soto said. By creating layers of flavors, he pointed out, you can more fully enjoy the beer’s rich and smooth body.

And speaking of porter, Soto says that at the pub, one combination they use is Black Butte Porter with the pork ribs and pulled pork. Both offerings are rubbed with a rib rub, then smoked with mesquite for a number of hours, he said, “and braised in Black Butte Porter. The rich chocolate characteristics of the beer help to enhance the smoke and sugars imparted in the early processes.”

One of my favorite out-of-state microbreweries is Oskar Blues Brewery (www.oskarblues.com) in Lyons, Colo.

Their go-to guy, Marty Jones, has a great sense of how their brews interact with food. “Dale’s Pale Ale goes especially well with spicy dishes such as Indian curries and spicy hot Thai dishes,” Jones says. “The beer’s resiny floral hop aromas and goodness pair nicely with the aromatics, the coconut and curry spices, for example, of curries and Thai food.

“Plus, the bite-spank of the hops and alcohol can also hold up against the spicy heat and sweetness, while cleansing the palate, too. And the extra punch of malt in Dale’s middle is especially helpful in the heat-tempering.”

Jones said that these same attributes are what make pale ales such as Dale’s Pale Ale a great match for barbecued ribs and chicken. In a more fine-tuning sort of way, Jones said, “the piney notes of rosemary go great with pale ales.”

Oskar Blues also makes a wonderful Scottish style ale, Old Chub. “Old Chub’s rich malty sweetness and kiss of smoke mean it goes great with grilled beef dishes,” Jones said, adding that “the caramelly flavors and smoke” overtones in Old Chub make it the perfect accompaniment to autumn’s cool weather sustenance, such as hearty beef stews. “And when I make my stew,” Jones said, “I add Old Chub as the stew is finishing to make the ultimate gravy.

“Old Chub also goes great with chocolate dishes,” he added. “Especially dark chocolate treats such as chocolate chip cookies and chocolate pies. It’s a killer with pecan pie too, since the beer and pie have very similar sweetness profiles.”

For more guidance, start with your own favorite brews. Go to the company’s Web sites where you’ll be able to e-mail your food-pairing questions to the brewmaster. I guarantee you, they all have opinions, and because they understand and appreciate every nuance of their own creations, will rarely steer you wrong.

For instance, at the Pyramid Breweries Web site (www.pyramidbrew.com) they suggest that an aromatic, lighter brew like their Pyramid Hefeweisen goes nicely with almost all kinds of fish, including fresh-cracked crab and steamed clams.

And finally, if you’re planning a multicourse autumn feast and you want a beer to accompany each course, start with beers that are lighter and lower in alcohol and end with the richer, heavier beers. Also, stick to small portions of beer for each course, about 4 ounces, since beer creates a feeling of fullness.

This delicious grilled chicken is from Deschutes Brewery in Bend.

For the chicken:

2pounds chicken pieces (breasts or thighs and legs

4tablespoons fresh lime juice

2tablespoons soy sauce

2tablespoons garlic, chopped

4tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2(12-ounce) bottles Deschutes Brewery Cascade Ale

For the sauce:

1/2cup hoisin sauce

1/2cup sesame oil

1/4cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4cup vegetable oil

Zest of 3 limes

2tablespoons freshly grated ginger

Combine the chicken with the lime juice, soy sauce, chopped garlic, grated ginger and beer. Marinate up to 12 hours.

Meanwhile, for the sauce, combine the hoisin sauce, sesame oil, cilantro, vegetable oil, zest of the limes and the 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger.

To prepare the chicken, heat a grill until very hot. Grill chicken until almost fully cooked, then begin brushing with the sauce during the last 20 minutes or so. Turn the chicken frequently to prevent burning.

Another delicious autumn-style entree from Deschutes Brewery.

1 1/2pounds pork loin

2tablespoons canola oil

1pound onions, peeled and sliced

2tablespoons chopped garlic

2pounds sauerkraut, drained

1(12 ounce) bottle Deschutes Brewery Quail Springs IPA

2tablespoons butter

Chopped parsley

Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Season the pork loin very well with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the pan and sear the pork well on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan, add the onions and garlic and saute for a moment to soften the onions. Add the sauerkraut and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the beer and butter and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Place the pork loin back in the pan and cover. Reduce heat and cook the pork at a simmer for at least 1/2 hour more, or until cooked through and registering an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Remove the pork to a platter and let rest for at least 10 minutes to allow the juices to collect back in the center of the meat. Slice and serve over sauerkraut.

Marty Jones from Oskar Blues Brewery: “If you’re gonna make it, as with any dish, the secret to success is using the best ingredients. The nation’s best canned beers and a fresh (not previously frozen) whole chicken make all the difference between a good and great roasted bird.”

Step 1: Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper or your favorite herbs and spices.

Step 2: Place the bird upright over a half empty can of Dale’s Pale Ale or Old Chub Scottish-Style Ale, with the bird’s abdomen slipping over the can.

Step 3: Stand the bird and can up on the barbecue grate and cook over medium low heat (325 degrees), for about 90 minutes, or until the thickest part of the thigh reads 170 degrees on a meat thermometer. The luscious beer steams the insides of the bird, making it extra moist and juicy. The unique position of the cooking bird also helps it drain fats for a lean, but divinely juicy, chicken. (Makes for a wonderfully jarring presentation, pretension-free, and guaranteed to ruffle the feathers of hoity-toity dinner guests.)

For flavor variations, slip a crushed clove of garlic or sprig of rosemary into the beer can. Or loosen the skin over the breast and place fresh leaves of sage or rosemary under the skin.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.