PORTLAND, Maine — In his latest work, “The Craft Brewery Cookbook,” John Holl declares that “beer itself is a culinary achievement.”
With that statement, he’s off and running, guiding readers with gusto through dozens of recipes, from fish and chips to (we are not making this up) Dorito-crusted Scotch eggs with cumin-fennel marmalade and pickled fennel fronds. What might one drink with those dishes? For the former, Holl recommends a Vienna lager. For the latter, a Gose.
The book includes pairings for three beers made in Maine: Allagash Tripel, Bissell Brothers' brown ale, and Fogtown's saison. Maybe you’ll try them, maybe you won’t. It hardly matters. As with most good cookbooks, this one is fun to read even if you have no intention of making a single recipe from it.
If you don’t like Holl’s recommended pairings, his feelings won’t be hurt. Indeed, he welcomes the debate.
“I love that,” he said. “Because it means that you’re trying and you’re experimenting and you’re staying true to your own palate and your own thoughts.”
Forty years ago, if you wanted to have a beer with a nice meal, your choices would likely have been Budweiser or Miller. How times have changed. As Holl writes: “With so much beer choice available from our breweries, and chefs championing local and innovative flavors, there has never been a better time for a proper beer dinner.”
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