Ale Street News Online

OK, “glee” doesn’t quite capture how I feel about the restaurant world’s new Beer Enlightenment. How about “dream come true?” I mean, only a few years ago chances seemed slim that I’d ever be able to pair an entrée in a praiseworthy restaurant with, say, a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye. Or a Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale. Or, hmm, maybe a Brasserie Dupont Foret.

Today, those possibilities are readily available to me throughout greater Boston, where I live. Just last night at Green Street in Cambridge, I paired a dish of organic roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and kale with a bottle of Port Brewing’s High Tide Fresh Hop IPA. Mmmm.

It’s not that restaurants have been ignoring craft beer. A lot of top dining spots around Boston have for years made a point of featuring a local beer or two. What’s changed is that restaurateurs’ savvy about good beer has finally started to catch up to that of people like you and me, who have long appreciated craft beer and fine food. Restaurants of repute are no longer content to stock a few token amber or pale ales, tacked onto the end of the wine list as an afterthought. They are learning from their beer-loving customers and colleagues, tasting stuff, departing from the same-old same-old, and seeking out beers that are as interesting and flavorful as their dishes. They are putting the same care into choosing their beer list as they are in selecting wines or creating signature cocktails.

“I’m glad I have rediscovered beer,” says Green Street owner Dylan Black. Dylan is known for his impressive, “A to Z” list of classic cocktails and his knack for choosing great, off-the-beaten-path wines. Now, he is applying the same thoughtfulness to beer. He strives for seasonality, as well as “diversity and contrast,” in his beer list.

“A great list can show off the basic differences between styles or producers — east and west, IPA and pale ale, hefe and white, milk stout and Russian imperial stout, BBC [Berkshire Brewing Co.] and CBC [Cambridge Brewing Co.],” says Dylan. Two of the offerings he’s most fond of, Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye and Allagash White, could not be more different stylistically, but both are perfect matches for Green Street’s New England-style bistro fare, like house-cured garlic sausage and bouillabaisse made with local seafood.

I see the Maine brewer Allagash’s Belgian-style white ale popping up in restaurants a lot these days. It makes sense. Belgian and Belgian-style beers, which Michael Jackson described as “the winiest-tasting beers,” appeal to restaurateurs who have traditionally been much more familiar with putting food together with wine than with beer. Jackson Cannon, bar manager of Eastern Standard Kitchen and Drinks in Boston, is a fan of beers from Belgium’s Brasserie Dupont. “I stock all their offerings in the 750ml bottle,” he says.

The bar at Eastern Standard has revived a level of quality in both service and drinks that was last practiced in the early 20th century, when fancy hotel bars were prominent and bartenders were esteemed as true professionals.

Jackson, therefore, does not stock any beverage carelessly. When he and I spoke, he was excitedly anticipating a shipment of Dupont’s seasonal Les Bon Voeux, praising its “restrained use of mace and coriander with a touch of allspice. [Dupont] beers are very food-friendly, especially with cheese and charcuterie. Also, the large bottle promotes sharing and underscores the philosophy that good beer belongs on a well set table.”

I love that last point, actually. Part of what makes dining out festive is the ceremony and aesthetics behind the serving of wine and the mixing of cocktails. Why shouldn’t it be the same with beer? The Belgians, of course, are champions of this concept, with their array of beautiful glassware for different beer styles and their devotion to the perfect pour.

I’ve noticed that ordering a large bottle of beer (particularly one with a cork) at a nice restaurant often piques the curiosity of other customers, who start asking their server, “What is that...?” Their bottles of wine seem a little humdrum next to a fluffy-headed saison expertly poured into a tulip glass.

Moments like these reinforce the fact that knowledgeable servers are as important as knowledgeable customers to boosting craft beer’s presence in the world of fine dining. Bar manager Jessica Laczka, who has lately been amping up the beer selection at the traditionally wine-centric Cambridge restaurant the Blue Room, admits, “It all really starts with our servers. Whenever I put a new beer on the list, we taste it and talk about the producer so that the servers will be able to converse with our guests.”

Jessica is yet another fan of Allagash beers. She also likes “the Stone guys in California, Avery in Colorado, and Peak Organic in Maine. I feel like the microbrewers in the US are really advancing. It is an adventure to be able to put things on the list that no one has heard of or tasted. It challenges our guests to go outside of their comfort zone and try something new.”