Using ingredients from local farmers, artisans and suppliers, Chef Stephen La Salle of The Albion Rooms will be celebrating harvest flavours with a 6 course meal paired with beer from Muskoka Brewery.

We recently had the chance to interview Stephen regarding the October 24th's event and beer pairing in general.

Ottawa Beer Events: How long have you been

pairing food and beer and what has changed since you first started?

Stephan La Salle (Chef at The Albion Rooms): This will be my first

official food and beer pairing menu, but as a chef when working on a plate

you’re always thinking of flavours both contrasting and complimenting so to

jump into matching great craft beers I actually drink and enjoy myself isn’t a

big leap. I’m really involved in the wine and beer lists at The Albion Rooms, I

like to make sure they complement the whole experience.

How does pairing beer

with food and wine with food differ?

I think the fundamentals

of pairing are the same; you want the food to elevate the drink and the drink

to do the same to the food. The concepts that apply to pairing wine also apply

to beer pairing. For example thinking regionally, a German Kolch goes well with

Bratwurst just like an Italian Chianti goes well with a rich tomato meaty

bolognaise.

I think beers are

definitely more versatile and easier on the palate, the carbonation of the beer

can almost act like a palate cleanser in some cases. Pairing beer with food is

also a lot of fun because you can pull inspiration from hearty pub and tavern

classics that have been traditionally paired with beers for generations.

Do you start with a dish

first and then match the beer or vice versa?

The pairing is kind of

almost hand in hand. For our upcoming Harvest Dinner with Muskoka we’re doing 6

courses and 6 beers and they almost dictate the flow themselves. For the beers

you want to start off with something crisp and refreshing, then move into

something more creamy, then perhaps into some beers with fuller flavour and then

you can get going into some stronger or hoppier beer and then something really

full and heavy to finish. You wouldn’t start with the most bitter beer and

wouldn’t end with the lightest, your pallet wouldn’t be able to taste every

beer’s fullest potential.

In almost the same way a multi-course menu is built.

You start with something to tease the palate, with an amuse bouche, something

crispy and refreshing like a salad is next and then your fuller more robust

main plates and something sweet to finish. So I had each course paired up right

at the start, some courses were written for the beers they are paired with and

some courses were matched up with a great Muskoka beer to compliment them.

Which Muskoka beer was

the easiest to pair?

Mad Tom IPA. The hops

really pairs well to fatty foods, the bitterness almost cuts through the fat.

We’ll be pairing it with some local pig’s cheeks from Living Pastures Farm.

What would be one

of your favorite pairings?

I would say the dinner’s

namesake, the Harvest Ale, one of my favourite beers from Muskoka was my

favourite beer to pair on the menu. It’s really well rounded with some malt and

a slight grassy flavour that would go well with some big herbs and some smoke.

Since it is named after the harvest, I really wanted to highlight some fall

vegetables with the dish.

Can you give us a hint

at what the menu & pairings may look like?

They’re going to be a

lot of fun, we’re going to be do ceviche with Cream Ale, Pig’s Cheek with Mad

Tom IPA, Smoked Ling Cod with Harvest Ale, Muskoka’s Legendary Oddity will be

making an appearance and I will be finishing it off with a food/beer pairing combo.

You can follow The Albion Rooms on Twitter (@TheAlbionRooms) or Facebook (The Albion Rooms).

The Muskoka Harvest Ale Dinner at The Albion Rooms will be held on October 24, 2013 (7:30pm). Tickets are $60.00 and include 6 courses paired with 6 Muskoka beers – tickets are available by phone at 613-760-4771.