WINE CLUB CELEBRATES "BEERS OF THE WORLD"

For years now, Garden Valley residents bearing plates and bowls of appropriate appetizers have been hosted in lovely private homes for monthly wine-tasting meetings. Appropriate is the key word...or was.

The pairing of food and wine was quite strict. Now it is a highly subjective and inexact process. As our tastes have become more sophisticated and worldly, the subtleties of multi-ethnic foods open up the possibilities of pairing wine and food. Acids, tannins and sugars in the wine interact with your dish to create different taste sensations.

Now take that to a different level and nowadays, a not necessarily bourgeois level. Beer is the rising star making its way onto more tables, rather than wine. And why rather not? Beer seems to be more food-friendly than wine! It has more choices of flavor to pair with food.

Beer hops function like wine acids, and added to it are spices, fruits, and sweetness of barley, allowing the diner to enjoy a sweet and sour, bitter and robust, crisp and delicate, sweet, thick and dark...

Ales, pilsners and lagers can stand up to greasy and cheesy; pizza and tidbits rich in strong Mediterranean flavors do well. Strong and fruity beers go with spicy. And so on.

Make it your own, experiment. Am I making this up? Pale goes well with just about anything. Get wild and crazy with grilled, salty, smoked, braised, Asian, chocolate (please--dark, bitter and expensive), salads, fish, sausages, veggies--as in artichokes, eggplant, grilled romaine, crispy yams and taters...yes, I am making it up!

This Saturday, October 9, at 7:00 p.m., the club will be tasting 'Beers of the World' and will offer lager, ales and pilsners from the Far East, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Spain, England, Belgium and Germany.

The club's knowledgeable and always gracious head dude, Rod Murchison, says, "There will not be a financial contribution at this event but plates of food are always welcome. As usual, we will have a limited supply of the beverages that we are tasting available for sale at the event.
Don't worry, be hoppy."

Hosts for the evening are Jamie Anderson and Bill Sipple. The location is 5 Corgi Lane.

Everyone is welcome--this October gathering promises to be even more fun than ever and hopefully enlightening for the information-harvesters of the tribe.

Normally, there is a fee to pay for the wine, but as Rod says, not this time. If you have not been a part of these get-togethers and would like to come, contact Rod Murchison for directions. (208)462-8065.