Meet celebrity brewmaster Garrett Oliver and learn why craft beer is the next foodie frontier
I know that there are some very elegant beers out there, so why doesn’t beer get the same kind of love that wine does when it comes to fine dining?
In the past 30 years, wine has become “aspirational” to many people, a seeming ticket to middle class living. Before the craft brewing movement, beer had become so flavorless and industrialized that there wasn’t very much to love. Thankfully we’ve recovered from the dark days, and beer is very much in its ascendency. We make beer for Thomas Keller, for Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park, and for Danny Meyer at Shake Shack and Blue Smoke. You’re now seeing great beer lists at serious restaurants. There are over 100 beers on the list at Eleven Madison Park, and that’s a four-star restaurant. Like wine, beer belongs everywhere, from the fishing boat to great restaurants.
Are there any trends in beer-making now?
As with the food world, the world of beer is in constant motion and there are many trends. India Pale Ale remains the hottest style, but you’re also seeing many variations on that theme, not all of them pale. Belgian farmhouse ales are pretty hot, and lots of brewers are chasing the flavors of interesting new hop varieties. Acidity, which is a characteristic that was largely expelled from modern brewing, is making a major comeback, and you’re starting to see breweries devoted to sour, funky-tasting beers that often have startling flavor profiles and profound complexity. Barrel-aging has also become very popular.
What has changed about the business of brewing beer in the last decade or so?
Well, the price and availability of raw materials have changed drastically. Hops in particular are many times more expensive than they were a few years ago, and with so many breweries seeking out good ingredients, they are becoming harder to get. The consumer is also much more sophisticated. I think that craft beer is the only area of food and drink in the United States where the customers often know more about what the bar or restaurant is serving than the house does. So the bar and restaurant industry is scrambling to get the level of knowledge that they desperately need in order to serve more educated guests. I think the success of The Oxford Companion to Beer and Ray Daniels’ Cicerone beer training program are indicative of this.
I know this is probably like asking a mother who her favorite child is, but what are your favorite beers?
Well, you’ll read about 350 of my favorite beers in The Brewmaster’s Table! If you’re talking about Brooklyn beers, though, you’re right – there’s no real answer to that. It’s like asking “what’s your favorite music?” To answer the question, I’d need to know what mood I was in, who I was with, what I was doing… too many things. At any given moment, though, I’d enjoy a Brooklyn Sorachi Ace or Brooklyn Blast [India Pale Ale]. They’re never far from my mind.
We are heading into the first barbecues of the summer. Can you suggest some interesting pairings to jazz up some common barbecue dishes?
[For] Grilled chicken and fish, [I suggest] Oktoberfest beer, amber ales and lagers. [For r]ibs: Belgian wheat beers and porters. [For] Burgers [try India Pale Ale] and Brown Ale.
For people who want to channel their inner Garrett Oliver, are there any good beer-making kits out there?
Yes, there are plenty – even the White House is making beer now!
You are the author of The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering The Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, and The Good Beer Book (with Timothy Harper). Tell us about your latest publication.
Actually, my latest book, released last year, is The Oxford Companion to Beer from Oxford University Press. It’s the most comprehensive reference book ever published on beer, and covers more than 1,100 subjects. I’m editor-in-chief, and worked with 166 writers from 24 countries. I’m proud of what we managed to do – it’s a ground-breaking book, and is entertaining as well as useful. In other words, the perfect gift!
Suzanne Rust is a writer, lifestyle expert, on-air talent, and a native New Yorker. Follow her on Twitter at @SuzanneRust.
