TakeAway: Slowly but surely, historical barriers to entry into different food categories are crumbling.
What was once seen as sacred pairing – wine and cheese – is now an optional pairing.
Beer is determined to expand its usage occasions to include cheese, and consumers are buying in.
By gaining support from industry organizations and restaurants, the beer/wine pairing is gaining credibility, creating awareness, and educating consumers. Go beer.
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Excerpted from WSJ, “Trouble Brews for Wine; Cheese Chooses Beer,” By Davide Berretta, September 25, 2009
After wrestling for a spot on the gourmet drink list, beer is trying to push deeper into wine territory: right by the cheese platter …
The beer and cheese combination has long been a staple in Belgian cuisine, but in recent years, the pairing of beer and cheese has gained legitimacy even in wine-obsessed Italy — where beer is hardly the default drink to accompany fine dining …
For brewers, teaming up with cheese is part of a campaign to show that beer is as sophisticated as Bordeaux, not just a tipple associated with student parties and sports bars. The idea is to “bring it up at the same level as wine” …
Slow Food, for one, is putting its clout behind the beer-and-cheese combo. At the nonprofit group’s Cheese 2009 — a biannual international fair held in the northern Italian region that shares a border with cheese superpower, France — cheese lovers and producers from around the world tasted dozens of varieties, with beer helping wash down the food in addition to the usual wine … Slow Food is eager to give more attention to artisanal brews, and has elevated beer’s role from bit player to supporting actor …
Part of the appeal comes from the fact that beer and cheese are part of a common farm cycle. In the 19th century, Belgian monks would brew beer, feeding their cows the leftover barley husks. The cows’ milk yielded cheese that the monks — many of them vegetarians — liked to munch while enjoying their beers …
The owner of New York’s Beer Table, a gourmet beer bar … has been serving beer and cheese since opening the bar a year and a half ago, says consumer palates have warmed quickly to the pairing, such as his proposed meeting of Swiss cheese with Swiss Rebetez beer … “A year ago, it was a new experience for everybody we presented it to,” Mr. Philips says. “Now just one in 10 are surprised.”
But beer fans still have a long way to go if they want to convince the public that suds are a worthy partner for cheese, especially in France …
Edit by TJS
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Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125383275067639085.html
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The Homa Files 
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