Need Experienced Info re Beer with Sashimi/wasabi/soy

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by GRG1313, Mar 12, 2013.

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  1. GRG1313

    GRG1313 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Jan 15, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Forgive me if this topic has come up before. This is not part of BA I generally follow, despite my interest in food, pairings and cooking.

    I have finally convinced my branch of The International Wine & Food Society to pour beer when appropriate. Suffice it to say that a meal is being planned at a very well known restaurant in Beverly Hills where the first course will be a Chirashi Sashimi Box (and which includes Blue Fin Tuna, Hamachi, Uni, Salmon eggs, Soy gel and Wasabi).

    Clearly, most of the members are going to "soy and wasabi" their fish. Only a few will eat it without.

    Beer has been suggested. Does anyone have any experience serving beer when soy and wasabi is being used?

    I don't want to use Sapporo or a pale ale. I'm a complete snob. I want to use something "better;" I want to use a cool craft beer that will pair well and make everyone even more interested in craft beer.

    I recently went to a very Japanese sushi meal where special fish etc. was flown in from Japan for the meal. In addition to sake and wine, I served the Hitochino 3 Day Ale and the Hitochino Ancient Ale. Everyone flipped. The 3 Day Ale was from my cellar and is now gone. I might be able to still get some Ancient Ale but I'm looking for suggestions from people who have experienced using beer with sashimi (and especially when soy and wasabi is being used.)

    Any ideas?
     
  2. maximthegreat

    maximthegreat Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Illinois

    You want something that is going to balance well with the wasabi. I was thinking some sort of hefeweizen. Not sure what's available in Socal. If you can get it, maybe a Weihenstephaner Hefeweisbier (sp?).
     
  3. maximthegreat

    maximthegreat Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Illinois

    Either way, I would go with some sort of wheat beer.
     
  4. GRG1313

    GRG1313 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Jan 15, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Such as?

    The Weihenstephaner Hefe is ubiquitous here in Los Angeles and is far more mainstream than that which I seek. I serve the WH at many of the beer tastings that I do for newbies, clubs and organizations in the same way you might serve a champagne or light white wine before a dinner party. No, while I appreciate the thought, this was not quite what I had in mind.

    Why do you suggest wheat beer in particular? And, which one fits my criteria? Also, what experience have you had with beer pairing with soy and wasabi? I'm seeking info from someone who has tried to make this match up.

    C'mon! I need particulars! lol...
     
  5. maximthegreat

    maximthegreat Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Illinois

    Soy and wasabi should not be the dominant flavors in sashimi, but I do understand that some people douse their fish in both. So you want something that will not overpower the taste of the fish, taste bad with soy sauce, and be able to extinguish the heat from wasabi. To me, that's screaming wheat beer.

    It's hard for me to make particular suggestions since we're in completely different markets. I have done some sashimi pairings in the past with Akari Shogun from Half Acre and Dancing Man Wheat from New Glarus. I know for a fact that neither of those are available in LA and if they were easily attainable i would offer to send them your way. How bout doing Lagunitas little sumpin sumpin? The citrus notes should pair nicely with fish. It's hoppy, but not overpowering. Sashimi is very light so you want a beer that feels light and crisp. I think the wheat malt goes nicely with the heat of the wasabi.
     
  6. maximthegreat

    maximthegreat Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Illinois

    Also, I completely forgot that when I was planning a sashimi pairing I really wanted to use Allagash White. I did a test run and it was fantastic. I couldn't find enough bottles to serve it at the time, but I highly recommend it.

    Also I think you're putting too much stress on the soy and wasabi. You need something that is going to work with everything and not just soy and wasabi.
     
    drtth likes this.
  7. bpgpitt10

    bpgpitt10 Pundit (805) May 12, 2008 District of Columbia

    My first thought with this was Sorachi Ace. It's readily available, but not something a lot of people pick up to buy. It uses japanese hops so there is a nice story to tell there. It's very light and bubbly which is great for a first course. It has a mild sweetness which will go nicely with the salty soy and the hops are present enough to play with the wasabi in an enjoyable way IMO.

    I think you could find a lot of saisons that fit the bill frankly. Saison Dupont tends to have a solid hop profile with mild funk and a delicate tartness which would be good. I would stay away from ones like Hennepin that are much more "bready" than light and crisp. I wouldn't go too far with the sour or funky side though. It'd be nice to cut through the fatty fish, but I think too much funk and it's just another flavor addition where there are already lots of flavors going on.

    I personally would also stay away from things like Allagash White and traditional hefe's for the same reason. New flavors added to the bunch.
     
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  8. TMoney2591

    TMoney2591 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,103) Apr 21, 2009 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Hitachino Nest Weizen (or White Ale...whatever the hell it's called nowadays): fits the need for a tasty wheat beer and has the added distinction of being Japanese...
     
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  9. maximthegreat

    maximthegreat Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Illinois

    You see I thought that the flavors of Allagash White were particularly pleasant with the heat of wasabi and didn't seem to overpower anything.

    I'm not a big saison drinker, which is why I didn't make any suggestions there. I wouldn't do anything that has any funk taste. Sour may be nice, but funk may be terrible with raw fish, imo.
     
  10. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,727) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Go for the Hitachino Witbier, the ginger brew might work out nicely but I've never had it... since ginger is often a palate cleanser between pieces.

    Witbier is a safe bet. Dogfish Namaste is a fave of mine for witbier, Sorachi Ace mentioned already is another great suggestion (yes it's a saison). Ommegang Witte is another. St. Bernadus Wit would be another safe one I would say also.

    Light Lagers could do the trick like Joe's Pilsner, had that with sushi/sashimi and other Japanese food and it worked real well.
     
  11. queens1130

    queens1130 Initiate (0) Nov 21, 2008 California

    My vote also goes to the Hitachino Witbier. Haven't had it in a while but memory tells me that it was light & refreshing on the palate while carrying enough depth of it's own to maybe stand up to bolder flavors like soy sauce and wasabi. Would be very interesting to try the ginger beer version as suggested above, cheers!
     
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  12. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,727) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    It's also a tough call cause sashimi (and sushi) is so delicate...
     
  13. ricochet173

    ricochet173 Initiate (0) Jul 6, 2011 Canada (QC)
    Trader

    Exactly. Every time I see this topic come up I cringe a little inside, though at least nobody suggested an IPA. My take is that perhaps not everything should be paired with beer, nor should everything be paired with wine. The whole point of sushi and sashimi is that the chef uses the absolute best ingredients, then lets them dance like little graceful ballerinas on your taste buds. I would go with water, a very mild green tea, or a high quality sake. I love pairing my food with beer, but this is one of those cases where I feel it would be to the detriment of the meal as a whole.
     
  14. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,727) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I do love good red wine with maguro sashimi though... but thats just me...
     
  15. CasanovaCummins

    CasanovaCummins Initiate (0) Jan 10, 2012 Nevada

    I would definitely stay away from anything rye or too chocolately. I'd go with a lighter style like a wit beer or a lemony Belgian. I would keep away from stouts, porters and the like and would even try some lighter style IPA's ( No on the DIPA's ).
     
  16. CasanovaCummins

    CasanovaCummins Initiate (0) Jan 10, 2012 Nevada

    Ayone notice how well Japanese beers, even regulars like Kirin, go well with salty foods? Almost as if by design.
     
  17. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

    IPAs pair well with heat and the citrus characteristic of certain hops would blend well with the sashimi. I just had Goose Island IPA with soy/wasabi sushi this week. It was good but I would explorre other IPAs to see how they match up. Revolution Anti-Hero IPA is very hoppy but not too resinious and very drying in the mouth. Fresh Daisy Cutter Pale Ale also comes to mind.

    From what's available in California, you might try one of the Port Brewing IPAs, Stone IPA, or Lagunitas IPA.

    Let me know if you want me to send you a can of Revolution IPA and a Daisy Cutter to sample.
     
  18. GRG1313

    GRG1313 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Jan 15, 2009 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Your suggestions are wonderful! I thank you all for your careful and serious analysis and for taking the time to take my request seriously. You have definitely helped me here.
    We will be drinking a premiere grand cru with one of the courses and a very high end Rhone, as well as white Burgundy. This is a very serious wine and food group that has been around for over 50 years. I actually ran it for 30 years and I'm still on the Board and I do a few dinners a year, as well. After the past appetizers (with champagne) and an amuse (for which we'll keep the champage) the first course is as noted. We thought it would be fun to use beer and most of us will not be drowning our sashimi in the soy and wasabi. However, there is definitely a percentage that will.

    Many of the precise beers you mention were on my radar. However, I confess that Allagash White is readily available here and likely would be great. I completely overlooked it and it's a great idea.

    Suffice it to say that your suggestions have been so wonderful that we have tentatively decided to do a "three beer flight" with the sashimi course giving people 3 different (hopefully matching) experiences, as well as the simple opportuntiy to try 3 beers instead of just one. I'm going to initially try at least the Allagash White, the Dupont Avec Les Bon Vieux (one of our members is the distributor of both! Shouldn't be a problem getting,) and a few others, including several wheat beers and I'm going to at least try a very hoppy IPA just to see what it's like.

    I'm also curious about a few other styles and will be experimenting. I'll report back.

    Thank you so much, again, for your thoughtful analysis and generousity. The meal is being planned for April and I, as the "beer consultant" plan on doing at least one test run soon to check out a few of these suggestions. Thanks again.
     
  19. bpgpitt10

    bpgpitt10 Pundit (805) May 12, 2008 District of Columbia

    Awesome. Keep us posted on the results!
     
  20. Parrotshake

    Parrotshake Initiate (0) Nov 29, 2008 Australia

    Looking at the thread title I instantly thought Allagash or Hitachino witbiers. But Sorachi Ace is also a fantastic suggestion. And hey, while I'm at it I'll chuck in my $0.02 - Gueuze. Will cut through all the toppings and some of them have those briny notes that just kill with seafood.
     
    bpgpitt10 likes this.
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