BTN: Pairing two rogue ales with Phat Thai

I tried a couple of beer pairings with my first attempt at Phat Thai Mangsawirat--a simple vegetarian noodle dish accompanied with tofu and garbanzo beans. The Phat Thai was nothing exciting to my taste--I severely undercooked the rice noodles the first time around and even when I got that under control, I enjoyed the individual ingredients (especially the cilantro and mung bean sprouts) more than the combination of flavors of the whole dish--the paprika was not enough to bind this dish together.

When I made it fresh I paired it with the Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale from Newport, Oregon (specialty grain) which was initially very appealing with citrus and a tangerine feel to the nose and slightly reminiscent of a hefeweizen, a touch of crispness and frothy, though I found it tasty throughout, it was probably just the uniqueness of having soba in my beer, but feels doable just because it is different, nothing wrong, just probably not worth revisiting. From producer: Includes roasted soba, Malts: Harrington, Metcalf, Munich and C-15; Hops: Crystal; Top Fermenting Pacman Yeast.

Reheating the leftovers (and sauteeing the noodles in leftover veggie stock to soften them up) I opened the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar from Newport, Oregon (American brown ale) – which was a beautiful brown and had a mighty appealing nose of Frangelico/hazelnut liqueur, there was quite an intensity to the taste that sometimes reminds me of syrup, but, though concentrated, it didn't have that dead-stop and tiring qualities I associate with syrup, instead the depth of the nutty taste paired with some refreshment. Even though it was mighty malty, I did not tire of it at all. It also paired excellently with the flavors of the Phat Thai, particularly well with the spicy Thai peppers. From producer: Malts: Harrington, Klayes, Munich, Hugh Baird Brown, Carastan 13/17, Crystal 70/80, Crystal 135/165, Beeston Pale Chocolate; Hops: Perle and Sterling; Hazelnut Nectar, Top Fermenting Pacman Yeast.

Interesting to note as well that Rogue prints pictures of types of food (eg, pork, beef, fish) that they think pairs best with the particular beer. An excellent move.

Beer made with buckwheat? That sounds interesting. (I am assuming, perhaps wrong?, that soba here doesn't mean there are thin, Japanese noodles in the beer?) On first thought, it sounded like the Brown Ale would have been too heavy for the dish but I'm happy to hear it worked out. On reading the recipe, I started to feel that a Saison (lots of hops, refreshing and dry) would work - what would you think of that pairing?

Interesting to note as well that Rogue prints pictures of types of food (eg, pork, beef, fish) that they think pairs best with the particular beer. An excellent move.

That is quite a wonderful idea - beers are so horribly undervalued on the table that I think anything done to redress the balance is good.

-O

Beer made with buckwheat?

Yup, that's the one. This is what Rogue had to say about their ingredient:

Soba (also known as buckwheat) is not a type of wheat but a member of the rhubard family and has been a longtime staple of Japanese cuisine because of its nutritional value. Buckwheat is high in potassium, phosphorous, vitamin B (50 percent more than wheat) and protein, and its virtually fat-free. The fruits of the buckwheat plant are like small beechnuts, which are milled to separate the edible groats from the dark brown hulls. The groats are then roasted and used more or less like a grain (a good example is Kasha).

On first thought, it sounded like the Brown Ale would have been too heavy for the dish but I'm happy to hear it worked out. On reading the recipe, I started to feel that a Saison (lots of hops, refreshing and dry) would work - what would you think of that pairing?

Sure, I see the possibilities. I was surprised that something as malty as the Hazelnut Nectar paired well, but that might be a function of the degree to which it cools and melds in the considerable amount of fresh Thai chili peppers I sprinkle on top.