I often get asked what my favourite beer is. Although I enjoy APA's there is always an occasion for any beer.

What is your favourite beer?

You would be surprised to find out that the most drunk beer in the world is made in China.

Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland, England, Australia and of course, the United States have strong drinking traditions. But the No. 1 selling beer in the world comes from China and it's called Snow. It is brewed by China Resources Snow Breweries since 1994 in Liaoning Province.

It even outstripped Budweiser and Bud Light.
The 6 most popular beers in 2011 are (source; The Drinks Business);

1. Snow 50.8 million barrels
2. Bud Light 45.4 million barrels
3. Budweiser 38.7 million barrels
4. Corona Extra 30.4 million barrels
5. Skol 29.5 million barrels
6. Heineken 26 million barrels

But craft beer drinkers may scoff at these highly guzzling beers as mass produced, "tasteless" and uninteresting.

Craft beers on the other hand come in various colours, hoppiness, and maltiness, suited to the changing demands of the modern drinker. So there must be large volumes of it being produced. Right? Well no. Not yet anyway.

Boston Beer Co. topped the list of craft breweries in 2012 sales, with around 2.73 million barrels. That's about 1/10 of Heineken production a year earlier. The total craft beer production in the USA in 2012 was about 6-7% of the total beer produced and this is incresing every year.

Although small in volume craft beer is starting to make an impact on the way we drink. There are now more choices of the brew than what we have seen for a long time. Craft breweries are rising all over Australiasia and the world. We know they are making a mark because the big boys are beginning to make similar beers. Even the Australian government is beginning to recognise them because the excise laws are beginning to change in favour of the brewer.

And that means, as craft brewers,  we can begin to challenge other beverages such as tea, coffee and wine.

The beauty of beer is that it can match with just about any type of food on the planet. And that is what is most exciting about craft beer. Beer is becoming sophisticated, complex and adaptable yet it is still the elixir to friendship and mateship. It is casual and it is complex in flavours; a perfect combination.

Have you tried a Belgium sour cherry beer. On its own it can be considered an acquired taste. But match it up with a desert and there is a wonderful transformation that allows the sweet dessert to marry perfectly with the sour beer.
Think of sweet and sour pork, and you begin to see the huge diversity of beer.

Another combination is a highly hopped beer with either a spicy dish or a sweeter dish.
And dark porters or stouts can go well with chocolate. Chocolate can also go well with a dryer beer such as a crisp lager or pilsner because it can cut through the fattiness of the chocolate and leave you mouth feeling clean and ready for more (Beware!)

So when next time someone asks you which is your favourite beer ask if he/she means with or without food.
I find that when I do wine tasting at a cellar door I usually buy based of the flavour of the wine iteslf and then when I have it with a meal the taste is not quite right because it does not compliment the food I'm eating.

Beer is the same. And we are still learning about beer and food matching as it is a relatively new gastronomical  phenomenon. 
But it is fun to experiment. And best of all we are leaning to combine alcohol with food which makes the pursuit of beer a more responsible and enjoyable habit.

So perhaps we are returning to an ancient way of drinking beer with food like the suggested diet by the Greek writer Sophocles’ (450 BC) who indicated beer's rightful place;
 "bread, meat, green vegetables and zythos (beer)".
       
So what's you favourite beer?

For me its a beer well made and is consistent in flavour, varied in design so it can suit any dish. That's the beauty of craft beer.

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Want a good recipe for a Red Ale? Click here.

Brought to you by
Costanzo Brewing Consultants
www.costanzobrewing.com
+61 (0)408 104 176