Beer in the Nordic Kitchen, part III

Being taken seriously is not always easy. To be heard, can sometimes be difficult. MOUTH-FULL asked the 40 nominated restaurants for "Nordic Prize in 2010, two responded.


A quick summary
MOUTH-FULLcongratulated Noma  on the title as world champion, and asked very rhetorical, the restaurant where the beer had gone in all this striving towards the sublime.
Surprise was to feel, when the post resulted in a serious reply from Noma, who wanted to justify their choices in the field. They work on Noma with "small taste";
 - "subtle and sophisticated impression"
that calls for wine. Thanks Noma, for you joining my thoughts.

Encouraged by this, was MOUTH-FULL became ambitious and took the discussion to the 40 restaurants in the north, which is nominated for the Nordic Prize 2010
 - "for their work with food on top and their ambition to bring Nordic cuisine, not necessarily The New Nordic Kitchen, up to an even higher level".
We drew up a number of issues reviewed websites and personal testimonies from owners, chefs and Somalis and the result is now up, five weeks later.

2 replies
They cam from AOC (Copenhagen) and Ravintola Savoy (Helsinki). Savoy base their beverage choices in food and tradition, AOC has Jacobsen, Gourmet Brewery (Harboe) and Herslev in their range, but rates are not big on beer. So, was that it?.
Perhaps a failure, but there´s something going on here.
MOUTH-FULL is convinced of beers excellence served with all kinds of food. Also on plates, where the price is half a month's salary. From ramson to koldskål and sushi, beer can match them all. And in many cases by up to several major variants, where the wine is struggling just to make a single candidate.

Beer and wine are different as water and oil granted.

Wine is "terroir" in the true sense. The wine has fruit, yeast, maturation and tradition on its side. One is tempted almost to call it a divine drink, because the harvest varies from year to year, well beyond human reach. Oh, what a delight to hover with the gods and taste their nectar only to initiates. But the industry, the human, has gradually made its big imprint on winemaking. An expensive bottle of wine is not necessarily a good bottle, it can often just profit from good old rumors and today's penchant for extravagance. A vinkenderven advised us off to never buy a bottle of wine for over 500 dollars, "the rest is lir" .500 danish kroner(some 110 dollars) is also a kind of money and that kind of amount is not always at the top of shopping list for most.

Enter beer.

Beer is  a every man beverage, beer is the people and the beer is 100% man-made. While we MOUTH-FULL has not yet proven ability in the art of home brewing, we know a bit of the craftsmanship. To c r a f t it. From start to finish, is a beer conceived and executed by the human hand. This gives a huge advantage when it comes to shaping the taste right there where the brewer wants it. Anything goes, not even the storage of beer at winevats stands in the way of todays brewers.

We would  like to make a few examples of beers sovereignty when it comes to balance with food. At the risk of falling foul of the author, the examples from the wine side, come from Søren Frank's book "The wine with dinner" published in 2004.

At that time, the danish beerrevolution had, maybe 6-7 years in it´s going and drinkers had already enjoyed national pearl brew as" Little Korkney "and" North Bridge Extreme " from Nørrebro Bryggeri, the origina l" "Ølfabrikken" brewery was still in a North Zealand holiday quarter, Bøgedal was on going and there had in years up to 2004, has been a huge focus on Belgian beer culture. The evidence on top-dollar beer was running for the position, although there was still much to way überhopped IPA, Imperial Porter, Danish produced Kriek and wine casking of various kinds.


In "The wine with dinner" is a careful examination of raw materials and what wines to match. It seems to be a battle more than a pleasure, when we approach other than brassieret beef and fruit cake.

Citrus shades are "some of the hardest when it comes to wine."
Pork "represent some of the biggest challenges".
All nuts have a port and so on.

This is not a correlation-based, this is the exemplification of an experienced writers own knowledge. Continuous becomes outer branches as Champagne, muscat and port used correctly much of Frank's book.

Beer can draw on all additives to achieve a flavor. It´s as simple as that.
While wine has a hard time with virtually all food,  not being in a form of smoothing of individual taste, beer can match beer with all the excess weight is thrown after it.
All of the sensory image of a meal is taste, but also mouth feeling, smell, temperature, sound, the trigimale elements, all factors that can be balanced with the beverages. The gourmet kitchen will be working with small tastes; a small jump this road here or there. In the run up to the molecular cuisine and now the New Nordic, gourmet was more about looks than taste. With the introduction of baconicecream and wild garlic, the taste is again brought into focus with the leading chefs, and thus all of us in a moment.


Therefore, Mouth-FULL tried to get the food champions to talk about whether beer is not a better companion for a well conducted meal.


This is the third of three blogs, read the first and the second

Beers in the Nordic kitchen, part II

After our post about beer and wild garlic, we've brewed a little further on the history of beer in the modern Nordic cuisine, or course, then, the lack thereof.
MOUTH-FULL was contacted by NOMA, who wanted to talk more about this with Nordic cuisine and beer. It was a very exciting chat with some office ganglia Pontus Elofsson. He pointed out that Noma is a Nordic kitchen with large N and that the choices are being taken with respect to the beverage compositions, this starting point.

 - "Nomas food is elegant in its composition, elegant and subtle taste, depends on a like-minded elegant companion."

In a clarification he explains that beer is too volmineus in its sweetness and bitterness to the more refined taste battles that are a gourmet meal at Noma.

 - "Razor clams with dill / mussel juice has as clear and cool expression that the acid and minerality a wine can offer is much better than a beer," says Pontus.

He also sees the wild fermented beers lambik and geuze, as too potent, perhaps too primitive to muslingen. Also,  access is difficult to the brewer's distribution was a reason for a smaller focus. Beer is also not particularly popular at Nomas audience, as Pontus puts it. Noma sells almost only its own beer and that as a start before the meal. Pontus Elofsson describes him self as one of the someliers who know most about beer in the country, which may well be seen by the card.


Nordic Prize 2010
Noma is the restaurant of the 40 nominees for this year's "Nordic Prize" which has clearly best beerselection. 26 beers, it has. After reviewing the beers, however, they imprint of being selected very randomly, according to quality judging. Thus the sublime brewery Mikkeller as Danish, Norwegian Nøgne Ø or Swedish Närke not represented on the card. In contrast the restaurant has Fur, Jacobsen, Kloster Bryggeriet and Claus Meyers Bændeale. As the only clear quality choice, we find Nils Oskar of Sweden and Danish Bøgelund.

Now no more about Nomas beer selection; we have tried to take this,  to MOUTH-FULL very important question, up a level.

"The Nordic Prize" is a Danish Crown and Arla sponsored price to the annual best Nordic restaurant.
Quote:
 - "In recognition and respect of the Nordic gastronomy and Nordic cultural values selected Connoisseur of gastronomy in the Nordic countries have teamed up to elect" Restaurant of the Year in the North ", an initiative that will bring further focus on the Nordic markers."

It will therefore reward the work of Nordic cuisine and nordic cultural values. Now beer is not sovereign a nordic product, but neither is wine. Yet it is a clear trend by examining the nominees restaurants websites that wine rules over beer to the food. A food and a job that otherwise, the pages themselves, claims toat work to create the best possible experience for the guest.

31 restaurants do not mention beer with a word on their sites. Four states brewery names while six mentions "beer" and a price, but not the brewers. Not so impressive, I these times of the Nordic Kitchen.
Finnish OLO, Helsinki, describes the wine as, "The Nordic kitchen is fairly tolerant with various wine tastes." Other restaurants are not as precise in the work to make grape juice from around the world BUT Scandinavia, to this new Nordic concept, but claim here and here to know about beer, because they have a philosophy about their drinks as a whole.


Therefore, MOUTH-FULL prepared and sent the following letter and questions to the 40 restaurants, with a 10-day answering time, so we're all seeing what is happening inside of these potential winners and real very competent restaurant to be representing the High in the Nordic chefs craft; food.

Mailtext:
Reguarding your restaurants use of beer and work with the Nordic Cuisine


Dear owners, chefs and sommeliers
I´m a Danish blogger on food and education. In my search for a valid reason to the lack of beers in the Nordic gourmet kitchen, I write you ,in the hope that you can help me. Since your restaurant has been nominated for the “Nordic Prize” award this year, I hope to address this to restaurants on the highest level, with interest in Nordic Cuisine and a never stopping desire to be on the forefront of gourmet cuisine.


So, I have made a list of questions I would hope you could find the time to answer, for my education, for my readers and the further work with the topic.


Thanx in advance
Yours truly






My blog (I´m afraid it´s in Danish) http://mund-fuld.blogspot.com/






Questions:


• Briefly describe your work with the Nordic Cuisine.


• Can you give a description, maybe in pictures as to how a meal at your restaurant is intended


• What are your views on beverages for meals?


• What requirements are you asking for wine when you assemble it with your food?

• To what extent are beer used in your restaurant?


• What is the background for your restaurant to carry beers?


• What background underlie your choice of beer?


• What requirements are you asking for a beer when you assemble it with your food?


• What education / training / travel underlie your knowledge of beer?

• Based on your focus on the Nordic kitchen, what reasons are there to overwhelmingly use wine in your restaurant?


• What can be the basis for the restaurant industry's greater emphasis on wine rather than beer for dinner?


• Have your restaurant's plans to include more beer in your work?



This is the second part of three, read the first here and the third here

Beers in the Nordic Kitchen part I

While scanning over 56 pages wine list, you can ponder how Nordic the kitchen at Noma is. And, yes, we allow ourselves time to take "the world's best restaurant 2010" in those hairs right in front of the ears, and demand more!


Actually, we take the entire Danish restaurants as an industry accountable for playing the beer out of hand and continue to use wine for their otherwise very innovative menus. Especially in theese years when local Danish and Scandinavian products thunders forward, it seems as though the old Scandinavian tradition of beer to good food, is forgotten.


After moving out of Copenhagen and to the middle Denmark, this blog's owner used a good deal of time and a little less money to work on this problem. There were contacts made, agreements and meetings. At each meeting we brought a selection of the best brews and with a background as Nørrebro Brewerys first beer ambassador we where all set. The list of visited sites were chosen based on their ambitions, we were not at the local pizzeria. With nearly 25 visits to top restaurants, the result was disheartening.

It was so glaring that we Falsled Inn was offered that the site could then buy a few crates of beer I "brewed, so the staff had little good to the next picnic." French humor when it is most ironic arguably, but they had not even realized that I came with several brewers products, or even that I was independent promoter of these. I was just another vendor. Elsewhere they had since made it again with stout ice cream and so was the fish known as too flaky. Elsewhere, again they were more honest, there simply is not the same proveneu on beer to wine.

Again, the economy have his right. One can (again) wonder what it costs to get moss from Upper Finland and smoked leg of musk flown in, since it apparently is an affordable cost. We look away from the economy here. Let´s go deeper.

Since it went bad with the promoting part, we instead turned to Kold´s in Odense; restaurant school among many other things. We would like to help to raise future cooks and waitors knowledge. This is the third year we send a paper off to school, pre-schedule planning, and does it as the previous two, there is no response this time either.

Cranberries ARE bitter and it´s hard not to be heard, but more importantly perhaps this rejection from all parts of the industry's part is connected. Is it conspiracy or lack of courage?

When you finally meet a variety of "specialty" at a restaurant, they all come from the same supplier. A better seller than yours truely has been launched and left a mark. Delightful, because with my knowledge of beer, it's no problem to choose the IPA over Keller and Mikkeller rather than Heineken. But what makes of Peter Madsen-I-think-when-I-grab-me-a-beer instead? He asks operation and here we come to a cardinal point, the level of knowledge about beer amongst the staff.

Besides being nice fresh youth, young girls and boys in their twenties not very helpful in Danish restaurations. They simply are not enough, especially when it comes to anything other than what is on your plate.
"It is known very strong" may be an announcement about a particular beer, strong way, can stretch over a be hue of color to alcohol strength or degree of hops added. The result is yet another sold Carlsberg from dish and a restaurateur who does not take chances with beer again, he sells nothing any of it.


Lack of knowledge is the key word here. Knowledge oat the restaurant schools, with restaurateurs and among common people. So while a weed as ramson has become an everyday treat, we can still look very far for a beer to match.


This is the first entry of three, read the second and the third.

Beerfestival in Copenhagen 2010

It bears the imprint of it, the notebook, it has been filled with small words on great beer and is almost about to burst. Last week there was only one of the best festivals udi beers ever. There was also opening of a bar that will pull Copenhagen into the world league of beer in bars. And MOUTH-FULL helped both events, so long as we could keep it going.

Mikkeller Bar
First opening Mikkeller Bar, how can a beer bar get world class? Possibly when the man behind the brew of some of the most experimental beers in the world. Perhaps when he has contact with almost all of the leading other breweries around the world. And possibly, for the opening alone, there is brewed in the neighborhood of 28 new hop gems.
By offering one self as toiletcleaner and bottle boy, where we present a few hours before the opening and it is a pure pleasure to have problems like where one sholud find space for DarkLord, Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus, Dolle, Brewdog, Jolly Pumkin, Dubuisson and then some. The candles were lit in the window and then toppled the congregation inside, who spent the following hours to go in through one door, get a beer and then go out on the street again. So many we were. It was cold, but for those who held it out, it was one wonderful fluid after the other. To describe Mikkel brew work would be like describing a beech leaf; simple idea, brilliant execution. Mind you in every launched brew. We want instead everything good in future.


Beer Festival in 2010, how to maneuver Mon among many thousands of beer to a festival?
You make a list. Then you do not stick to it and spend more time trying to meet new and old friends than to taste around the beer. SOLNESS was the festival and it was fantastic. By divine roads, there was also an exhibitor bracelet and we could be in Tap 1 when there was totally crowded.

We missed too much; Raasted, a few exciting from the Belgian house and all specials at saturday. There was also a bock from Thisted, we would have had and  17 to 18 pieces from Mikkeller. But it does not matter, when the tasted beers, was great stuff.

How Revelation Cat gets the crazy idea that tørhumle lambik, exceeding our sense, but when the result will be the best refreshing, friskfyragtige sour beer ever, it's just alright. Brewdog is that Mikkeller (Texas Ranger,  thank you), a brewery, which like shooting sparrows with cannons and disappointed either.

The Danish breweries were present in great style. Carlsberg exile in serving the world's most expensive beer most of all reminded of a clear syrup. Horn Beer had also been experimenting and produced a misleading fermented liquid that tasted of rotten, smoked bacon, of course, beer is not just beer anymore. Nor at Aarhus Brewery, which laid up the goodies with a eisbock, which turned out to taste of brown, flat cola; Damn.


Among the more pleasant experiences, must surely include Croocket Moon, who had a smoked porter, which must have been to the sale of brew's soul to the devil. With Nørrebro Brewery we got messy for us so very well from the 20 taps that it was not to leave the stand until well after closing time. Viking Oud Bruin, Blonde from the Ardennes and Fanoe the Rav, and Grass Roots DIIPA was just in the closet. Lund Engineering beating awfully liver pate and tastings at an ESB and a Wit, which was 17 days old and tasted of much more. We knew more about brewing, we could have followed more in the technical explanation of the small miracle. Herslev had a low aspargesøl, it was damn 'too good, we saw white fish, new potatoes several asparagus, wild garlic and rhubarb for the inner eye, while beer slid down. At mads past is Djævlebrygs nightmare, with its acidic and smoked form, including exciting we think Herring buffet and smoked mackerel.


Svaneke who shall we dælmig on tour again soon. When you're thirsty in germany, drink Mon Keller Bier and pitchforks from the Bornholm was not to be mistaken for gannet it tasted of summer. The names began to be hard to pronounce, the light sometimes sharply and also took photos with bananas in the nose, a beer festival featuring more than hops, water, yeast and malt. There are more, but we keep here in your notebook, or it is just too hard to read ...