Asian Spices Flavor Craft Beers

American craft brewers have been rummaging around the Asian spice pantry for almost a decade. Why? Perhaps it’s the exponential growth in Asian restaurants beyond major urban centers … or perhaps it’s just that the flavors of Asian spices are so beer-friendly.

For example, when brewer Fal Allen moved to Singapore to start up a new pub-brewery, the Archipelago, he turned to the local Asian markets for inspiration. Featured in Time Magazine this year, Archipelago’s first release, Trader Brown Ale, is brewed with palm sugar, galangal and lemon grass, in addition to hops, water, malt and yeast.

A batch of saison-inspired ale brewed by Arne Johnson at Marin Brewing Co. caused one beer aficionado to rave about the “peppery yeast notes” in the brew, not knowing that the ale was infused with galangal and Szechuan peppercorns. Galangal, a close cousin to ginger, is tangy-hot and used often in Thai cuisine, such as Kai Tom Kha, the brothy chicken soup served with slivers of onion and lemongrass.

Here’s a roundup of culinary pairings featuring craft brews flavored with Asian staples such as lemon grass, ginger, kaffir lime leaf, star anise – even soba noodles and Szechuan peppercorns.

Lemon grass flavors the Tommyknocker Brewing Co.’s Jack Whacker Wheat, an unfiltered wheat ale that’s been winning medals at brew competitions since its introduction in 1998. Sprightly and refreshing, the lemony taste of the ale makes it a natural to pair with seafood such as seared tuna with an Asian yellow curry glaze.

In Vermont, the Magic Hat Brewing Co. laces the Circus Boy unfiltered wheat ale with lots of lemon grass, so much so that the aroma of citrus wafts through the air as soon as a bottle is uncapped. Try Circus Boy as a chaser to sticky-sweet Korean BBQ ribs or grilled flank steak glazed with soy, scallions and hoisin sauce.

Soba noodles are made from buckwheat, and in the Morimoto Black Obi Soba ale from Rogue Brewery in Oregon, you can taste the slightly sour notes of the seed first cultivated in Southwest Asia more than 6,000 years ago. The taste combines the toasty notes of dark pumpernickel bread along with the maltiness reminiscent of porter, and pairs wonderfully with pickled foods, such as peppery kimchee made with baby Napa cabbage. Buckwheat is also an ingredient in summer ales such as the Buckwheat Ale from Triumph Brewery of New Jersey.

Star anise is a hugely aromatic component of Asian five-spice powder, often used in spice rub blends for Asian barbecue such as char siu. Star anise has hints of licorice and offers aromatic inspiration to brewers such as Jennifer Talley of Squatters Pub in Utah, and Ron Jeffries of Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales of Michigan. Talley used a filtered infusion of crushed star anise to make the aromatic Second Revelation dubbel-style ale, which, when fermented with Belgian ale yeast, yielded plenty of spicy notes, despite the limitations of Utah’s cap of 4 percent alcohol by volume.

The Fuego del Otono (Autumn Fire Ale) from Jolly Pumpkin uses star anise for licorice notes to complement the Michigan chestnuts used in the brew. It’s a bit tart and acetic, as befits the fermentation in wood casks, so the star anise warms the flavors in the finish. Pair the Fuego del Otono with pan-fried pot stickers stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, minced water chestnuts and caramelized onions, served with a sweet-hot dipping sauce made with Sriracha, a splash of tamari and toasted sesame oil.

Fresh ginger root is the top note of a complex new ale from Dogfish Head Brewing Co. of Delaware. Pangaea is a specialty brew made with international ingredients as befits a beer named after the Earth’s original supercontinent, including basmati rice from Asia and ginger from Australia. The ginger notes in Pangaea made a delightful pairing with fresh oysters dressed with a splash of fruity extra-virgin olive oil and grated fresh ginger root, prepared by Ethan Stowell, the chef-owner of Seattle’s Union Restaurant.

Kaffir lime leaf rounds out the flavors of a light craft brew, Skinny Dip, from New Belgium Brewing Co in Colorado. It’s as orange as the summer sun and spritzy on the palate, with a slight zest of lime and bracingly sour aftertaste. Mild enough to drink on a hot day, the Skinny Dip pairs well with a grilled tuna sandwich topped with wasabi-honey glaze. New Belgium’s neighboring mega-brewer, Coors, will introduce a Blue Moon spring ale made with kaffir lime leaf later in 2007 … all proof that Asian ingredients provide a brewer’s feast from the East.

Lemongrass BBQ Beef in Lettuce

Ingredients:

½ pound lean ground beef
½ pound ground pork
2 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass, white inner bulb only
2 tablespoons finely minced shallot or white ends of scallions
1 tablespoon minced Thai basil
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
Pinch Asian five-spice powder
Dash fish sauce
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
10-12 lettuce leaves

Mix beef, pork, lemongrass, shallot or scallions, Thai basil, Sriracha sauce, five-spice powder, fish sauce and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl until combined. Use two forks to shape mixture into oblong meatballs, about 3 inches long and 2-inches wide, placing on a baking sheet.  You should have 10-12 pieces. Cover and chill meat for 30 minutes.

Prepare a grill to medium heat. Remove meat from refrigerator and dust with salt and pepper. Grill meat over medium heat about 12 minutes, or until completely cooked and browned. Remove from grill to warmed platter, and cover with foil for 10 minutes. Serve when cool enough to handle safely, but still warm, wrapped in lettuce leaves. Serve with your favorite spicy ale.

Lucy Saunders edits beercook.com and thinks of beer as food. Portions of this article first appeared in the Celebrator, www.celebrator.com.