Beer is food

Inspired by the obituaries on Michael Jackson that I have just been reading, I was thinking about some of the great marriages of beer and food I have experienced. (Thinking about the great beers would occupy me for far too long!) Here are my top 3 meals (not necessarily in any meaningful order) cooked with beer from our travels, right off the top of the head:

The salmon poached in witbier at In’t Spinnekopke in Brussels.

The gueze sauce at 3 Fonteinen in Beersel. (No, I do not remember what was cooked in the sauce–it hardly mattered–and yes, there really is a place in Belgium called Beersel.)

The Vepřové smes porter (Baltic porter that is) from Pivovar Pernstejn in Pardubice, Czech Republic. ((An image of this amazing brew comes up on the website. And, no, I do not eat vepřové anymore, but I am sure glad I did back then!))

I owe entirely to Mr Jackson that I found the first two places. I am very proud to say that I found the third on my own, and as far as I know, he never wrote about that place. If only he had had more time…

I stole the “beer is food” line from a young bartender who served my wife and me many a glass of Termanli Desert ((A weird name, yes, but I have the glass to verify the name. It is from LaÅ¡ko, which does not show such a brew anymore, though it could be the Temno, as that looks like it would be the word for dark. And, how ghastly that this fine brewery now produces a Bandidos Tequila malt pop. Ugh, but if it keeps them in business to make great beer…)) in Ljubljana in 1992 on our honeymoon. (Speaking of great marriages…)