While wine pairings are a centuries-old tradition—Tyrion couldn’t get enough of the stuff with his meals at King’s Landing—the refined coupling of beer with food is somewhat in its infancy. But as adventurous restaurateurs and diners recognize the unparalleled versatility of beer, they’re becoming more prevalent.
It’s exactly this flexibility that drew former chef Jared Rouben into the world of malt, hops and barley with Moody Tongue Brewing Company. Moody Tongue is named for a discerning palate, the drinker that Rouben is toiling away for. Hailing from the southside Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, the Culinary Institute of America graduate and former expeditor at superchef Thomas Keller’s legendary Per Se in New York is doing what he calls “culinary brewing”—straightforward, light-drinking beers that easily complement food.
The former Goose Island brewpubs brewmaster “saw what was a natural extension from baking: brewing. It eventually led me to creating a different style of brewing—culinary brewing—which takes that chef’s mind-set and uses a lot of the same techniques that I was doing in kitchens. It allows me to highlight the flavors and aromatics within the ingredients.”
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Those ingredients include the prominent nectarine in the Sliced Nectarine IPA, melding citrus with hops; Meyer lemon in the Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison; and Oaxacan chocolate in the slightly-sweet Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter.
But the most prominent ingredient is the rarest of all: black truffle. Moody Tongue’s Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner is the stuff of legend, and at upwards of $100 a bottle, it should be. The Australian truffles in this limited release are hand-shaven by Rouben, and it sells out as quickly as it’s available. While you can already get Moody Tongue’s other offerings in Vegas places like Bouchon, B&B Ristorante and Tacos & Beer, the Truffle Pilsner has not landed here ... yet.
Rouben looks forward to “getting to know the chef community” and bringing “beer and food a little closer together.” Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to finally trying one of the world’s rarest beers.