Beerhouse opened a year ago, with the proud claim of having the largest collection of bottled beers, 99 in fact, as per the song.  Last night a number of writers were invited to the first of a monthly ‘Meet the Brewer’ food and beer pairing evenings. The Devil’s Peak Brewing Company and Beerhouse food pairing was led by Brewmaster JC Steyn, previously a winemaker for nine years at Dornier in Stellenbosch, and a brewmaster for the past two years.

We were a mixed bunch: wine writer Harry Haddon, whisky aficionado Bernard Gutman, beer blogger Lucy Corne, blogger Amy Rankin, and blogger Karissa of ‘My love affair with Cape Town’, and others.  The biggest surprise was seeing Chris Zöller, previously at Kloof Street House, now at Beerhouse, a gem of a host, an asset for Beerhouse.  His brother had worked with Beerhouse GM Murray Slater when they worked in London.

Chef Roy MacAllister took us through the do’s and don’ts of beer and food pairing, and he said there aren’t many. ‘Anything goes’, he said.  It is not an exact science with hard and fast rules. The yeast and hops add flavour to the beer, and one needs to take this into account when choosing matching food.  The bitterness in beer, which seems to go with a higher alcohol content, accentuates the salt content of food.  Stronger beers can over-dominate the food, he warned.   The chef had chosen the appropriate food pairings without the brewmaster.  Each of the Devil’s Peak beers was paired with two or three food items.  Each of the food items were prepared especially for the evening, and are not on the Beerhouse menu.  It is planned to add Continue reading →