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Beer VS Wine

Discussion in 'Restaurants & Buffets' started by AusTex11, Apr 12, 2013.

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  1. AusTex11

    AusTex11 Tourist

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    It occurred to me the other day that even though I won't be eating at Aria on my upcoming trip, I ABSOLUTELY appreciate the fact that a number of their restaurants offer tasting menus with both a traditional wine pairing AND a beer pairing. As much as I tried, I really just cannot get into wine. Beer to me has just as many intricacies in flavor as a good bottle of wine, and I love that craft brewers are starting to put this fact up for recognition.

    What do you think? Would you like to see beer respected more at restaurants? I can't be the only non-wine drinking patron here that would appreciate some more beverage options with my meal beyond water and the odd cocktail, can I?

    I can't help but wonder all this, because my dinner reservations for my upcoming trip are at CUT, Picasso/Le Cirque and L'Atelier. These establishments boast about their wine selection, but you bet I'll pop in and ask them about their beers. I feel like a Frenchman out there wants to murder me for my preference for beer with French cuisine...

    Anyways, I'm rambling now - cheers :beer: /end rant
     
  2. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

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    I cant stand wine. Its tastes like watered down grape juice with a scoop of dirt in it.
     
  3. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    I love wine but definitely appreciate beer as well. (I have to - I have lived in Belgium and I'm married to a homebrewer:eek:) As the popularity of craft beer grows in the US, you see a lot more bars & restaurants dedicating space to it :peace: There are so many more places to get a "good" (by whatever standards you want to impose) beer than there used to be:peace:

    PS Even in France, they are starting to appreciate craft beer!!! Just ask La Cave a Bulles! (great bunch of people there!!)
     
  4. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Aus, I think at least in the states beer got a much deserved bad, not-food-worthy rap because we produce and consume so much insipid beer -- Miller, Coors, Bud, whatever. Smart chefs and restaurateurs were the ones who recognized the craft revolution and how it plays well with food, and we're seeing more and more pairings. And even if there's not a pairing offering, I don't think you'll get tossed for asking or forced to drink Hamm's.

    You're not alone in not liking wine. I don't know if it is a much a matter of being an acquired taste or many starting with just bad wine. Regardless, don't fret your preference; it's yours and that's all that matters. I've been a wine fan since my first summer living in Sonoma wine country eons ago. What's fun is to see how both of us have shifted our preferences since moving to Santa Barbara wine country.
     
  5. Check-Raise

    Check-Raise High-Roller

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    I really like good beer. I typically will choose a bottle or glass of beer over a glass of wine, but I looked at the Aria beer pairings and they use mostly some pretty common, easy to get and inexpensive beers. If they choose to use some obscure monk brewed beers that aren't distributed worldwide then I would certainly try their beer pairings, but I can buy every one of the beers they offer at the supermaket for no more than $3-4 a bottle. I wouldn't be able to justify paying the pairing price for beer I've already had and can readily get.
     
  6. ButterflyMtn

    ButterflyMtn High-Roller

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    I love beer and I do not like wine, as I say "It reminds me of church" which usually gets a good LOL. "Recovering Catholic?" is what I'm asked all the time when I say that and seriously it doesn't matter what type (red, white, etc) I feel like I am taking communion and have to confess my sins or something.

    although I do like sparkling wine/champagne
     
  7. Boogaloo

    Boogaloo Low-Roller

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    I also greatly prefer beer to wine and like the concept of beer pairings along with multi-course dinners, so I'm likewise mystified why some of the upper-end restaurants in Vegas go for the lower end stuff as you say. If the beers are international they tend to be those countries' versions of Bud or Sam Adams at best, something that's immediately apparent if you've lived internationally for a while (or frequently go to ethnic restaurants even in the US).
     
  8. LolaDoggie

    LolaDoggie VIP Whale

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    I used to be a big wine drinker. Then I started having problems with heartburn and red wine was a killer to me. White wine always gives me headaches and champagne makes me sick. I stick to mixed drinks now. At nice dinners I have a glass of wine with the dinner itself if I'm feeling like it'll be OK to have one glass. Otherwise it's water or soda pop with the meal. And then mixed drinks the rest of the time.

    I think it's an old, out of date idea that beer drinkers are low class, or that beer has no place at the dinner table. Beer has gotten as sophisticated as any wine or liquor now. I would rather be at a nice restaurant and see you drinking beer or whatever drink you want than seeing you wear something inappropriate.
     
  9. jrinct1

    jrinct1 VIP Whale

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    To me taste lies with the beholder. I am NO expert( BELIEVE me), but give me an Amstel or Stella for every course and i am quite happy. For wine, i would be VERY happy with Opici-- Barberone. I dont need much more.
     
  10. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    Part of the issue with beer pairings at Vegas restaurants is probably supply and what they are able to get based on the quantity they might need. Vegas restaurants are BIG in terms of the number of people they can serve. It's one thing if you're a brew pub and you're pairing what you brew with what you serve - but there are MANY beers that you just can't get in "decent" quantities in various parts of the country/world. Or maybe you can get a keg here and there, but that might not be enough stability for chefs who plan menus way in advance. Maybe increased demand will help the supply/quantity, but I'm sure there are many breweries that are going to stay small and produce in limited quantities and you'll have to go there or near to get a taste:beer:
     
  11. jrinct1

    jrinct1 VIP Whale

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    Hoya, i TOTALLY agree! Quick example. The Coors we get in CT is NOT like the one in LV (they must get it from Golden Co and who knows where its from delivered to CT) . But the taste is DISTINCT! And for those who dont know we here in CT didnt even GET Coors until like the late 70's early 80's. And FWIW when my uncle who lived in Cal came to visit us( drove) he always brought Coors with him because he hated all the beers that we had in New Haven and at my club.
     
  12. AusTex11

    AusTex11 Tourist

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    I can definitely see how supply gets in the way. Whenever I actually sit back and consider the scale of things in Vegas, I really forget just how big it all is. Austin's not a stranger to restaurants hosting beer dinners or brewer nights, but it's not like they offer those on a nightly basis either.

    That said, even if the restaurants offered decent, middle of the road beers as pairings, I definitely wouldn't mind it (especially if the price was right). Hoya's got it right though regarding supply/demand. Maybe if they pick up in popularity, they can offer "premium" pairings just like they do with wine flights. Premium pairings might give a chance to add in beers that tend to be made in less than grand batches.

    Jrinct1, I remember I was overseas, and the only recognizable beers I could afford were ones some would consider cheap. Maybe it was because I was beachside on vacation, but I remember thinking they were actually much better than back home. With some beers, their birthplace can definitely make a difference.
     
  13. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    Let's hope so - would love to see some fun beer pairings (I'm sitting at my computer drooling over a meal we had a couple years ago in Amsterdam - it was a Belgian restaurant and we had Belgian beer pairings with the meal, so good) Anyway.....I wonder if any of the "independent" (off-Strip, non casino) restaurants in Vegas are doing beer pairings? I know Rosemarys (RIP) had them....
     
  14. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    How about neither? I don't drink beer and I haven't developed a palette for red wine so a pairing menu would be lost on me. I just usually pick a glass of something sparkling, white or blush to start and don't really worry about it. I would probably respond better to paired cocktails.
     
  15. lostfido

    lostfido I push my fingers into my eyes

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    And I'm ok with that!

    Why should someone care if I want a cheap beer with a $100 steak?
    The whole idea of being judged by what I drink or what I wear is a frickin joke, it has no real connection to the person I am.

    Give me a beer I can see through any day:beer:
     
  16. Check-Raise

    Check-Raise High-Roller

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    The limited supply issue is a good thought, hadn't considered that. But I have to wonder if they aren't producing beer in the same batch quantities as wine, and why they can't just swap out different beers as they run out, just as they would the wine pairings. But I'm sure there are more varieties and producers of wine than beer across the world as a whole.

    Wine has some very distinct flavors that make each year, type and maker's bottle taste unique, but I put beer on that same level. Every beer maker has it's own flavor, no two porters or hefeweizens taste the same. The main difference is that it's possible to brew consistant batches of beer over the years, nto so with wine.
     
  17. johnvic

    johnvic VIP Whale

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    Wine is dependent on the quality of the grape. Yes, you can make a bad wine with good grapes but you can't make a great wine without great grapes. Beer is dependent on the recipe and the brewer. Growers can consistently grow good barley and hops for the most part. I'm no Bud fan but I admire their ability to brew a consistent clean beer that is without fault.
     
  18. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    Restaurants around here have had great luck pairing with local breweries and having beer dinners that sell out quickly. I'm not aware of any that have a standing tasting menu with beer pairings - and NC is one of the more "beer forward" (?) states at the moment. So I'm sure demand plays as much of a role as supply does. Right now, the multi-million dollar restaurants in Vegas don't have a huge incentive to deal with vagaries of beer supply (or chefs who might not be as familiar with beers) to do something like that.

    Public House at Venetian boasts of its "first in Nevada" cicerone (a sommelier for beer) but even on their menu, I don't recall pairings....Their beer selection is quite large, but their taps aren't written down anywhere and are hard to read AND the staff were surly with me as I attempted to figure out what I wanted.
     
  19. bringyogreenhat

    bringyogreenhat Tourist

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    Can't we enjoy both?
     
  20. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    Absolutely! I certainly do, and I never care who might think what about what I'm drinking:peace:

    My read of the original post is that for those of us who might enjoy interesting beer pairings with a nice meal in Vegas, it's a shame we can't get that. Not that anyone would take away the wine pairings....

    And no one is even saying you have to have alcohol at all - if you don't imbibe, enjoy whatever you want:cheers: No judgement:thumbsup:
     
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