Just come across this very good article in Vin & Gastronomi. The journalist, Magnus Henriksson, is in my opinion one of the best beer writers in the mainstream Swedish media who is actually paying attention to what’s happening in the beer scene in this country.

Good job Magnus – and some great beer and food combos too!

Forget chickens and eggs. What came first – bread or beer?

Well the answer’s bread but it’s a closer call than many of you may think. Beer and bread share an ancient history together that spans back over eight thousand years to Sumeria (modern day Iraq) where it was commonplace to use bread to make beer.

The exact circumstances behind the first brews have been blurred by time, but it is generally considered that a Sumerian baker accidently left some bread dough outside in an earthenware bowl where it was soaked in a downpour and then heated by the sun, turning the bowl into a kind of mash tun and open fermenter all in one.

I still struggle to see why anyone would have thought of drinking the sludge in the bowl but apparently someone did, discovering the pleasing effects of alcohol in the process. The rest, as they say, is history.

Far more appealing than drinking bread-flavoured beer is eating beer-flavoured bread. I’ve called this recipe ‘One-Handed Beer Bread’ because it’s so easy to make you can do it with one hand tied behind your back.

Beer bread is cheap and simple to make

This is what you’re going to need:

Ingredients
all-purpose flour 430 g
granulated sugar 16 g
salt 6 g
baking powder 16 g
beer 330-355 ml (The darker the beer the darker and more ‘heavy’ the flavour. Just experiment to find your favourite combination)
Optional glaze 1 egg & 2 tsp (10 ml) water, beaten. This gives the loaf’s crust a beautiful, dark golden colour.

.

.And here’s what you need to do:

Heat oven to 375F/190C degrees. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread in a greased 20cm loaf pan, brush with egg glaze if desired, and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool for 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread will keep for 1-2 days stored in a plastic bag or airtight container and it can be frozen. Makes one loaf.

Oh and it goes great dipped in beef stew or with cheese!

Oven roasted leg of organic lamb from Häljegård farm just outside Umeå spiked with fresh garlic and rubbed with Garam Masala and Tandoori spices, accompanied with sweated green peppers, tomatos, red onion, garlic, fresh coriander and chilli and a raita made with grated Swedish apples, tumeric, corriander and dried apricots (which I’d smuggled back from our recent trip to France) .

It was the Indian influences in this dish that made me choose Belhaven’s Twisted Thistle IPA. The sweet spicy hops were more than a match for the heat from the Garam Masala, Tandoori and chilli while Twisted’s lengthy bitter edge cut through the creamy raita like a knife.

Do you ever secretly worry that your pilsner is big enough to handle a spicy curry or that your favourite porter can really get up close and personal with that tempting slice of dark chocolate cake?

Probably not. But if you do want some tips on what dishes go well with beers then check out this clever little website. Just choose the food you’re going to eat and the online beer sommelier will instantly generate a list of recommended beer styles for you to try.

Being an American site there’s a slight bias towards US styles but in general I thought most of the matches were spot on and some of them were more than a little intriguing.

I never knew for instance that a brown porter is game enough to lock horns with a bison burger or that a Belgium strong pale ale is the perfect partner to pan-fried octopus.

I’m off to ICA now to try and buy a bison…..

Beer and food article going here