Konceptet öl till middag kanske du känner till? När Brooklyn Brewery bjuder in till ölmiddag handlar det dock om att kombinera mat och öl på bästa sätt, under ledning av brewmaster Garrett Oliver. Vi ställde några väl valda frågor till honom!
Hi Garrett, and welcome to Gothenburg! How are you?
– Great! I love Gothenburg, so I always welcome an opportunity to come back.
Have you always known that you wanted to work with this? Has beer always been “your thing”, so to speak?
– Actually, I thought I was going to be a filmmaker – my degree is in film, and I worked for HBO for years. But after living in England and becoming a homebrewer, beer slowly ”took over” my life. It’s a good thing!
I see. But how do you become a brewmaster?
– It’s a lot like becoming a chef – there are many different paths. You can go to brewing school, of course, but I did it the old-fashioned way; I apprenticed to an English brewmaster for five years.
Tell us about the beer dinner at Norda!
– It’s going to be great, and it will feature some beers that beer fans have not seen before, including some ”Ghost Bottles” – beers that we don’t sell to the public because the production is so small. We are pairing two beers with some of the courses so that guests can compare the pairings. It’ll be fun, and I love langoustines.
Who doesn’t? Which new beers should we absolutely not miss right now?
– While there is still a chill in the air, you will want to try our special barrel-aged strong ale, Hand & Seal. It is like drinking a fine Porto. As the weather warms up, it will be time to check out Brooklyn 1/2 Ale, a farmhouse ale at only 3.4 %. And of course Brooklyn Summer Ale will be back.
Did you try any of the local breweries here in town?
– I have known the Dugges guys for years, and more recently I have had beers by Electric Nurse and Beerblioteket. Gothenburg has always been known for good beer.
Is there anything you would absolutely NOT put in a beer?
– Well, MOST things do not belong in beer! But beer is culinary, which means that making beer is more like cooking than it is like winemaking. I love wine, but wine is limited – it only has one ingredient. We can caramelize malt, smoke it, or roast it. We can add fruit or spices to a beer, as people have for thousands of years. So beer can taste like anything, and it is a superior companion for great food.
Thanks for the interview, and hope you’ll have a nice stay!
– Thanks, I always do!
Maria Kopp
