THE two beers could scarcely have been more different yet they complemented each other superbly, and suddenly my palate and imagination were bamboozled.

Was this a Eureka moment, or mid-afternoon madness? Truth be told, I'm still not sure, but perhaps if I tell you what happened, you can judge for yourselves....

I wandered into The Maltings in Tanner's Moat to try a half of Goose Eye Brewery's Black Moor mild, in a nod to Camra's annual "Mild in May" campaign.

And then as I pocketed my change I spotted another tempting option: Bad Co's Wild Gravity, on keg for the first time following its successful cask launch last summer. So I ordered a half of that as well, took a seat beside the window, and set to work.

York Press:

One mild, one wild - but a winning combination

The Black Moor was superb, one of the most impressive milds I've had in years. It was rich, smooth and chocolatey. Local readers would recognise the flavour as fairly similar to Brass Castle's Bad Kitty, though with much less oomph. If that were all I had, I could have happily waxed lyrical about that alone.

But then I took a sup of the Wild Gravity and I was blown away. It's a tremendous, amber-coloured IPA, full of tropical fruity flavours and enhanced by the keg coldness.

And then, something strange happened. I alternated a couple of times between the two glasses and reached the inescapable conclusion that while each was excellent alone, the combined effect was better still.

The rich mild and the bitter IPA struck a chord in the way that chocolate and orange do, each giving a new edge to the other.

Why, I wondered, had I not dabbled in this way before?

York Press:

A friend had recently mentioned two beers having gone well together, but I had thought little of it. I'm forced to admit though that he may have been on to something. 

The food and drink world is full of bright ideas about pairing beers with certain dishes, identifying flavours that go together well - marrying glistening pale ales with fish and chips, fox example, or hop-heavy IPAs with spicy dishes, or smokey porters with grilled steaks.

On the same theme, I've tried before with friends to find the perfect version of "a hauf an' a hauf" - a beer alongside a dram of whisky, a popular order for generations of pub-goers in Scotland.

York Press:

Whisky can be a fantastic partner for beer

But never before had I even contemplated simply trying to pair beers. Was I just out of the loop, I wondered? I rang a couple of industry experts, professional tasters and expert writers who know their stuff more than I do, to double-check that I hadn't missed a whole wave of the beer revolution. And I was reassured I had not.

There are frequent comparisons between beers by a single brewer, or between different brewers' attempts at a single style. Likewise, a lot can be learned by contrasting very different beer styles. But the quest for harmony among beers alone seems a voyage of discovery in the making.

For the next few weeks, I suspect, I will now find myself eyeing up the taps in any pub, trying to play the role of matchmaker.

If you're tempted to do likewise, I'd love to hear what you find! Please get in touch with any success stories of your own.

  • The first image on this article is reproduced from flickr under licence. Copyright 2009 J. Ronald Lee.

 

York Press:

BAD Co's move into keg is just one part of its remarkable story.

The brewery launched only last summer, but its awards success at York Beer Festival in September has been a springboard for rapid success.

Already, the firm is looking to expand at its base in Dishforth, which we visited last autumn.

Boss Paul Holden-Ridgway says they have ordered a new custom-made brewing kit from a Canadian specialist, DME Brewing Solutions, and some new fermenters that will ultimately quadruple their capacity.

The new kit will include a whirlpool after the boil, more common in North American breweries than British ones. Paul says that will make it easier Paul says: "It has gone brilliantly. Up until Christmas it was pretty slow in taking off, but we hired two reps in January and they have brought us on leaps and bounds."

The beers are now reaching drinkers in County Durham and Scotland as well as here in Yorkshire, and the first London-bound pallet has just gone out as well.