There’s a beer for every food, and the maxim applies specially to meat. This acknowledged pairing has advanced far beyond swigging lager from cans with a TV pizza and at the backyard barbecue, or drinking a pint of your usual with steak and ale pie at the pub. For proof that fine dining now encompasses matching beer with meat dishes, just look at Perth’s Old Brewery.

    Mark Reilly crafts ales and a Munich-style lager. Greg Farnan creates tasty dishes, sometimes incorporating the on-site draught beers and makes mustard from the mash tun grain that’s become a favourite at the brewery-steakhouse.

    The two men, brewer and the chef, run courses in beer-and-beef appreciation. And they collaborate in presenting splendid beer dinners, like the Progressive Beer and Beef Dinner at the Swan riverside venue tomorrow evening.

    Mr Farnan is passionate about beef in his dishes, and “having Mark Reilly brewing here has opened up a whole different aspect to me” he said. “From food and wine degustation it’s become a matter of meat and beer.”

   The chef believes there’s a growing public realisation that beer holds its own place at the table. And while beef is most associated with beer – Mr Farnan’s main interest – he’s also enthusiastic about using other meats in combination with Mr Reilly’s brews. One such is braised pork belly slow cooked with Angus Pale Ale and caramelised in the stock reduction. He uses Mounts Bay Brown Ale with “sticky” veal shank.     

  For home cooks, specialist beer shops offer a wide range of brews to pair with their dishes. Black Sheep Riggwelter, for instance, is a natural choice to enhance winter favourite braised lamb shank. The strong Yorkshire ale not makes delicious gravy and accompanying drink, but is brewed in sheep-rearing country and is named for a sheep in difficulty.

   St Rogue Red Ale is microbrewed specifically to accompany premium steak – namely Kobe beef derived in the US from a wagyu bull called Fukutsuru. The brewers tell us: “In his final days, ‘Fuku’ was given the opportunity to ‘socialize’ with some fine, young cows. Instead, he chose to take a nap. We dedicate this beer to Fuku — a rogue to the very end.”

  Hops including Chinook and Centennial give fairly high 44-unit bitterness and aromatics from dry-hopping. Nevertheless, the full-strength beer is primarily malt-driven, with four types of European and US barley. It’s a favourite of Cellarbrations at Carlisle’s savvy assistant manager, Joel Beresford.

  “This beer is beautifully amber in colour and is bursting with rich hop aromas, passionfruit and sappy resins with some appealing baked bread notes. It’s piney with some hop bitterness and a firm biscuity malt body, which I believe makes it ideal for meat pairing,” he said.

  St Rogue Red Ale is available in 650ml bottles ($18) and 355 ($9) at premium beer stores such as Cellarbrations, Freo Doctor and International Beer Shop.

  Another brew designed to match meat dishes is Prime Beer, from Australia’s eastern states. The Fusion beer company had released a lager to go with fish so brewing an ale for meat lovers was a natural progression – especially as Australia has some of the finest wagyu beef outside Japan. Prime is a malty amber ale with fairly strong bitterness, recommended to enhance the flavours of grill-seared red meat. It was developed over six months with the help of “Chef's Hat” awarded chef and food writer Matthew Evans and award-winning master brewer Brian Watson. 

  For Asian and other spicy meat dishes, Mr Beresford of Cellarbrations gives a thumbs-up to Dieu du Ciel Route des Espices, a full-on craft ale from Quebec.

  Strongly flavoured meat dishes need a rich, strong beer and Mad Brewers liquorice-infused Stout Noir, released this week, is recommended to meld in the mouth with venison, either smoked or with red wine reduction. The Australian limited-release imperial stout is draught only, on tap in Perth at The Generous Squire and The Grosvenor Hotel, in Fremantle at The Norfolk Hotel and at Dunsborough’s Malt Market.

The Old Brewery Progressive Beef and Beer menu:

Wagyu croquettes with horseradish, lemon and basil. Beer: Riverside Lager.

Beef and wild mushroom sausage on skordalia with truffle and bone marrow sauce. Beer: Angus Pale Ale.

Sticky braised veal shank in amber ale with grilled veal loin and roast pineapple. Beer: Mounts Bay Brown Ale.

Black Angus fillet and cheek with stout and black pepper sauce. Beer: Treetop Stout.

Date and almond pudding with toffee ice cream & caramel sauce. Beer: Mounts Bay Brown Ale.

Price: $115. Date: tomorrow August 27, 7pm. Bookings: 9211 8901 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Written by Vic Crossland

From Fresh, The West Australian, 26^th August