Rethinking beer and ‘pulutan’
Here in the Philippines, if you go for a beer, you go for a beer. What you eat with it is secondary, at times even optional.
“Pale Pilsen or Light?” is the first question the server at your local watering hole will usually throw at you. Simple. Perhaps Super Dry on the rare occasions they have it. And if it’s drowning your sorrows you seek, Red Horse is your best friend … or worst enemy.
For pulutan, you ask, “Anong meron kayo?” as if you don’t already know what you want. You go for—as you absolutely must—the usual artery-clogging suspects: sizzling sisig, tokwa’t baboy, crispy pata. If you’re pinching pennies, adobong mani and a rollicking conversation with friends will be more than fine.
And we enjoy these things together because they, as young people put it, slap—and on a particularly stressful Friday night, they’re heaven-sent. We know that salty, fatty fried dishes are best washed down with a cold one. But we’re not splitting hairs over which beer would best unlock the umami goodness of the garlic shrimp in front of us.
Finer aspects
Because, for the most part, beer, the Filipino everyman’s booze of choice, is still enjoyed not with variety, but with quantity in mind—by the bucket, by the number of bottles, pints or cans collecting on the table as the night wears on. Just drink, don’t think!
But with the growing popularity of craft beers, and large-scale, commercial breweries introducing new types and flavors to the market, more people are starting to get acquainted with the finer aspects of beer-drinking. Now, we have connoisseurs and budding enthusiasts enjoying beer as others would wine or coffee—scrutinizing aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel, and how these characteristics influence food pairings.
But hey, it wouldn’t hurt to venture beyond the tried-and-tested once in a while. If this is an experience that intrigues you, but you’re not quite sure where to begin, San Miguel Brewery (SMB) and the Filipino restaurant George & Onnie’s recently came up with a five-course tasting menu, which features the former’s roster of premium beers and some of the latter’s new and existing well-loved dishes.
While described as “elevated,” the menu—conceived by SMB brewmaster Alan Sienes and George & Onnie’s executive chef Mico Comendador—still feels comfortingly familiar, and therefore makes for a perfect introduction to the world of beer and food pairings.
First on the table was a bowl of kinilaw—hamachi marinated in calamansi, vinegar, chilies, ginger, and onions—to wake up the palate. With it we had the San Miguel Premium All-Malt, a European-style lager brewed with 100 percent pure malt, giving it a subtle toasty sweetness. It was soft, almost full-bodied, and with hardly a trace of bitterness. And as it flooded my mouth, it instantly assuaged the acid and spice, imploring me to go for one more bite, and another—and fast.
As such, Sienes said, this beer would also go nicely with other seafood and lightly seasoned chicken dishes.
Foolproof choice
Next was Pork 3-Ways: a chunk of crispy bagnet, sisig wrapped in squash blossoms, and grilled chicharon bulaklak brushed with sweet brown sauce. In addition to your usual spiced vinegar were two aioli-like sauces: one orange with a pronounced heat, the other, green with an herbaceous twist.
For this sinfully fatty trio, Super Dry, our personal favorite, was a fitting companion with its clean, crisp flavor, and hoppy, floral aroma. Like the All-Malt, it had some sweetness to it, but the finish was bright, a touch metallic—just enough to keep at bay the umay that could come with overly greasy food. Not that I would have gotten tired of this course, though.
The Cerveza Blanca, a Belgian-style wheat ale brewed with citrus, coriander, and spices, had a distinct cloudy, golden orange glow that matched the hue of the Pasta Aligue it was served with. At first sip, the refreshingly fruity Blanca will have you wondering if you’re drinking beer or juice (read: traydor). And with a whiff of mint, each swig of this summery beer unwittingly doubled as a palate cleanser after mouthfuls of rich noodles slathered with crab fat.
I found myself reaching for the Super Dry once again, as I wolfed down the tender braised beef cheeks and tendons of the Bone Marrow Pares. For red meats, the Super Dry is always a foolproof choice, Sienes pointed out. Now scrape off the marrow, plop the glob on a spoonful of rice, take a big bite, and then say a little prayer that the next pairing wouldn’t involve Losartan.
An experience ‘all your own’
At this point I was a little buzzed, my ears starting to get hot. I could feel it: At any moment, I would break into a smile, maybe even let out a chuckle for no reason whatsoever. Luckily, the dessert—a young coconut pie with pandan anglaise sauce—gave me reason not to fight my smile.
The crust was toasty, crumbly; the coconut filling, melt-in-your mouth soft. And the Cerveza Negra, a full-bodied dark lager brewed with roasted malt, was just what the mildly flavored pastry called for. With its flavor profile of toffee, chocolate, and nuts, you might as well have been sipping coffee—a sweet end to a surprisingly filling set.
As in other food and beverage tastings, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to identifying tasting notes or flavors, Sienes said. Those just starting their journey in beer-tasting may perceive the flavors and aromas differently from those who have already been on it for a while. But that experience, Sienes added, is an experience “all your own.
“If this is what you smell or taste, just try to remember that… just take note of that. So that next time, you will have a better idea which beer goes well with what food… so you can dial in your preferences,” he said.
Truth be told, all four beers would have probably been fantastic with any of the dishes on the menu. But it did make me rethink beer and pulutan as I knew it. The next time you go for a beer, what you eat it with need not be a mere afterthought.
This special tasting menu is available only at George & Onnie’s Ayala Triangle Gardens from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., until March 20.
