Matching beer to food is not new but brewing a specific beer to match a specific food is certainly a new one for the 5pm Dining blog.

A recent collaboration between Loch Fyne Oysters and Fyne Ales has resulted in This Gose, a 3.8% ABV beer which has been designed to pair with the salmon products produced by Loch Fyne Oysters.

Martyn Paterson, Divisional Director & Deputy MD at Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd said:

‘Many of our customers and visitors to the Restaurant and Oyster Bar are discerning beer drinkers, and we wanted to offer a high quality beer to pair with our famous smoked salmon.

‘Fortunately, we have a world-renowned craft brewery on our doorstep and our produce is connected through our unique location. Loch Fyne Oysters’ harvest is drawn from the pure waters of the loch. At Fyne Ales, yesterday’s rain is tomorrow’s beer, so working with Fyne Ales is the perfect partnership.’

Fun challenge

According to Jamie Delap, Managing Director at Fyne Ales, the beer world is evolving very quickly at the moment.

‘When we started, things were quite traditional with Scottish heavies and traditional English bitters and then the whole hop-driven movement came in with IPA styles becoming very popular. They still are.

‘What is happening now is that more and more brewers want to produce beers with really interesting flavours that pair well with foods.’

Beer has always been seen as the poor cousin to wine when it comes to food watching but that’s not a conclusion which Jamie recognises:

‘We think that beers can have flavours which match with foods in ways that wines just can’t get near. For example, a big IPA works brilliantly with spicy food while wine would struggle.’

Nonetheless, he acknowledges that pairing a beer with Loch Fyne Oysters’ salmon was always going to be a fun challenge because seafood is classic wine matching territory. His solution was to brew a gose.

‘It is a traditional style from Leipzig in Germany,’ he explains. ‘Technically, it is a kettle sour beer. Sour beers are something that is just starting to attract interest here but they are already becoming big in America.

Clean and fresh

‘The sourness comes from Lactobacillus, the same bacteria that gives yoghurt and sourdough their sourness. The bacteria produce a lactic sourness but our beer is not as sour or as tart as a classic Leipzig gose. What we were looking for was a fairly clean, sour beer. We wanted something approachable which was a clean and easy match for smoked salmon.

‘We added lemongrass and coriander to give a little spiciness, a little zing to go nicely with the smoked salmon. There is also a touch of salt in there to give it a light salinity.

‘It is pleasant to drink with clean, fresh, floral, citrus lactic notes to cut the slight oiliness of the salmon. It also has a nice fizz which cleans the palate after each mouthful.’

This Gose is available to buy from the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, Deli and Fyne Ales Brewery with more outlets coming soon.