We Aussies love our beer, in fact we like nothing better than ‘a nice cold one’ on a hot day! Our earliest history even had the Government of the day promoting beer a safer & healthier alternative to rum. Yep, we Aussies had a bit of a, aahhemm…, little drinking problem right from the get go it seems, as drunkenness was an enormous problem in the early colony. Its true, beer has played an iconic role in Australian life since the beginning & apparently is still the beverage of choice for Aussies.
Now that the weather is warming up a bit, the traditional Aussie gal in me seems to surface as the summer months approach, and I gotta say, there really isn’t too much better on a stinker (Aussie Slang – for bloody HOT day) than a good cold glass of the bubbly brew. All in the name of work mind you, I’ve been investigating some great hops to drink with some tasty tapas.  I’m designing  a cocktail wedding reception early next year where my notes read ‘As long as there’s beer’!
I was looking for a beer that was smooth, not too dry, not too sweet; I needed a beer that is punchy enough for the blokes, and fabulous & fruity, with a little bit of glitz for the ladies. So naturally when a Chef needs some inspiration, the only logical thing to do is take the problem to the pub right? Chris, the bar manager at one of my locals suggested a fruit beer called Kriek (pronounced ‘creek’); a Belgian beer made by fermenting lambic with sour Morello cherries.
Apparently the brewers now add sugar to the final product in order to make the beer less intense and more approachable to a wider audience. It also opens lots of doors when pairing these boutique beers with food.
I chose Prosciutto wrapped fig skewers; Lime marinated Chicken Tenders & Papaya and Pink Grapefruit cured Scallops to put to the test – all in the name of research of course! These tapas go fantastically well paired with beer, the fruit brings out the natural sweetness in the Kriek & my bride & groom gave my menu a big thumbs up.
Have you ever tried beer & tapas?
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68 Comments and Pings on AS LONG AS THERE’S BEER
Beer and tapas? But of course – a most excellent pairing! LOVE LOVE LOVE Delerium Tremens! (I lived in Belgium for a year!)
.-= Mardi@eatlivetravelwrite´s last blog ..Memories of Zazu- Corn fritters- two ways =-.
How fantastic Mardi!
What was it like to live in Belgium? What was the food like?
I love Kriek Beer!! Similar to Mardi I studied over in the Netherlands in College. That was my always my beer of choice when we were out at the bars.
.-= Julie M.´s last blog ..Super Slow Cooker Cran-Apple Butter =-.
It was a lovely beer indeed, the slight sweetness was fabulous! Will track down this Mardi brew you speak of!
Food research is the best kind of research, isn’t it?
The menu you chose sounds pretty fantastic!
.-= Faith´s last blog ..Salted Caramels =-.
Cheers Faith. Gotta love the tapas, bite size food is AMAZING, and topping it off with beer, seriously… what is better?!
I wish I could drink beer but alas that is one of the types of alcohol I am allergic to! But hubby can drink lots!
.-= Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last blog ..Rescuing Food- A Day With OzHarvest! =-.
Awwwwwh… Miss NQN, that is awful!
Do you have wheat intolerances? I’d be so sad if beer was off the bevie list! Good thing Mr. NQN can drink it. 
I’m not a fan of beer, but the figs in prosciutto sounds good.
.-= Debra Kolkka´s last blog ..Ortigia =-.
This is a bit of a different take on the beer thing! But, agreed… the figs in proscuitto are amazing.
beer and tapas are the best:) now i am craving for some.. thank you for visiting my website. hope you have a lovely day.
THA BEST!
Such a fabulous combo! My pleasure, ur site is wonderful! 
Anna! My husband loves beer. Well, he does not have a beer belly or anything… but when we travel, he has to have a local beer and it has become tradition for us to get a shot of him taking his first sip wherever we are in the world. I love this post and am sending it to him. I have never had beer. Something about the smell (and beer breath) turned me off when I was very young, and I just cannot go near it. But, I certainly can appreciate the love of it and the idea of pairing it with yummy food.
Valerie
.-= A Canadian Foodie´s last blog ..Homemade Turkey Soup =-.
Welcome to the guru blog Valerie
I’m so happy your sending this post off to your hubby – I’m luv’n spreading the word about all these fancy schmanzy beers & how great they’re working with beautiful foods, I predict the new age beers will take the foodie world by storm it works so well 
I don’t drink but I must say how intrigued I am by Pumpkin Beer! It is cropping up all around us now that it’s fall and it smells really amazing.
Love your glasses! I wish I could look as good in mine but nope, it’s just nerd city.
.-= Ameena´s last blog ..I am Selfless…Sometimes =-.
Pumpkin beer…. wow…. gotta get my hands on some…. What’s it called?
Thanks for the compliment re the glasses, I always feel a bit dorky when I wear em…. nerd city… LOL! Im sure your a stunner!
How marvelous, Anna!! I hope to have my ticket to Australia by the end of the week and I’m SO excited!! I’ll be visiting dear friends in Brisbane and know they will break out the beer post haste!
Love the appetizers you chose – delish!
Ahhhhhh…. come to Canberra Krista…
How exciting, Brisbane is fantastic….
I would LOVE to visit you in Canberra!! I don’t think I can swing it this trip, but I hope to move to Brisbane within the year, and then I’ll definitely be able to do that.
Really…, Wow., Awesome Krista., your moving to Oz – we’re lucky to have you.
Hi Anna,
See, who said work isn’t fun? To be honest, I’m not big on beer, good thing I don’t live in Australia huh? I think it’s one of those things that take time to get acquired to. Although my Dad drinks nothing but beer. He’ll have his one cup of coffee in the morning and it’s beer beer beer from there on. Don’t even try offering him anything else, unless it’s alcohol haha. On a stinker (thanks for teaching me the term), I’m more of a watermelon or ice cream gal
. By the way, all those food pairings you mentioned sound so delicious!
.-= lequan´s last blog ..Aberdeen Shopping Centre =-.
Hey Lequan – yep, who said work was fun indeed. You made me giggle about your Dad – I think we’ve all got at least one family member like that huh
I’m sure loving doing the summer menus & *working* with lighter beverages – Aussies get very creative with our summer cuisines, we really let our hair down dipping our little taste buds into all the Asian cuisines & working with a mad amount of fusions, I’m hoping to bring lots of Australasian foods to the Guru blog. Winter time we tend to let our European roots show, lots of comfort food…, but summer is where we shine 
To tell you the truth I don’t drink beer but I am a sucker for tapas. I love these little masterpieces.
.-= Katerina´s last blog ..Polynesian Pork Tenderloin and the First Greek Bloggers Camp =-.
I think I could live off tapas Katerina, I just love them; your right each one is a little masterpiece in its own right.
oooh, the menu sounds fabulous!
I have to admit I don’t like beer, but the one you picked sounds like something I might try anyway
The menu will be fabulous Elisa, I’ll do a write up of the event for sure
I do find that, for me, beer tends to go better with food than wine, but that’s probably because I’m hopeless at picking wines other than chardonnays! I wish we had pumpkin beer here in Australia…
.-= Hannah´s last blog ..Cadbury Top Deck Chocolate- in Haiku Form with Social Commentary =-.
We do have Pumpkin Beer in Oz Hannah, check out *Plonk* at the Fyshwick Markets – they’ve got a huge range of boutique beers, I’m pretty sure I’ve tasted it there, but I’ve definatly had it in Sydney & Melbourne, so check it out girlfriend
I can no longer do beer (unless it is GF!) but I am ALL ABOUT the tapas!!!!
.-= Lisa (bakebikeblog)´s last blog ..Time to roll =-.
Hey Lisa
They’ve got some lovely G/F beers on the market, let me know if you’d like me to source some for you OK. We can’t have a beer lovin’ gal going with a cold one on a hot day can we 
Hey Guru-!
I don’t think I have ever done beers and tapas-! I love how refreshing beer is in Australias warm summers.. Or my favourite is “cracking a cold one” (opening a cold beer) straight after a long day in the kitchen.
Hey Hey Cycling Chef Nizz
Nothing like a cold one after a hard day in the kitchen, the beautiful bubbly brown brew never tasted as good huh. Now that the weather is getting nicer its Beers & BBQ’s ……… nioce nioce 
Anna – your dedication to your job is truly inspirational and is to be commended!
I’m not a big beer fan, but for lunch on a hot day it really hits the spot.
Thanks Amanda – but some dedications are easier than other
Beer made with cherries? Fascinating…and sounds a perfect foil to tapas. Your couples are lucky to have you, Anna!
Awwhhh, Gee thanks Celia
Its a good tasting brew so I was excited to put this menu together & fun to do something different…. 
Love, love the tapas, can Ihave a luten free beer instead please?
.-= InTolerantChef´s last blog ..Gluten Free Muesli =-.
Of course Chef
Anything for you. Its fantastic that so many G/F beers are hitting the market this summer isn’t it?
Anna…I’ll be using the word RESEARCH more often to suit my splurge of the day. LOL
Here in Quebec…I would say it’s quite the toss up between our love of wine and our great attachment to beer…especially the ones brewed right here!
Have a great beginning of Summer to come.
Ciao for now,
Claudia
.-= FOODESSA´s last blog ..clever Stuffed CABBAGE roll CUPS =-.
Oh yes Claudia, please do feel free to use the word *research* extremely freely
Anna,
You continue to amaze me with your wide range of expertise on so many different fronts. Too bad these same beers are not available here in the states. I too like something a bit different, not just the old standby beers that lack any body or real taste. Ric has been introducing me to a few and it’s been a total difference.
Cheers,
Val
.-= Val Wilcox´s last blog ..Clarify Your Vision =-.
Too bad you can’t get some of these pretty little beers in the US – but bet you’ve got other interesting boutique beers on the shelves there, great that you’ve been doing a little research of your own girlfriend
Love beer. Love tapas. Always have tapas with sangria though. Think I should come down there and give it a try!
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
.-= Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner´s last blog ..Ready When You Are Pot Roast =-.
Tapas & sangria is goooooood
Load up those kids & gang & come on down to Oz for a look at our cuisine for sure Alex 
Prosciutto wrapped figs Anna? Damn, why didn’t I have them at my wedding! Yum.
Tapas always goes down a treat- for me it’s because I get to try a little bit of everything and for Mr Chocolate it’s because he’s latino and runs in the blood (even though tapas is Spanish…er, ya know what I mean.)
I remember having some rocking Trappist monk fruity beers in Europe. I like the fruity kind as it hides the beery taste- sorry Anna
.-= cityhippyfarmgirl´s last blog ..Once upon a time in Chocolate Land… =-.
Brydie, Brydie, Brydie…., hide the beer taste indeed
You make me laugh girlfriend…, but yep… I know what you mean. Tapas are the bees knees for sure.
Hehe, I misread what you wrote, I read: “Belgian beer made by fermenting LAMB” – interesting
I have never tried beer and tapas. only vino. So very australian, though. I feel it is my patriotic duty to try it. I like very light, pale ales. Especially with pizza!
Heidi xo
.-= Heidi – Apples Under My Bed´s last blog ..Key To My Heart =-.
Let your hair down girlfriend & get into the boutique ales…, you’ll never look back I promise
Hi Anna, I love your passion for boutique beer! You’re clearly a girl after my own heart.
I’m involved with an online boutique beer store based out of Sydney, you should definitely check it out http://www.beercartel.com.au/.
Keep up the great posts
Thanks for connecting William, great site you’ve got there too
Hey Anna, Love this post! While nota huge beer drinker, my Hussyband is, and as I like to keep him happy we used to hit the Red Oak Brewery in Sydney quite often.
If I ha dto pick a beer that I like (and that likes me back) it was be a Framboise…raspberry beer makes life better!
We even got engaged in front of the beer vats up the front of the bar at Red Oak, before heading down to Captain Torres for tapas and more cervezza…ok sangria for me.
Great post!!
.-= AussieFoodie´s last blog ..Fifteen Cornwall =-.
Great to see you here AussieFoodie
Now that’s one very cool story, getting engaged near beer vats & then heading out for tappas, cervezza & sangria – love it 
Sounds like you & the hussyband had an awesome time of it at Fifteen in Cornwell. So jealous! Looking forward to following along with your adventures.
Oh yes please…as long as theres beer! And tapas too, WOOT! Congrats Anna!
.-= deeba´s last blog ..Baking PINKARONS – MACARONS FOR PINKTOBER =-.
Great to see you here Deeba & wonderful you’ve finally got that new kitchen and new oven. Wow., but we’re going to be seeing some fine baking (& awesome photography) coming to us now
Like the sound of the scallops. Not much better than an eskie full o tinnies on a stinker mate. It’s called a chilly bin, a tinnie is a boat. Glad to see Aussies are drinking better than xxxx
Hahaha! Love the slang there Barton!
The Scallops sure are amazing!
Moi is not a drinker daaahling, unless we are talking milkshakes LOL. I have a bad diet coke habit and thats pretty much all i drink, diet coke, water, and the occasional milkshake. THat being said, I adore tapas. My favourites are the smile ones like patatas bravas and pan con tomate.
Have a wonderful weekend!
*kisses* HH
.-= Heavenly Housewife´s last blog ..Norma’s at Le Parker Meridien- NYC =-.
Nothing wrong with a lovely milkshake either HH
i’m really sorry Anna, i can’t even remember the last time i ordered a beer. (i know, how did they let me into the country?? :p) my husband loves the stuff though, we often hit the bavarian beer cafe in The Rocks. if you’re ever in town, you definitely must try
.-= Angela (the diet book junkie)´s last blog ..food gender and social pressure- why real men don’t order salad =-.
I’d love to hit up the Bavarian Beer Cafe next time I’m there, sounds like something I’d love Angela so thanks for the tip
Kriek is my favorite beer Anna! Delicious!
.-= Loll´s last blog ..A quick note from the Pig Palace Kitchen… =-.
I think its mine at the moment too Loll
Aloha Anna,
Oh, my husband will love this post! He loves to try beers all over the world and always tries the “local” brew. I didn’t know Aussie’s liked beer so much! Well, another reason for us to head on over there soon!!
Thank you for your continuing to educate all of us on the many facets of “Hospitality”.
Much love & aloha,
Kellie
.-= Kellie Hosaka´s last blog ..How Does Synchronicity Relate To Success In Business =-.
Oh Yesssss Kellie
We Aussies love our beer, your hubby will love Oz for many reasons but definatly for ‘the beer’ 
Hello Anna!
I am glad that you are enjoying our top Belgian beers over there at the other end of the world!! Yeah!!
.-= Sophie´s last blog ..Sophies healthy gluten free and sugar free banana and almond butter cake with dark chocolate chips =-.
Yep
We sure are Sophie!
Excellent read, your goal can be clearly felt in your writing, which is to make certain everyone will enjoy it. I need to say I absolutely did enjoy and am thrilled for the entertainment. Thank you for bringing happiness to others.
Thanks Ken, glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your comment
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