For decades fine dining Italian and French restaurants have prided themselves on having in-house sommeliers ready to highlight carefully curated selections of top global wine producers to pair with their most delicate seasonal plates. With this level of enthusiasm for pairing fine wine with food also comes one question; What about other alcoholic beverage selections and more exotic food pairings?
The beer industry has lagged behind the wine segment by far in helping elevate carefully brewed and complex beers to shine with food and it’s time for people to get to know about the amazing beers out there, in places like the mumbles bar. More specifically, an area of the market which continues not to see the same level of attention is the international food segment. Even with a growing roster of restaurants worldwide putting more globally inspired items on their menu, and an increase of fine dining Asian and Indian restaurants, the beer community has been left behind.
Before they could see above the bar and drink a Kingfisher Indian beer available at their family’s restaurants, Sumit & Vanit Sharma always wondered about the following; Why don’t high-end restaurants offer beer with the same level of gusto and passion when recommending menu items to pair beer with? Unparalleled international cuisines such as Indian, Thai and Ethiopian have been left out of the equation when talking about alcohol and food pairings.
“Fine dining has always had such a large focus on pushing their fine wine and cocktail programs, but beer, and more notably international beers never got the same push and focus” says Sumit, who grew up in the restaurant trade his entire life.
After relocating back to America after years of living in London & Australia, this got the Sharma brothers wanting to shake up the alcohol industry, create a new style of beer for the American consumer, and most importantly highlight how far global cuisine has come across the dining scene to help bring it to the forefront.
Recently named Best Beer For World Food, Rupee dismantles the traditional beer-drinking experience by focusing on the way it is brewed, and how consumers of the beer feel when pairing a beer made specially for the food they are about to enjoy.
Rupee Beer’s-award winning recipe is brewed with rice, maize, malted barley, and three types of unique hops allowing it to feel super smooth, light and have lower levels of gas and fizz which allows the diner to eat more food and also ultimately consume more beer.
“Gassy beers are the absolute worst thing you can order when you’re at your local Indian or Mexican restaurant. Their higher levels of carbonation will leave you feeling uncomfortably full and gassy. On top of that, when your tongue is burning from that extra spicy vindaloo you just ordered, carbonated beer will only amplify the irritation and burn you feel on your tongue.”
Rupee Beer is making inroads as a leader within the beer segment to help introduce more restaurateurs and beverage directors to what it means to pair the perfect pint specially designed to be enjoyed with a spicy or world-inspired menu item. Rupee Beer is available across the East Coast of the United States at national retailers such as Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Total Wine, as well as top international restaurants within the Indian, Asian, Ethiopian and Mexican categories.
