He Said Beer, She Said Wine and a Give Away
April 23, 2008 by Andrea 
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Filed under Beverages, Reviews
What do you get when you put together a highly regarded sommelier and a craft brewer? You get a very entertaining evening of good food and beverages as well as good-natured banter about the attributes of the wine and beer and how well each pairs with particular foods. Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, and Marnie Old, award-winning sommelier and wine educator, put their talents and impressive knowledge of wine and beer together to create an accessible and informative book about pairing beer and wine with food.
The book, recently released by DK Publishing, is a spin off from the “competitive dinners” that Old and Calagione started in 2003 at his brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Each evening offers a five course meal, and each course comes with both a beer and a wine pairing. Using anonymous ballots, the diners vote for the best pairing for each course, and though both Marnie and Sam thought there would be a clear winner, that has never been the case. The margins have been slim, and the number of wins for either side has been pretty even, strong evidence that beer and wine both pair well with a variety of foods.
The book presents information in five sections, including brief primers on both wine and beer, as well as the main section dedicated to pairing food. There is a handful of recipes in the final section, and of course each comes with suggestions for good beers and wines to enjoy with the food. The folks at DK always do a great job with their full-color books, and this effort certainly fits in with their style. There are some lovely, bright photos of wine, beer, and food that compliment the text well, and of course Sam and Marnie keep up their friendly banter about the relative merits of wine and beer throughout.
I found the book enjoyable and informative. I was in my early to mid 30s before I acquired a taste for beer, but I’ve enjoyed wine for a long time, and I’ve tried to pick up some knowledge here and there, especially while Michael and I were on our honeymoon in Germany. (Aside: We chose Germany because we wanted to go to Oktoberfest, and we arranged our whole trip so that we could be there for opening day. Oktoberfest started off as a wedding celebration in 1810, and we had a great time celebrating our honeymoon there! Well, and everywhere else we went in Germany! Good beer, good wine, traveling throughout Germany. What more could you want?)
Yes, that’s me, before children and gray hairs, sipping from that huge mug of beer in Munich! Good times! We don’t have any pictures of us sipping wine, but trust me when I say we sampled plenty! (Just so you know, Marnie looks so much more elegant in her book photos than I do with that big mug in my face!)
Ok, enough of my babbling, now for the give away! This is my first time to host a give away here and I’m excited!
I have two copies of this fun book to share with my readers. If you want to win your own copy of He Said Beer, She Said Wine, leave a comment below telling us your favorite wine and/or beer. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are one of the lucky winners. Apologies to my international readers, but the books can only be shipped within the continental U.S. Contest closes at 6 P.M. EST on April 27, and I’ll have Random.org select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winners in this post soon after.
UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners, Michelle M and waynebretski! A copy of He Said Beer, She Said Wine is on it’s way to you!
And if you want to catch up with Sam and Marnie, check out their websites for details on appearances, book signings, and other events. They are coming to DC in the middle of May and I may have to check out that event!
So many good beers to choose from, but I still prefer Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Burning River IPA. As for wine, how can you settle on just one? I haven’t come across one that comes out a clear favorite.
Being from Northern California, my favorite beer is Sierra Nevada. I also love Harpoon Winter Warmer in the cold months.
Maybe it’s Boston nostalgia (I grew up in Soxville), but I love the Sam Adams seasonals, especially on tap. I’m also tempted by wine, don’t get me wrong, but now that it’s getting warm outside the summer ale with grains of paradise sounds perfect…….
I love Pilsner Urquell & Blue Moon beers.
I love Cakebread wines when feeling fancy, and Pinot Evil Noir any old time.
I mostly like beers that don’t taste like beer. I’ve found Dogfish Head’s Black and Blue and also Koningshoeven La Trappe Quadrupel.
For beer, it is Newcastle; for wine, Dashe Cellers, Ravenswood, and then there was this fabulous “Talia Rose” from Coppola that is no longer made.
Thanks for the info!
I am a wine lover (I blogged about the Mad Housewife Merlot)…
but an ice cold beer every once in a while tastes fabulous; I like Coors light… nothing fancy
I love your site! I love the concept of combining parenting and food.
My favorite wine is hands down Conundrum. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but occasionally I like a wheat beer like a Hoogarden.
Vanessa
Hi, Andrea. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I have fond memories of drinking ice-cold Labatt Blue from Canada, while lying on a soft, white-sand beach in Lake Erie after sailing with friends across the Detroit River on a hot summer day to buy the beer at its source.
Favorite wine is a tough one – I like all pinks and non-oaky, sweeter whites. Riesling and Pinot Grigio are particular favorites.
Hi! I just recently discovered your site and am enjoying it very much! I also am going to try and participate in this months GYO. I mentioned this on my blog yesterday (earth day). Anyway sounds fun. Now I am going to browse your site for some new ideas for my menu planning. Thanks!
I’m not eligible… but let me tell you, I don’t know much about beer, and Coors was a good choice for us when living there and it brings back sweet memories too and as for wine… we love red wine.
My favorite beer is Shiner from Shiner, TX.
I love ice wine for dessert!
My favorite beer is definitely Shiner Bock. I also enjoy Modelo Especial.
Though I am in my mid-30s I just recently began drinking alcohol (before I abstained due to a religious taboo). So far I’ve enjoyed several wines, though I seem to prefer a cabernet sauvignon. A good friend makes a tasty black & tan (guiness and harp) for me whenever we have dinner together.
Hmm. I better represent the Beer Advocate minority here. (The link will take you to my profile; you can access the 500 or so beer reviews I’ve written.)
By style, my favorite beers include (based of course on age, time of day, time of year, food accompaniment, entertainment accompaniment, etc.)
American pale: Three Floyd’s Alpha King
American IPA: Bell’s Two Hearted
American Double IPA: Port’s Hop 15
Barleywine: Great Divide Old Ruffian
Belgian Strong Dark/Quadrupel: Trappistes Rochefort 10
Belgian Strong Pale/Tripel: Tripel Karmeliet, Unibroue’s La Fin du Monde (Canadian)
Belgian Sour/Lambic: Panil Barriquee (Italian), New Belgium’s La Folie
Belgian IPA: Brasserie d’Achouffe’s Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel
German hefeweizen: Weihenstephaner Hefe
German doppelbock: Ayinger Celebrator
German weizenbock: Aventinus
Porter/Stout: Fuller’s London Porter, Stone Russian Imperial Stout
English IPA: Meantime IPA
English Barleywine: JW Lees Vintage
I rarely drink wine, but I’ve really enjoyed a few Italian pinots and sangiovesi, California reds can be very pleasant, and who doesn’t love a fine Champagne for that special occasion!
My favorite beer today is Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer. As for wine I love Pinot Grigio, but don’t have one favorite winery’s PG, yet.
This book would be perfect for our household – my husband is a beer snob (dark beers mostly) and I am just starting to explore wine (as well as cultivating an appreciation for a wider range of beers). I hope I win one!
My favorite beer is from Portland Oregon. Widmere Heffivisen.
My favorite wine is Murphy Goode 2004 Merlot.
I’m only 20, so I’d have to say that my favorite beer is Root Beer, A&W brand to be exact.
I love reading about food and food pairings though : )
My favorite beer is KIRIN! I would love to have this book! Pick me! Pick me!
Thanks to everyone who entered! I will contact the winners via email and post the announcement in the next few days.
~Andrea