Propst 1 JoAnn Propst A New Way to Look at Beer and Food Theres a world out there where the

amber drink that Benjamin Franklin once professed was evidence God loves us and wants us to be happy is no longer watered down to suit the tastes of the many. In todays world we have the opportunity to drink beer enhanced with spices and fruits and flavors you may have never thought would taste good. But Im sure youve heard of the microbrew phenomena, and perhaps even attended a craft beer tasting once or twice. What you may not know is there are people out there who taste craft beer and seize the opportunity to pair it with wholesome, delicious food. Diane Roll is one of those people. Each Friday and Saturday her mobile kitchen, Mamas Caboose, pulls up outside of Harrisonburgs Three Brothers Brewery, located on Main Street and a hop, skip, and jump away from the Little Grill. She and her two fellow employees serve up hot, delicious meals made on the spot that pair well with the brews inside. Her goal is to stimulate all of your senses. She pairs things like her Chicken Nachos, loaded with melted, salty cheddar and jack cheeses, fresh, tangy pico de gallo, grilled, spiced, and shredded chicken breast, sour cream and sliced avocado, with the Hoptimization or the Admiral. Both beers are IPAs (or Imperial Pale Ales) which are brewed with a single hop variety that usually gives the beer a spicy, piney taste, which is bold but refreshing. Its pairings like this that brighten up a meal, enhance the experience exponentially, and make it overwhelmingly worthwhile to branch out from the old standby of Natty Light and Dominos or Anthonys pizza. Its actually fun to take the opportunity and get to know people who are experimenting like Diane; people who pair their food with new beers at a brewery and are willing to share. *

Propst 2 Inside, Three Brothers Brewery is stimulating. The heavy scent of freshly cut wood and fresh, slate paint permeates the front room where four or five large, picnic style tables are set up in front of the bar area and taps. To the left as you enter is a small, semi-enclosed room with a couch, an armchair, two stools, and a coffee table. To the far right are two more doors, and two large glass windows that give everyone a view of the stills and tanks full of fermenting barley, hops, malt, yeast, fruits, spices, and water. The areas are all large, and open. Its almost strange to walk into a place that serves alcohol and not to feel pushed against the wall or crowded by bustling servers or crowds of thirsty college students, respectively. The man and woman serving drinks from the taps are laid back, smiling, and make small conversation with small groups of men in suits, a man, his wife, and their what looks like two-year-old child, and men who look like they just left the factory. My boyfriend, Gabe, my brother, Ben, and I order our drinks and sit down at one of the empty tables. My brother grabs a menu put together by Diane. Todays special is a Firkin Pork Sandwich, an herb roasted pork sandwich with basil mayo and a slice of grilled pineapple. It is the special Mamas Caboose made to pair with the Hoptimization that was brewed with grapefruit and pineapple. I am immediately intrigued. Ben sees the Cheese Steak, a sub-roll stuffed with Angus beef, grilled onions and peppers, a slice of Swiss cheese and some mayo. This is Dianes tip of the hat to her Pittsburg, Pennsylvania hometown, a variation of the Philly Cheesesteak. Hes smitten. Im getting this. Dont care, he says seriously, and points to the menu. The cheese steak is supposed to be paired with The Great Outdoors, a crisp, refreshing pale ale.

Propst 3 Gabes eyes drift to the bottom of the menu and land on the Salted, Caramel, Double Chocolate Brownie, a dessert made specifically for Three Brothers Brewerys Coffee Breath (a beer that honestly tastes like a heavenly, black cup of coffee). If we stay here long, I wont be able to resist that brownie, Gabe says. Ben goes out to the truck to place his order, and Gabe stares longingly at the menu while he sips his beer. Diane comes in shortly after Ben places his order to tell him that theyve just cut up the onions, and his food will be ready soon. After we grill them for a bit Ill bring out your cheese steak, personally. Hey, at least you know theyre fresh! Her smile is catching. She makes it seem as if it is her personal mission to make this cheese steak blows all others out of the water. She notes that Ben isnt drinking the beer the cheese steak is meant to be paired with, but that itll do. You may not get the ultimate experience out of it, but the cheese steak and the beer individually are still really good, she says before she walks back outside. When she presents the cheese steak in all its glory to Ben, the three of us at the table are speechless. The meat looks perfectly seasoned, packed into the sub roll. The slice of Swiss cheese has melted down between the sliced beef, and the onions and peppers are generously dispersed throughout. Bens first bite looks like heaven. He looks up at Diane and nods. Sooo good. Its all he can manage to get around that mouthful of food. Dianes face lights up and looks delightfully sunny. Later I join Diane and a few of her friends to sample a few beers and a few of the dishes shes prepared to go with each one. I try a bite of the cheese steak for myself. The cheese and the

Propst 4 grilled flavor of the meat melt together with the warm bun. I take a sip of The Great Outdoors directly afterward and the summery, crisp taste raises the roof on my taste buds. Diane tells me about the zing she shoots for in all of her experiments with food and beer or wine. The zing is what takes the individual flavor of a beer or a food and just enhances it on your taste buds. The zing can be either the seasoned grill flavor of the beef in the cheese steak, or the light hopiness of the beer; what makes the zing is the enhanced taste of both the beer and the food. She asks me if I can taste it, and all I can do is nod through the delight I am feeling. I try the Chicken Nachos with one of the IPAs, and yet again I taste the zing. And, to the chagrin of Gabe since he does not break down and buy a brownie himself, I get to try that delectable brownie with a drink of Coffee Breath. The chewy chocolate swirled with the coffee bean taste of the beer is indescribable. Let me tell you, there are some things in this life that are worth living for, worth getting up out of bed for, and thats one of them. Diane tells me about her Eastern European heritage and how for her it all goes together: the atmosphere, the friends, the food, and the drinks. I can see she is accomplishing that when she sits among her friends and offers them a sample of the pork sandwich. She turns and tells a joke to one of her other friends. The small room rings with laughter. One of the friends compliments her on how good the food is, and the rest nod. She beams and they continue to tell stories and joke. I feel like Im at a family reunion watching brothers and sisters catch up after theyve been apart for awhile. The food and the drink seem to draw the best out of the people who are eating and drinking together. I look over at Ben and Gabe and they seem just as happy. All the people at the bar are smiling and a few of them are sharing nachos. The couple with the baby is enjoying a brownie together. If happiness were a picture, I think Diane could create it

Propst 5 with a little of her food, some of the Three Brothers brews, and a few people willing to come and try it all. Towards the end of the interview Diane leads me over the newly opened cask to try the pork sandwich and the IPA with the fruity additives. When I ask her how she knows what will pair well together, she shrugs. I just like to experiment. Its a process, but I think of what I would like to cook on a certain day, I try the drink Im pairing it with and I think about what would make the food and the beer really pop together. I like the whole Free Art thing, and I guess this goes along with that. Diane places a small tray of the pork sandwiches onto the bar, gets a small glass of the IPA with the fruity additives from one of the brothers, and hands it to me. Drink this, and then eat this, she says, and holds out one of the tiny sandwiches. The drink is definitely fruity and the tangy grapefruit really punches up that piney taste. Then I eat the sandwich off the toothpick. Theres a crunch as I bite through the toasted bun. The creamy basil mayo almost injects itself into the seasoned pork. The pineapple sweetly melts with the subtle notes of it in the refreshing beer. Its the zing, its art, and its an experience all rolled together on my taste buds. So the next time you want a beer and youre hungry on a Thursday or Friday, try to experience something new. Dont just buy some craft brew and a pizza, or go out to a bar. Maybe go down to Three Brothers and order a cheese steak or a brownie from Diane (or whatever she makes special because I can already tell you it will be amazing), and pair it with Three Brothers brew. I promise youll love it.