Pizza Today - December 2018 - 32

steady stream of dark
beer sales, but lower as
compared to its IPAs.
"Our stouts and porters
will be good sellers for
stouts and porters for us,
but we'll never have a
No. 1 selling stout here,"
he says.

* OTHER DARK VARIETIES. "When it
gets cooler out, we'll bring out the Dark
and Curvy, which is a Dunkelweizen
(a German dark wheat)," says Jonathan
Cutler, of Piece's brew list. "That goes well
with a meat lover's pizza. Other dark styles
that do fit that sessionable category are
things like Schwartz beer. It's a traditional
German dark lager."

These are malty ales,
ranging from red to
black in color and are
more balanced in the
hop bitterness. Spiced
seasonal ales tend to
fall into this category,
often labeled as Winter,
Christmas or Holiday
ales. These typically
have cinnamon, nutmeg,
allspice, clove or other
seasonal spices and
sugars, like maple syrup,
honey, plums, cherries,
pumpkins, etc. "A nice
spicy winter warmer will be on deck to
bring us into the holiday season," says Beth
Joyce, Bar Manager at Woody's Wood
Fired Pizza in Golden, Colorado. "How
long they last depends on how much
people like them!"
Fahey says to beware of how many kegs
you buy of Winter Warmers. While the
beers are very festive and taste delicious,
"It's the kind of thing that I feel like
there's enthusiasm for them, but not a
super sustained enthusiasm," he says. He
suggests trying one or two out and creating
special events - as part of tap takeovers or
food pairings - to see how they sell.
Yeager agrees. "I have a soft spot for
some yearly seasonal beers that I'm sure
will make an appearance in the locations,"
he says, adding that Old Town will go
through multiple kegs of a popular hopforward seasonal beer, while others will be
one and done.
* RED AND BROWN ALES. "Brown ales,
whether they be American or English
brown ales, are things that tend to work
very well with food, probably fit very well
with pizza and are kind of like warm and
comforting this time of year," Fahey says.

THERE ARE A FEW TRIED-AND-TRUES THAT
TYPICALLY DO WELL ON PIZZERIA WINTER
BEER MENUS. IPAs are always in season

* WINTER WARMERS.

Fahey says, "that is something I'd do in
bottles because as long as you store them
well those beers are going to hold up
well over time and potentially develop
interesting flavors as they age. Then you
won't have any slow moving high alcohol
beer tying up a draft line."
HERE ARE A FEW STYLES TO CONSIDER
THIS WINTER:
* STOUTS AND PORTERS. While these

rich dark beers are a tough sell in the
warm months, stouts and porters shine in
colder weather. There's a lot of debate in
the beer community about what separates
a stout from a porter. Both are dark and
toasty. Originally, porters were brewed
with malt, while stouts used roasted barley.
But today's porters and stouts have varied.
Now, stouts have a reputation of being a
stronger versions of porters.
"In the context of a pizza place, I do
think that dark beers can work very well
- but stick to ones that are on the lower
end of the alcohol and body spectrum,
things like Irish Stout or American
Porter," Fahey says.
Jonathan Cutler, brewer at Piece
Brewery and Pizzeria in Chicago, sees a

3 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8

and are a No. 1 seller in many restaurants.
Lagers and pilsners are popular and pair
well with your pizza menu.
Jon Bortles, Woody's owner, says the
pizzeria will continue its craft cider line,
which adds both variety and a gluten free
option.
One hot trend this year that shows no
signs of slowing in the colder months are
hazy IPAs.
Every market is different. You may have
to adjust based on local tastes. Brewpubs
with long beer menus can play with a
variety of rare and seasonal beers. If taps
are limited, you have to be more selective
about what you rotate in the winter.
"With the explosive array of different
styles in the craft beer industry, it's easy
to want to try a little bit of everything out
there, but it is very important to provide
our customers what they want in a way
that complements our menu," Joyce says
of Woody's diverse beer menu. "The last
thing we want to do is to put something
on tap that is so far 'out of the box' that it
just does not sell; or even worse, we end up
pulling it off because nobody likes it!"
Piece brews a line of award-winning
craft beers and also carries an array of
guest taps. "You want to try and cater to
all people," Cutler says. "Really kind of
look at your sales. What's selling more?
For the brewing side of it, we're going to
have something light, something dark,
something with wheat, we're going to have
some hoppy beers and then some seasonals
coming in. For an operator, I would think
to do the same kind of thing." n
DENISE GREER

Today.

is associate editor at Pizza
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - December 2018

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