........... Interesting -to me

What you eat is an important element of enjoying any drink. To elevate my food and beer "pairings" (which, at present, are commonly determined by what pizza place is still open or whether the nearest corner deli sells BLTs) I went to the Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan -produced Good Beer Festival, held at the venerable Brooklyn Academy of Music.
 
The event, in its second year, pairs the work of local brewers with "suds-inspired" fare dreamed up by area food artisans. Through this feast of suds and grub I hoped to discover what I should be eating with my beer.
 
The answer, apparently, is lots of carbohydrates and lots of proteins. Sumptuous meats tempted the tightly-packed room from their neatly arranged plates, and most often they were sandwiched between, or perched on, any one of a variety of breads.
 
One lonely vegetable stand stood largely ignored. It seems that deeply smoked, thoroughly marinated or otherwise strongly-seasoned meats are what it takes to match the strength and bitterness of hops and barley (similar to the conventional wisdom about red wine or white wine going with red meat and fish, respectively, ales are thought to pair better with red meat, and lagers prefer more delicate white meats.)
 
The other side of the coin is a heaping dose of carbs, like the soft brioche encasing the Piggery Farm pulled pork sandwich offered by Jimmy's 43 restaurant. Breads such as these helpfully fill one's stomach, ideally slowing the speed of one's steady slouch toward inebriation.
 
The form in which those carbs make it to your gullet is where it gets interesting.
 
A lovely and moist brisket from Brooklyn eatery Fette Sau paired well with the Brooklyn Brewery's selections. The standout beer from the outer-borough brewer was its Dark Matter, a product of their Brewmaster Reserve series, that begins with slightly bitter vanilla notes and has a welcome aftertaste of bourbon and berry notes.
 
Luke's Lobster offered a standout shrimp roll as a pairing for Peak Organic beers. And perfectly-cooked grilled pork ribs were marinated in a garlic, ginger, lemongrass and oyster sauce by  the restaurant Umi Nom –they were intended to be enjoyed with beers from the Cottrell Brewing Company.
 
Crowd favorites included The Six Point Righteous Rye, which commanded a long line and lots of interest. I found it wasn't overly hoppy, a fairly expected rye beer.
 
Another huge hit at the event, and my personal favorite beer of the night, was Magic Hat's Ginger Ale, one of its Odd Notions series. The ginger notes were exceedingly subtle –the beer is surprisingly delicate.
 
The Southampton Cuvee was the most sophisticated beer of the night; flavored with edible flowers like chamomile and lavender, it was soft, fruity and crisp, and I returned for seconds and thirds.
 
There were few losers among the booze –Heartland Brewery's Palm had an unpleasant taste. Still, the brewery's honey porter, though not my taste, earned many thumbs-up for its delicate flavors.
 
The only thing my group of 8 or so fellow tasters could agree on was that we all disliked the Gramercy Tavern Home Brew, which had the smell of overripe strawberries, making it hard to enjoy its less offensive, starfruit-y taste. Their hush puppies weren't so hot, either.
 
The lesson of the night, however, is to trust your instincts: the vast majority of recommended pairings were meat/bread combos, meaning that the burger you crave after a long night of beer "tasting" is  just the right thing for your palate.