I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about noodles over the past few weeks. I wrote a story about some of Atlanta’s best fresh Italian pasta dishes. And I wrote another story about planning a DIY ramen party.
In between the research and writing, I visited Forza Storico, the new bar-centric, Roman-inspired restaurant in the Westside Provisions District on Howell Mill Road. And later, I attended the Sixth Annual Atlanta Ramen Fest at Wild Heaven Brewing's new location at the Lee + White development in West End.
But whether it was feasting on the fresh wide pappardelle with Bolognese gravy at BoccaLupo, or slurping Steinbeck’s lobster broth ramen with pork belly and uni butter, I gained a new appreciation for how well beer pairs with noodles.
On the Italian side of things, everyone knows that pizza is a hand in glove pairing with beer. Besides light lagers, American amber lagers like Brooklyn, pale ales like Sierra Nevada, and Oktoberfest marzens like Ayinger balance the sauce and spice of the pie with touches of bitterness, sweetness and refreshing, palate-cleansing carbonation.
As it turns out, all that works for red sauce Italian pasta dishes, too — especially something like spaghetti and meatballs made with fat, firm noodles and topped with nutty, aromatic Parmesan cheese.
There’s another, slightly more sophisticated way to think about matching pasta with beer, though. And I rediscovered that at Forza Storico, where chef and pasta maker Mike Patrick not only showcases his love for Italian cooking, but displays his love for Italian beer.
On the menu, you’ll find Roman favorites such as amatriciana rigatoni with guanciale, sugo di pomodoro and pecorino, and mint- and ricotta-filled ravioli with sugo di pomodoro and grana.
The all-Italian beverage menu offers some 35 Italian craft beers, including selections from Almond ’22, Birrificio Italiano, Extraomnes, and Tre Fontane. Of course, there are beers from Baladin, too.
It’s the best known of Italy’s numerous craft breweries. And its founder, Teo Musso, is credited with launching the craft beer movement in the country, while pioneering pairing beer and Italian food.
One of my favorite Baladin beers is Nora, a refreshing 6.8% saison-style farmhouse ale. I’ve had the pleasure of drinking it outside under an umbrella on a sunny summer afternoon at the original Le Baladin pub in Piozzo.
But trying Nora with the carbonara at Forza Storico was an equally sublime experience. Patrick uses fat extruded Italian calamaretti pasta (so-called because of its resemblance to squid rings) for the dish, and stuffs it with house-cured guanciale. The sauce is made with bright yellow farm egg yolks, and it’s dusted with pecorino cheese.
As for the pairing, it turned out to be a perfect marriage of a light, fruity, earthy beer, and a rich, unctuous, luscious pasta. Pretty much perfect, in my estimation.
Truth be told, pairing beer and ramen was much less of a revelation. Not because they don’t go very well together. But because I find it much easier to pair a Japanese rice lager or a new model light craft lager with noodles and broth, no matter what else you top or garnish it with.
There is one thing I did confirm at Ramen Fest, though. Oktoberfest beer is a great combination with hearty noodle dishes. Wild Heaven’s Fest Beer, which is a fall seasonal German-style marzen, was on draft, and its malty presence proved to be perfect for a cooler afternoon, and a bowl of Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q Texas-style smoked brisket ramen.
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