Photo Credit \u00a9Kenneth Westphal<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to deter someone from drinking their beer of choice,\u201d states Scurto, \u201cbut I often point them to a pale ale.\u201d Cooperage Brewing makes a lineup of offerings called Curt that are crisp, clean, and less hoppy than an IPA, but with enough bitterness to complement the pizza. But it\u2019s often beers that fall outside the hop-forward realm that Scurto finds more intriguing when it comes to pairing with pizza. For pizzas with spicy toppings like Old Grey Beard, a red sauce-slicked pie with mozzarella, fontina, Italian sausage, Calabrian peppers, hot honey, and orange zest, Scurto recommends a Pilsner or something lighter to quell the heat. Seismic Brewing\u2019s Liquifaction K\u00f6lsch from nearby Sebastopol accents the citrus flavors on the pizza.<\/p>\n
Pizzaleah also pours an array of Alvarado Street sours, which play well with fatty and salty toppings mainly due to their acid, reinforcing the notion that pairing isn\u2019t all about straightforward assumptions. Scurto\u2019s most popular pizza is called Roo\u2019s, a fontina and mushroom medley with fresh thyme, roasted fennel, parsley, and shaved parmesan. With this, she\u2019ll suggest a dark amber lager from Barrel Brothers, or even the brewery\u2019s Dark Sarcasm porter as it is full-flavored\u2014just like her pizzas.<\/p>\n
Waiting for Enlightenment<\/h2>\n
![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220128114950\/nicole-bean-pizza-chef.jpg\")
Down in Houston, Nicole Bean, president of Pizaro\u2019s Pizza, has been changing the way Texans perceive pizza for a decade, and now she\u2019s doing the same with beer. In 2011, her father, Bill Hutchinson, a lifelong oil and gas industry worker, wanted to replace his barbeque pit with an outdoor oven, and it sort of spiraled out of control\u2014 the family now owns two pizzerias in Houston. \u201cI was in fashion merchandising, doing window displays, when he called me to open a second location. I said no\u2014I didn\u2019t want to be part of the family biz,\u201d recalls Bean. Two years later, Bean attended Tony Gemignani\u2019s International School of Pizza, forever changing the way she looked at dough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of guff that the crust was soggy, too soft, doesn\u2019t travel well, not enough toppings,\u201d recalls Bean of her pizza school experience. She eventually got tired of telling people no and joined the family business. When their Neapolitan-only approach became too cumbersome, Pizaro\u2019s introduced Detroit-style pizza for something more substantial, and eventually New York-style, too. But just like with pizza preferences, Bean found that beer drinkers were waiting to be enlightened.<\/p>\n
Pizaro\u2019s pours Fireman\u2019s #4 from Real Ale Brewing Co. in Blanco, Texas, which Bean describes as a versatile blonde ale that plays well across pizza styles. She also likes Southern Star\u2019s Bombshell Blonde, out of Conroe, but it\u2019s Bean\u2019s brother, Matt, who\u2019s the real beer buyer, scouring the country for the \u201cfunkiest stuff,\u201d as she describes<\/p>\n
\u201cHe goes to Colorado just to bring back a six-pack,\u201d Bean says half-jokingly, \u201cor to New Orleans to bring in Moon Shoes (a New England-style IPA from NOLA Brewing),\u201d attracting the rare-beer drinkers to the pizzeria. They may come in for a can or bottle, but while they\u2019re there, they also get a pizza.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220128120102\/neapolitan-margherita-pizza.jpg\")
Though Pizaro\u2019s Neapolitan Margherita pie is still their most popular pizza, a lot of pepperoni gets sold there too\u2014almost a third of all orders have pepperoni on them. Pizaro\u2019s carries regular pepperoni and cupping pepperoni (the kind that curls up when cooked), and their Death by Pepperoni pie uses both styles. Bean highly recommends a beer that can cut through all that fat. \u201cLone Pint\u2019s Yellow Rose IPA out of Dallas is both strong and clean, and SpindleTap\u2019s Houston Haze [IPA] works well too; it has a lot of citrus to counteract the intense meatiness.\u201d Plus, on those 100-degree Lone Star State summer days, you need something cold and refreshing.<\/p>\n
Local & Seasonal<\/h2>\n
Asheville, N.C. is a hot spot for the craft beer scene, with more than 50 breweries serving just under 100,000 citizens. It\u2019s also home to All Souls Pizza, a pizzeria that got its start in grain. Owner David Bauer and chef\/owner Brendan Reusing think of flour as a local, seasonal ingredient, especially since Bauer also operates Farm & Sparrow stone mill down the road.<\/p>\n
While Bauer advises on the dough\/crust, Reusing thinks about toppings year-round, leaning into more proteins in the winter and vegetables in the summer. \u201cWe make bresaola, guanciale, and bacon, but also our own sauerkraut and kimchi,\u201d Reusing says. He admits that the restaurant tends to stock what he likes to drink, and he\u2019s a light beer person, preferring a good K\u00f6lsch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no expectation with a beer and pizza pairing like there is with wine,\u201d insists Bauer. As he so poetically puts it, \u201cPizza is a convivial, social food\u2014people steer toward what they want to have in that setting regardless of the food.\u201d Bauer tends to think sours work well with the fermented flavors All Souls puts forth, but maybe not so much with the meaty\/tangy offerings, like salumi and pickled menu items.<\/p>\n
In the \u201ceverything local\u201d vein, All Souls sources strong cheeses from Blue Ridge Mountain Creamery in North Carolina to pair with funky brews, but it\u2019s the other fermentables on the table that are staples of the restaurant. With their meal, customers get small bowls of lacto-fermented red jalape\u00f1o, carrots, turnips, and fine olive oil, which they proceed to mash together and dunk their pizza crusts into. \u201cSometimes you need a mental break from all those flavor bombs,\u201d concedes Reusing.<\/p>\n
A large blonde wood-framed chalkboard at All Souls highlights the local beer offerings: Goldenrod Pilsner from French Broad Brewery; the latest releases from Wedge Brewing Co. and Hillman (most likely their Mommabeer Brown); Hi-Wire Brewing lager; Jape IPA from Foothills Brewing; TRU light; and Nebo Pilsner from Fonta Flora Brewery. Fonta Flora, about 35 minutes east of Asheville, integrates local fruits, vegetables, and wild-crafted products into sour ales for their bottle releases. Bauer has supplied them with grains over the years, and in turn, All Souls has provided them a place to savor their beer\u2014with pizza, of course.<\/p>\n
The Roo<\/h3>\n
By Leah Scurto, Pizzaleah, Windsor, CA<\/em><\/p>\n\n- 10 oz dough ball<\/li>\n
- 4 oz whole milk, low moisture mozzarella<\/li>\n
- \u00be oz fontina, small dice<\/li>\n
- 10 g extra virgin olive oil<\/li>\n
- 20 g roasted fennel, diced<\/li>\n
- 1 cup mixed mushrooms (cremini, oyster, maitake), sliced (should yield approximately 70 g once cooked)<\/li>\n
- 1 sprig fresh thyme<\/li>\n
- 1 gram fresh Italian parsley<\/li>\n
- 2 grams Parmigiano Reggiano<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For the mixed mushrooms:<\/em><\/p>\n\n- Preheat the oven to 450\u00b0 F.<\/li>\n
- In a bowl, toss mushrooms together with a pinch of salt, then place on a sheet pan. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the liquid released has steamed off and the mushrooms just start to dry out.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
For the pizza:<\/em><\/p>\n\n- Preheat the oven to 565\u2109.<\/li>\n
- Push 10 oz dough ball out to 12 inches.<\/li>\n
- Spread out mozzarella and evenly distribute the cubes of fontina.<\/li>\n
- Add mushrooms and fennel. Drizzle olive oil on top.<\/li>\n
- Sprinkle herbs over the pizza.<\/li>\n
- Cook at 565\u2109 for 7 to 8 minutes, or until dark golden brown.<\/li>\n
- Pull the pizza from the oven and place on a cooling rack.<\/li>\n
- Shave 2 grams of Parmigiano Reggiano on top and then sprinkle chopped fresh Italian parsley.<\/li>\n
- Cut and serve!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Pair with a dark lager or amber ale.<\/p>\n
Cracker Thin Pizza Sauce<\/h3>\n
By Nicole Bean, Pizaro\u2019s Pizza, Houston, TX<\/em><\/p>\n
![\"pizza](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220128114734\/pizza-leah-chef.jpg\")
Leah Scurto, an award-winning pizza chef and member of the United States Pizza Team, spent over 20 years working in the Bay Area at Pizza My Heart before moving to Sonoma County to open Pizzaleah in Windsor, Calif. She now stretches pies only a couple miles up the 101 from Russian River Brewery. Pizzaleah is in the vicinity of great beer, but without Scurto\u2019s supreme dough recipe, it would be for naught. Her crust is crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle, and super flavorful, like an artisan sourdough\u2014achieved by a three-day cold fermentation followed by baking in high-temperature electric deck ovens. \u201cThe press focuses mainly on my toppings,\u201d says Scurto, \u201cbut there\u2019s flavor in our dough, too, which in and of itself pairs nicely with a saison\u2019s funkiness.\u201d (HenHouse Brewing Company in nearby Santa Rosa makes an excellent example.) Even Scurto\u2019s pan pizzas, though thicker than her rounds, have a light airiness to them, more akin to focaccia than a deep-dish.<\/p>\n![\"pizzaleah](\"https:\/\/cdn.craftbeer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220128115445\/pizzaleah-pint-pizza-prep.jpg\")