Porsche Beer?

The following post is from Jared who writes a blog called The Weekly Brew. He talks about his experience brewing his own beer, thoughts on beer in general and even stirs up some brewhaha once in a while. Check out his blog at TheWeeklyBrew.com.

Ryan issued me a challenge recently asking “If Porsche was a beer, what beer would it be?”

Turns out this is a hard question to answer. Not only because Porsche is such a top notch car designer, but because I don’t drive. Deciding I needed to at least be reminded what it felt like to be behind the wheel I took a drive and thought it over. Sadly I wasn’t behind the wheel of a Porsche.

Not having had much experience driving my first reaction was a simple one. Porsche = expensive high performance cars from Europe. Therefore Porsche should be compared to a high alcohol, quality craft beer from Europe. But then I got to thinking. What makes Porsche unique as a company? Is it performance only? The answer I came up with was Porsche was special because it has standards. It doesn’t make cars for your average Joe commuter, but it doesn’t have that “I have money” effect like a Lamborghini Gallardo.

Porsche is a car made for people who love cars. This leads me to believe that if Porsche was a beer it would be one that was made for people who love beer. The quality would just be a natural part of that. So this leads me to believe that a Porsche would be a beer from either Dogfish Head Brewing, or from Hair of the Dog Brewing. Both these companies stand out for making beer dedicated to consumers who love beer. But that only answers what brand a Porsche would be, not style. But just like there are many models of Porsche, there are many styles of beer. So for that I offer the following pairings.

356 Roadster – Out of all the Porches this one is the most beautiful to me. I’d recommend pairing it with a nice Saison. A semi dry beer with some fruitiness and earthy flavors. Also packs a slight tart kick to it.

911 – This is the Porsche that I see in pictures. For me this conjures up a nice german style lager with a mild bitterness, some light malt flavors, and some hop aromas

Boxter – This car reminds me of a Belgian Wit. A traditional wheat style with some spice to it from the coriander and orange peel. Something the average consumer wouldn’t expect to enjoy, but delightful and complex

Cayman – I needed a car that would pair well with a big beer, and I think the Cayman fits the bill. I’d pair it with a nice drive through the city and an aged barleywine. Barlywines are some of the highest alcohol beers, and I think the Cayman could stand up to being paired with it.

Cayanne – The Cayenne almost didn’t make the pairing list because it’s strange to try and wrap my head around a Porsche SUV. Up for a challenge though I think I found something. An american style amber or brown ale. American Ambers and American Browns are both good styles of beer that manage to get lost in the crowd. With a brown or a red there is always great potential, both for success or failure. But even a successful beer in these categories will always be forgotten for the memory of a bold IPA