Wine may have to give up its seat at the dinner table as more people, exploring the ever-expanding beer options, believe brew may make a better dinner date.

"Not everyone likes wine," head chef Dave Rupp of Union Barrel Works in Reamstown said. "I would say, though, that about 90 percent of people like some kind of beer."

It may just take a little while to find out what you like in a beer. The choices are changing constantly, and with the resurgence of home-brews, more restaurants are highlighting food-and-beer pairings.

UBW hosts beer dinners almost monthly at its Reamstown location.

"We host a seven-course meal, and with each course, we select a beer that will best complement that dish," Rupp said.

At the April dinner, the salmon with apple scallion relish entrée was accompanied by the restaurant's Wobbly Bob Dopplebock brew. The restaurant's Wobbly Bob is a dark lager, rich and malty but with a mellow finish, Rupp said. This quality prevents it from overpowering the salmon.

There are 10 custom brews on tap at UBW, ranging from a pale German ale to a heavy stout.

One of the first steps in deciding what beer to pair with your food is to consider the flavor of the beer, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association Web site, www.nbwa.org. Test the beer to determine its qualities. Restaurants that specialize in their own brews may have a sampler tray.

At UBW, customers can order a sampler tray of 10 two-ounce beers, Rupp said.

Iron Hill Brewery on Harrisburg Pike also offers customers a sampler tray and monthly beer dinners, general manager Neil Campbell said.

The range of flavors on tap has grown in recent years and has strayed from just the typical pale ale.

"Beer has taken on a new identity. People used to drink it just to get drunk," Rupp said. "Now they drink it because there are so many flavors and they can find they enjoy the taste."

The Mardi Gras-themed beer dinner at UBW featured an alligator jambalaya with which Rupp paired a lager.

"You don't want the spice of a beer," Rupp said. "You want a mild (beer), and you want to 'foam down' the heat of the dish."

Iron Hill's current beer-dinner special is Jamaica jerk salmon with the Ironbound Ale, a medium-bodied ale, Campbell said.

Spicy food, such as Mexican, Indian and Caribbean, find good pairings in light ales or lagers, according to the NBWA.

Heavy food stands up well with a heavy beer, according to Rupp. A red meat dish with a cream base is only complemented by a dry stout beer that can enhance the flavor of the gravy.

Fish and chicken, however, will be better paired with a light pale ale, according to Rupp.

"It will taste good with steak too, but it will get lost," he said.

According to an article on www.beeradvocate.com, hoppy beers can be used with foods that pair well with acidic wine.

"Think of ale as red wine and lager as white wine," the article states.

Both Rupp and Campbell recommended a stout or very dark beer to befriend a chocolate dessert.

"The heavy flavor of the dessert would overpower a lighter beer. The chocolate sticks to the palate and you need a beer that can stand up to that," Rupp said.

"It gives it boldness," he added.

Salads, fruit desserts and lighter dishes are enhanced by wheat beers or those that have a fruit taste.

Not only does the beer complement the food but vice versa. However, finding a balance in the flavors is important.

"For instance," Campbell said, "a British pale ale tastes great with a grilled burger. It brings out the roasted flavor of the meat."

If you aren't sure what goes well with what, ask your server for suggestions, Rupp said.

"It all comes down to being open-minded," Rupp said.

Learn to pair at FlavorFest

Lew Bryson, a full-time beer and spirits writer from Newtown, will discuss pairing food and beer as part of the Great PA Flavorfest this weekend on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Bryson will speak at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $15.95 per day. (Visit www.GreatPAFlavorFest.com for more information.)

Bryson, who is a Lancaster County native and Franklin & Marshall graduate, got the beer bug his senior year of college after tasting a home-crafted brew at the former Lauzus Hotel on West King Street.

"It was the first time I had tasted something out of the mainstream," Bryson said. "I never looked back."

Variety is what makes beer so interesting when paired with food, Bryson said.

"In other countries, beer fits into everyday life," he said. "It is just starting to catch up to that here in the States. The variety we have here is larger than anywhere else."

When pairing food with beer, consider the price. A bottle of good wine will cost more than a beer, and you can sample several beers with each course to see which best complements your dish, Bryson suggested.

"Play around a little. (Beer) costs less and you aren't committed to a whole bottle."

Bryson said to look for three characteristics when pairing beer and food: Cut, contrast and complement.

The cut of the beer is how the beer will cut the taste of the food. The contrast of the pairing is how the beer contrasts the taste of the dish. If you are looking to complement, you can't go wrong with the pizza-and-sweet-beer combination.

E-mail: cesbenshade@lnpnews.com