As I settle into my new home base in the Northwest, I’m beginning to learn more about the areas and venues that I enjoy playing most. I am quickly discovering that breweries are some of the best places for me to play from Bellingham to Boise and beyond. There’s so much passion and love for the craft of brewing beer up here just like there was in Arizona for wine while I lived there. Since I’ve been spending so much time playing at breweries, I’ve been finding myself drinking more beer so I’m trying out my first beer and music pairing with the Rendezvous Porter from Old Schoolhouse Brewery.

Some of you might be familiar with the wine and music pairings that I’ve been doing every once in awhile. Now it’s time to expand into the world of beer. 1) Because I have a show at a brewery almost every weekend and 2) Because I like good beer. A lot.

I played at Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, WA a couple of weeks ago and before I left I got a beer to bring back with me. This past weekend I sat down with a glass of their Rendezvous Porter and made my first beer and music pairing attempt.

On the nose, the porter has a nutty scent with a little bit of toffee and tobacco. Dark chocolate comes through too. Most of those qualities also come through plus some taste of hops. Overall, I got a wintery feel from the beer. It’s a little warming thanks to how heavy it is. It’s not as heavy as a stout but still it’s got a little weight to it when you drink it. Of course it was also slightly sweet and smoky thanks to those tobacco and dark chocolate qualities.

After a bit of thinking and searching through my music library I decided that John Moreland and his album High on Tulsa Heat is a good pairing for the Rendezvous Porter. Moreland has a raspy style of singing but many of his songs are a little sweet since they are about lost love or romantic visions of life in midwest suburban and rural towns.

This is why they pair so well.

The smokiness of the porter supports Moreland’s singing style and the sweetness of where he’s coming from in his lyrics are supported by the slight dark chocolate sweetness in the porter.

I found that these two support each other very well can make the experience of drinking the beer and listening to the album that much better than enjoying the two separately.

Try it for yourself if you get your hands on some of this Rendezvous Porter from Old Schoolhouse Brewery. Also, be sure to let me know if you find another pairing that works well. Use the comment section below and we’ll do some pairing exchanges.