US craft brewers unite for London food pairing showcase

A London lunch hosted by the Brewers Association brought together US brewers to explore food pairing through temperature – and to underline a message of unity amid industry challenges. 

A delegation of American craft brewers gathered in London recently for a unique lunch spotlighting the role temperature plays in beer and food pairing.

Held at Manteca in Shoreditch, the event was hosted by the Brewers Association – the not-for-profit trade body for small and independent American brewers – and brought together representatives from seven US breweries. The four-course menu was designed in collaboration between Adam Dulye, executive chef for the Brewers Association, and Manteca’s head chef, Chris Leach, with each dish paired with a beer served at a carefully selected temperature.

The showcase explored how warming or chilling a beer can subtly shift its flavour profile – and in turn, its relationship with food.

“Temperature is a quiet architect in not only cooking but pairing: coaxing flavours forward, tempering others, and aligning textures between glass and plate,” said Dulye. “Our goal is to demonstrate how warm and chilled ingredients (when thoughtfully combined) can reveal new dimensions in a pairing, telling a complete and compelling story with each sip and bite.”

Beer pairings ranged from Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing IPA served alongside wild farmed focaccia and house ricotta, to a final course of profiteroles with chocolate sauce, matched with The Virginia Beer Co’s Pinwheel Oatmeal Vanilla Porter. Other featured breweries included The Bold Mariner Brewing Co (Virginia), Hinterland Brewery (Wisconsin), Samuel Adams (Massachusetts), Toppling Goliath Brewing Co (Iowa), and Coldfire Brewing Co (Oregon).

Togetherness in testing times

While the event focused on flavour, it also offered a platform for US brewers to collaborate and reflect on the current challenges facing the industry back home.

“There’s a general downturn [of breweries] in the US at the moment,” Kerrie Stacks, co-owner of The Bold Mariner Brewing Co. explained. With many small brewers just trying to “stay alive” amid economic and political uncertainty, the event served as a moment to regroup and celebrate shared values.

The UK remains a key export market for American craft beer, accounting for 8.2% of exports and ranking as the third largest international market.Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer ambassador for Europe, said the lunch aimed to “broaden perceptions about beer and food pairings and question why beer is always served chilled”.

Beyond that, it also underscored the strength of a brewing community choosing to face difficulties together.

The Brewers Association’s Export Development Programme, supported by the US Department of Agriculture, continues to champion American craft beer internationally, reinforcing the message that even in challenging times, collaboration remains at the heart of the craft.

The London event resonates strongly with recent themes explored by db that highlighted the US craft sector endured its first decline in brewery numbers since 2005 – dropping to 9,269 by June 2025, down from 9,352 a year earlier – and saw a 3.9% fall in production to 23.1 million barrels in 2024, while craft’s share of total beer volume slipped to 13.3%.

Against that sobering backdrop, the Shoreditch lunch serves as an uplifting contrast, proving that unity, creativity and ambition can thrive even when the numbers are down.

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