Pairing Beer and Food: Tips from the Pros
For a long time, a wine that is served with a meal has been selected based on the foods they are accompanying. While beer used to be overlooked in many high-end dining establishments, the nuances and diversity available in beer has made it increasingly available at restaurants. And, like wine, it’s important to consider what foods you are eating so that you can emphasize characteristics that will accentuate and improve both the beer and food.
Pro: Ray Daniels, Cicerone Certification Program in Chicago, IL
The basic rule of beer and food pairing is to match the flavor intensities of the food and the beer. Then you want to think about the key flavors of the beer from malts, hops, and fermentation. What sorts of food flavors will they connect with in a sympathetic and harmonic way? You have to have some common connections between the beer and food to make it all work. Then we also want to consider the “contrast” or “cut” elements of the beer: Carbonation, bitterness and roast flavors, in particular. These elements can help to cleanse the palate between bites, lifting away fat and umami flavors on the tongue to help prepare you for the next bite.
In addition to the main food ingredient, you should consider the rest of the dish, namely preparation, sauces, garnishes and sides. To say that beer X pairs with pork loin would be silly. So that’s another fundamental: You have to get past simple rules and think about all the flavors you’ll encounter while eating the dish.
One trick you can use comes from the wine world where they sometimes say, “If it grows together, it goes together.” For example, since saison is a Belgian farmhouse beer, the rustic cuisine of Belgium is always a good call — they come from the same place, have the same roots and often call on related ingredients. I have done mussels and even crab cakes at home that played nicely with saisons; bloomy rind cheeses are always a great starter — or dessert — with that as well. And then you have things like roast chicken with potatoes or root vegetables and even Italian fish stew — cioppino — that can work as well.
Another trick is to cook with the beer you are going to taste with. I recently had a roast quail served with Unibroue Trois Pistoles (at the iconic beer bar Hopleaf in Chicago) and part of what made it work was the fact that the quail was garnished with stout-braised greens, Trois Pistoles-soaked figs and even kriek-pickled cherries. Probably any of those beers would have been OK with the dish, but the Trois Pistoles really rang the bell — in large part due to the great flavors introduced by the special sides and condiments added to the dish.
Bitterness is the live wire when it comes to pairing. While it can do good things in cutting richness in many foods, it can also become harsh and unpleasant with metallic or mineral flavors that most people don’t like. An example would be pairing a high bitterness beer with an oily fish like lox. Bitterness also has a tendency to accentuate capsaicin or chili pepper-type heat in foods. This is also true to an extent with high-ABV beers because any sense of “heat” from alcohol in a beer will also boost the burn from chilies as well. This is not to say bitterness is always a problem in pairing of course. With all the super hoppy beers out today, we have found things that work with them from salads with bitter greens to mashed potatoes rich with cream and butter and carrot cake piled with cream cheese frosting.
Pro: Jill Ramseier, Portland Deschutes Public House in Portland, OR
To come up with foods to pair a beer with, I like to taste the beer alone, make a list of aromas and flavors I get from it, and then make a list of what I think will go well with it. I follow that with tasting those foods with it, as well as a few foods I didn’t put on the list. This allows me to really test my assumptions and instincts.
There are certainly generalizations with beer and food pairing that can be and are often made (IPAs with spicy foods, dark beers with desserts and cheese, wit and saison with seafood), but honestly sometimes I am surprised what goes together and what doesn’t. My favorite pairings are when the pronounced flavor in the food is so similar to a certain note in the beer that they cancel each other out, revealing flavors beneath that you don’t notice as easily. One of my favorite examples of this is pairing Abyss, an imperial stout with deep licorice notes, with licorice really allows the bourbon barrel to come through with a complex combination of vanilla and nuttiness that was spectacular when also paired with peanut butter and smoked sea salt.
When people sit down to dinner, they pay for great food and they pay for great beer. If one or the other doesn’t taste good together that value is compromised. That’s why Black Butte Porter is one of my favorites, it’s a solid beer on its own, but it complements nearly everything I’ve ever tasted it with.
I think for people who love all types of beer it’s a little easier to find good pairings since most of the flavors that will be enhanced are typical of various beer styles. Someone who is not a fan of IPA is not going to enjoy a pairing that enhances the perceived bitterness or hops, whereas that person might really enjoy it if the pairing accentuated the caramel malt profile.
A couple of examples of my favorite pairings are sour ales with something rich and cheesy (even a simple grilled cheese sandwich with sharp cheddar, and a tangy fresh goat cheese or a raw kraut), stouts with big meaty meals (braised short ribs, smoked brisket, lamb with nettle and mint pesto), and lighter hoppy styles with spices, citrus and often cream (my current fave: Sear your favorite seafood or a chicken breast with a minced chili, a squeeze of orange or lime, a hint of ginger and a splash of beer until cooked through. Finish it with some coconut milk, salt and a hunk of sourdough).
For a long time, a wine that is served with a meal has been selected based on the foods they are accompanying. While beer used to be overlooked in many high-end dining establishments, the nuances and diversity available in beer has made it increasingly available at restaurants. And, like wine, it’s important to consider what foods you are eating so that you can emphasize characteristics that will accentuate and improve both the beer and food.
Pro: Alex Carballo, URBN Brewing Co in El Cajon, CA
Like wine, there are some basic rules when pairing beer and food, but beer is a bit more forgiving since they’re all effervescent. The bubbles cleanse your palate after every drink. Darker beers for grilled meats and lighter beers with spicy and salty foods are usually safe.
When thinking about pairings, I start by considering the beer style; for example high-alcohol beers pair great with sweet foods — like pairing bourbon stout with chocolate or coffee. Just like wine, your sense of smell is extremely important too because you taste with your nose. Look for easily recognizable smells like sweetness, bitterness, and herbal notes.
Food and beer pairings are important, and you’ll notice right away if a beer flavor disagrees with your food. Hoppy beers tend to be harder to pair because of their bitterness and strong hoppy aroma, so I would start with simple, less complex beers. There are certain foods that are hard to pair well with beer too. For example, asparagus can really throw your palate off. I would not recommend that pairing unless you have tried a few times with different beers. Some say foods rich with butter can cause problems too since brewers use it when checking their beers for off-flavors like diacetyl.
When it comes to pairings that do work, some of my favorites are IPAs and carrot cake (don’t knock it until you try it), Flanders red with dark chocolate, saison with sausage, and Pilsner with ceviche. That said, always try things on your own since everyone’s palate tastes things a bit differently.
