Belly n’ Brew: Pairing The Right Food With The Right Beer

Beer and food have long enjoyed a delicious culinary bond. Over the course of several decades, trial and error with diverse cuisines has resulted in solid food-beer combos that enhance taste and add to the overall experience of drinking beer with friends – an act that California-based artist Tom Marioni fittingly describes as ‘the highest form of art.’

If you love your food just as much as you love your beer, here are some food-beer suggestions to help you make the most of that beer drinking soirée, whatever the occasion.

I. Ale

Since ale flavors run the gamut from light to strong, plenty of different foods can be paired with varied ale types such as wheat beer, stouts, and pale ales.

• Wheat Beer is a tad spicier than other ales. It also contains mild fruity tones. Foods rich in flavor find a perfect match in wheat beer. Kebabs, pizza, grilled fish, and spicy Chinese and Indian starters pair exceptionally well with wheat beer.

• With Stout Ales, a bitter flavor is not uncommon. You will even discover some with coffee or chocolate notes in them. The bitter-sweet flavor works equally well with barbecued chicken as with dessert (chocolate or cheese cake).

• Pale Ale and that singular malty flavor go hand in brew. Compliment Indian Pale Ales (IPAs) with cheeseburgers, pizzas, fish, seafood, sausages or roasted meats.

II. Lager

When you think ‘easy-to-drink beer’, Lager leaps to mind. While light lagers are best had with salads or roasted foods, stronger lagers pair up beautifully with heavy meat dishes, bringing out the flavor of the meat.

• Pilsners have a nice crisp and replenishing finish to them. Spicy Indian and Asian cuisines, not to mention flavorful dips, are wonderful pair-up choices.

• American-style Lagers share that crispy note but bring a lighter and slightly caramelized taste. Fried, saucy foods are therefore superb pair-up options. Think pizzas, fries, BBQ wings.

• Dark lagers such as Bock are great with any bread based dish such as breadsticks and pretzels. They taste just as awesome with grilled veggies and grilled meats.

III. Strange Combos That Work

If you a beer drinker who would rather experiment than follow tradition, keep trying out offbeat beer-food combos, and who knows, you may discover a shockingly awesome pairing that’s never been done before.

Here’s a little appetizing inspiration to get you going:

• A smoked German beer going by the name of Rauchbierhas met its culinary partner in cheesecake. The dessert brilliantly brings out the smokiness in the beer. Or perhaps the beer’s smoky flavor enhances the cheesecake’s flavor?

• PP&J (Peanut Butter & Jelly) is an outstanding though unconventional flavor-burst combo with Brown Ale. Where one is sweet, the other is bitter, and you know what they say about opposites attracting.

Know of an awe-inspiring beer-food pairing the world hasn’t discovered yet? Share it here with fellow beer lovers from around the world. And, thank you for reading!