How to Match Beer With Food

THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION THREE-STEP, CAN'T FAIL GUIDE TO MATCHING BEER AND FOOD

Three basic principles should be considered; these are listed below.  Each one is important, but there is no 1-2-3 order for the pairing process.  Start with either a specific beer or food, then seek a suitable partner according to the following guidelines:

MATCH STRENGTH WITH STRENGTH 
Delicate dishes work best with delicate beers, and strongly-flavored foods demand assertive beers—no surprise there. Intensity of flavor is not any single thing, but a sum of the taste experience.  In beer, it may involve alcoholic strength, malt character, hop bitterness, sweetness, richness, roastiness and more.  In food, richness (okay, let’s just say it—fat), sweetness, cooking methods, spicing, texture and complexity all play a role.

FIND HARMONIES 
Combinations often work best when they share some common flavor or aroma elements.  The nutty flavors of an English-style brown ale and a handmade cheddar cheese; the deep, roasted flavors of imperial stout and chocolate truffles; the clean caramelly flavors of an Oktoberfest lager and roasted pork are all examples of this.

CONSIDER SWEETNESS, BITTERNESS, CARBONATION, HEAT (SPICE) AND RICHNESS  
Certain qualities of food and beer interact with each other in specific, predictable ways.  Taking advantage of these interactions ensures that the food and beer will balance each other, with one partner not throwing the match out of whack.  These are specific interactions, different from the intensity-matching mentioned above.  One sort of has to parse these out one-by-one as the situation demands, and find flavors that will enhance one another.  The chart below lays out the specifics. Foods that have a lot of sweetness or fatty richness (or both) can be matched by a various elements in beer: hop bitterness, sweetness, roasted/toasted malt or alcohol.  Carbonation is also effective at cutting richness.  Malty sweetness cools the heat, so if you’re leaning to a hoppy beer with spicy food, make sure it has plenty of malt as well.

WHAT ABOUT COMPLEMENT AND/OR CONTRAST?
The complement aspect is covered by step 2, Find Harmonies.  Contrast is always present to some degree, and may dominate the relationship or not.  It’s usually the case that contrasting and complimentary relationships exist, as they are not mutually exclusive.  Most of the major players in contrast are covered by the interacting elements noted in step 3, above.  Be aware, however, that having some degree of contrast doesn’t remove the need to match intensities as described in step 1.

Some additional thoughts about enjoying beer and food together:

LOOK TO CLASSIC CUISINES
The cuisines of beer-drinking countries offer many traditional beer and food combinations.  Schnitzel with pale l ager may be obvious, but who would have thought to put stout together with oysters?  Classic matches like this can be found if you seek them out, and offer a great start to further exploration.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Not every pairing works as expected—this can be fun if you learn to appreciate the unexpected.   Build on the things that work and keep seeking those magic combinations.

CONSIDER SEASONALITY
The warm summer months favor light foods and beers while heartier fare works best in winter.  The beers and foods of a given season pair naturally together and suit the mood as well.

CONTRAST AND COMPLEMENT
All beer and food combinations should involve both of these principles.  Some pairings will be more dependent on contrast, others on complementary flavors.  All should strive for some kind of balance.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

BEER AND CHEESE
Beer’s bright carbonation and crisp hoppiness can handle the mouth-coating richness of cheese. Medium-intensity beers suit many cheeses, but one as powerful as Stilton requires an assertive Barley Wine.  The herbal and floral hop nose of an IPA blends nicely with the complex aroma of blue cheese, while the bitterness cleanses the palate.  Aromatic Hefeweizen makes a nice match with simple Chevre.  Fruit Beers are excellent with soft-ripened cheese such as Brie.  Stout and aged cheddar is another great pair, and for the adventurous, smoked porter with a smoked cheese is a rustic joy.

BEER AND MAIN COURSES

There’s a perfect beer for just about any main dish, as long as you remember to match the intensity of the beer to the food.  For lighter items such as grilled fish, a Pilsner is a treat.  For roasted chicken, a malty Lager or Pale Ale can be great.  The sweet heat of barbecue can be tamed by a beer like Maibock or an Abbey-style Dubbel.  For grilled or roast beef, a hearty Porter or Stout is an excellent choice.

BEER AS AN APERITIF (SALADS & APPETIZERS)
Crisp, refreshing beers are the best way to start a meal.   Lighter wheat beers can be a perfect match for salads, although the bitterness of greens sometimes calls for a hoppy Pilsner.  A floral Blonde Ale is great with seared Ahi tuna.   Hoppy American Pale Ale can balance the richness of appetizers such as cheese tartlets.  Spicy Saison is the perfect counterpoint to New Orleans style shrimp.   A full-flavored Red Aale or Amber Lager can be an ideal mate to smoked fish – or you might choose to present it with an elegantly crisp, dry stout.  The idea is to create a great experience without wearing out the palate.  Look for beers that are light in body and aren’t aggressively bitter.

BEER WITH DESSERT

So challenging with wine, dessert works beautifully with beer.  Rich, full-flavored beers are needed to balance the sweetness of most desserts.  American small brewers love to produce such styles, so there are plenty of choices.  Fruity desserts can be paired with a strong pale Tripel.  Caramelly bread pudding or nut tart demands something with similar qualities – Old Ale fills the role beautifully. Super-sweet items such as cheesecake, crème brulee or carrot cake can create a memorable experience with highly hopped beers such as Double IPAs.  Spice and citrus qualities in many beers work well with desserts that highlight similar flavors.

Chocolate loves a Dark Beer.  Milk chocolate is wonderful with Belgian-inspired Strong Dark Ales. Flourless chocolate cake or truffles call for an inky Imperial Stout.  Fruit Beers have an obvious affinity for fruit desserts, but they can be magic with chocolate as well.