Beer & Food Pairings
Beer & Food Pairings
What we have here is a list of beers that you can pair with food. Deciding which food taste best with which beers is a great, delicious experiment. Sometimes pairing the wrong food with the wrong beer with draw you away from the food or beer, so this is why we have this chart! Enjoy!
Beer Styles
What's a beer style? Simply put, a beer style is a label given to a beer that describes its overall character and often times its origin. It's a name badge that has been achieved over many centuries of brewing, trial and error, marketing, and consumer acceptance. Our styles reflect our spin on the constantly evolving world of beer, with non-geek descriptions broken down for all to understand. Click on any of the styles below to find out more about them, including our recommendations for Food Pairings, Glassware, and Cellaring/Serving Temperatures.
Note: This is not the bible for beer styles, but should be viewed as a work-in-progress and a fun reference that's open to change and interpretation.
Blonde Ale, American Wheat, or Lightly Hopped Lagers
Since these beers lack both maltiness and hoppiness, they work best as thirst-quenchers. Try them with super-hot food, such as blackened redfish. Once your tongue has been assaulted with hot spices, it will no longer be able to appreciate an intricately flavored beer, anyway.
Weissbier or Dunkelweiss
You want to be able to enjoy the flavors of the yeast, so stick with delicate foods, such as a delicate soup or pasta or light cheeses. These beers also work well with lightly flavored vegetarian dishes, such as grilled vegetables, or light chicken dishes.
Amber Ale
A good all-around beer for any food that isn't sweet -- something sweet will detract from the maltiness in the beer. It complements sandwiches, hearty soups and pizzas. Also a good thirst-quencher for barbecue or Mexican food.
Pale Ale, IPA, ESB, and German Pilsners
While hops can kill your tastebuds when paired with many foods, they do make for some particularly good matches -- fried seafood, for example, because hoppiness cuts through grease, or anything with vinegar as a main ingredient. They also complement smoked, boiled, steamed or broiled seafood. And they can enhance the spiciness of highly spiced cuisine. The fruitier pale ales also will complement lamb, beef and game, or try them with liver paté.
English or American Brown Ale
Cream or sweet stout, imperial stout
Porter, Dry or Oatmeal Stout