Beer & Food Pairings

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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.

Ale Styles 

American Ales
American Amber / Red Ale
American Barleywine
American Blonde Ale
American Brown Ale
American Dark Wheat Ale
American Double / Imperial IPA
American Double / Imperial Stout
American IPA
American Pale Ale (APA)
American Pale Wheat Ale
American Porter
American Stout
American Strong Ale
American Wild Ale
Black & Tan
Chile Beer
Cream Ale
Pumpkin Ale
Rye Beer
Wheatwine

Belgian / French Ales
Belgian Dark Ale
Belgian IPA
Belgian Pale Ale
Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut
Bière de Garde
Dubbel
Faro
Flanders Oud Bruin
Flanders Red Ale
Gueuze
Lambic - Fruit
Lambic - Unblended
Quadrupel (Quad)
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Tripel
Witbier

English Ales
Baltic Porter
Braggot
English Barleywine
English Bitter
English Brown Ale
English Dark Mild Ale
English India Pale Ale (IPA)
English Pale Ale
English Pale Mild Ale
English Porter
English Stout
English Strong Ale
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
Foreign / Export Stout
Milk / Sweet Stout
Oatmeal Stout
Old Ale
Russian Imperial Stout
Winter Warmer

Finnish Ales
Sahti

German Ales
Altbier
Berliner Weissbier
Dunkelweizen
Gose
Hefeweizen
Kristalweizen
Kölsch
Roggenbier
Weizenbock

Irish Ales
Irish Dry Stout
Irish Red Ale

Russian Ales
Kvass

Scottish Ales
Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Scottish Ale
Scottish Gruit / Ancient Herbed Ale
Lager Styles 

American Lagers
American Adjunct Lager
American Amber / Red Lager
American Double / Imperial Pilsner
American Malt Liquor
American Pale Lager
California Common / Steam Beer
Light Lager
Low Alcohol Beer

Czech Lagers
Czech Pilsener

European Lagers
Euro Dark Lager
Euro Pale Lager
Euro Strong Lager

German Lagers
Bock
Doppelbock
Dortmunder / Export Lager
Eisbock
German Pilsener
Keller Bier / Zwickel Bier
Maibock / Helles Bock
Munich Dunkel Lager
Munich Helles Lager
Märzen / Oktoberfest
Rauchbier
Schwarzbier
Vienna Lager

Japanese Lagers
Happoshu
Japanese Rice Lager

Hybrid Styles 

Fruit / Vegetable Beer
Herbed / Spiced Beer
Smoked Beer

Hybrid styles are in the process of being sorted and moved into

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

 Hamburgers and sausages are hearty enough for either kind of ale. The English brown may match nicely with smoked fish, while game dishes can stand up to the hoppiness of the American brown.

Cream or sweet stout, imperial stout

These are made for chocolate, and imperial stout pairs especially well with dark chocolate. Also try chocolate-and-fruit desserts, such as stout cheesecake with raspberry sauce, or something with caramel or pecans.

Porter, Dry or Oatmeal Stout

Think hearty foods -- meat dishes with gravy, barbecue, shepherd's pie, stew. Oysters are also ideal. Both these beers and the brown ales will stand up to stronger cheeses such as sharp cheddar and blue.

Vienna lager/Oktoberfest/Mäarzen, dark lager, bock

Like amber ale, these are good all-around food beers, and they're not as filling as ales. The lagers will cut some of the heaviness in sauce-based meat dishes - chicken paprikash, goulash or pork rouladen, for example - and will stand up to their strong flavors. The perfect beers to serve with pretzels and mustard. Sweeter bocks, such as doppelbocks, can complement heartier, spicier desserts, such as pumpkin pie or spice cake.

Fruit beers, lambics

Sweeter fruit beers and fruit lambics can be paired with light fruit desserts, such as souffles or chiffon cake, but sour ones will probably overwhelm fruit flavors. Some people like to drink lambics with dark chocolate. Entrees that are prepared with fruit - i.e., raspberry-glazed duck breast - can pair nicely with fruit beers. Consider enjoying these alone at the end of the meal.

Old ale, barley wine

Most foods don't stand up to these stronger beers, and you'll probably lose the maltiness in the beer as well. Try a really strong cheese or a piece of super-dark chocolate, or serve them alone or with a cigar.