Sommeliers have been sharing their love and knowledge of wine for years. They know better than anyone which vinos pair best with your favorite meal and which ones will wrinkle your nose in disgust before even taking a sip.
Now, cicerones are granting beer lovers the same experience. These brew-smart professionals earn the title of cicerone after attaining a certain level of industry knowledge and passing the final exam. The pass rate is less than 50% and only 19 people have ever passed the most elite level.
Luckily, you don’t have to be a cicerone if you’re interested in pairing beer with your food. These few tips should help you understand the basics so you can begin enjoying delicious meals right away.
1. Follow the Rules of Wine
Many people already understand how wine pairing works — the basics, at least. Typically, white wines pair well with light, bright foods like fish, chicken and salads. Meanwhile, reds pair best with darker foods like steak, cured meat and chocolate cake. Once you understand these color-based pairings, you can use a similar beer color scale to determine which foods pair best with your favorite pint.
For instance, light-colored beers like pale ale, pilsner and hefeweizen have a relatively mild flavor impact, so they won’t overpower your lighter fare. Dark-colored beers like brown ale, porter and lager tend to have a more intense flavor impact to complement your steak dinner and similarly rich dishes.
2. Play with Complementary Flavors
Unlike winemakers who only have one ingredient to work with, beer brewers can choose from millions of ingredients — from oat milk to oysters. As a result, beers generally have more tasting notes than their grape-based counterparts. Study or taste each beer and look for spicy, sweet, sour, bitter, robust and subtle flavors in each one.
Once you can identify the different flavors in your favorite brews, you can begin pairing them with food. Sour beer that adds a fresh burst of citrus may pair well with clams or scallops. Meanwhile, fruity ales may go well with foods driven by herbs and spices of fruity desserts and dressings. Play around with complementary flavors to better understand pairings and which ones tantalize your unique taste buds.
3. Focus on Body
Dark brown beers like stout porter and barleywine often have a much thicker consistency than light varieties. Beer connoisseurs measure this consistency in terms of body. Generally, heavy dishes pair best with full or heavy-bodied brews. You can even use heavy beers to marinate steak and other heavy red meats. Of course, this won’t do your waistline any favors. A single serving of dark lager provides 17.6 grams of carbohydrates. However, that flavor combo might be worth the extra weight.
If you’re sitting down to eat a light meal or snack, order a light or medium-bodied beer instead. Light-hued lagers, pilsners and wheat ales are your go-to pairing for fruity desserts, nutty cheeses and seafood. Look for beers with a crisp, refreshing feel that don’t weigh down or linger on your tongue. They may also have a lower alcohol and calorie content.
4. Pay Attention To Temperature
Drinking beer ice-cold may seem like the only way to imbibe. However, serving and drinking too-cold brews may lead you to miss more subtle tasting notes. Of course, drinking too-warm beer can do the same. As beer approaches room temperature, the beer will lose its carbonation and hop bitterness, masking its natural flavors and aroma. Then, even the best pairings may become bland.
Therefore, it’s crucial to drink beer at just the right temperature. Unfortunately, there’s not one temperature that’s perfect for all varieties. Your light lager may require a serving temperature of 33° F to 40° F while a cask ale or strong lager may taste best between 50° F and 55° F. However, you’ll still be able to recognize most tasting notes if you enjoy your beer between 38° F and 55° F.
5. Break the Rules
Sometimes, it’s more fun to break the rules and, when it comes to pairing food with beer, the rules were always meant to be broken. Use the tips above as a guideline or toss them out the window and get experimental. Some of the most deliciously surprising pairings have come about this way, so don’t be afraid to get a little wild with it. Try an amber ale with spicy sushi and porter with canolis. Drink imperial stout with chocolate chip cookies and dunkel with stir fry.
Of course, not every pairing will be a winner. However, the more taste testing you conduct, the better you’ll get to know your taste buds. Eventually, you’ll come to understand the rules of pairing on a more personal level and have the wherewithal to recommend good combinations to others. Until then, don’t stop experimenting.
Pairing Beer With Your Food
When all else fails and you just want a reliable pairing after a long, hard day, stick with what you know. Play it safe and pair whatever you’re eating with your favorite beer. Odds are you’ll enjoy it with anything you eat, whether others think it’s a good pairing or not. You do you, man. Cheers!
Oscar Collins is the managing editor at Modded. He writes about cars, fitness, the outdoors and more. Follow @TModded on Twitter for more articles from the Modded team.
