Pairing wine with food has been around long enough that most higher-end restaurants have sommeliers available to help diners find their perfect food-wine combination in order to heighten their dining experience. With craft breweries opening doors in every corner of the United States and beyond, beer “has made it onto the menu as more than an afterthought,” and as beer aficionados and food connoisseurs are joining forces to create the perfect food-beer partnership, restaurant owners in larger cities, especially beer-loving cities like Portland, Oregon, are finding a special place for beer sommeliers in their establishments.
The beauty of pairing beer with food is that you don’t really need a sommelier to help you make your choices. Really, taste is subjective and you don’t need a specialist to tell you what you think tastes good. For soon-to-be-serious beer and food epicures, though, here are some suggestions on how to start your journey toward taste rewards.
You can start by thinking of beer and food combinations along the same lines as wines—by associating heavier ales with red wines and lighter lagers with white wines, for simplicity’s sake. As a general rule, heavier red wines (and ales) will pair well with heavier foods, as lighter white wines (lagers) would with lighter foods. Matching strength with strength in this manner will not allow the craft beer to overwhelm the food, or vice versa.
Another way to match foods and beer is to look for commonalities within a group. These like characteristics will help you choose a good combination—sweet with sweet, nutty with nutty, tart with tart, hearty with hearty, and so on. It is important to find balance, though, and to always try to make your beer the lesser of the flavors in the profile. You want your beer to accent the food you are eating, not to overpower it. Conversely, you have heard the saying “opposites attract?” This holds true with beers and food as well. Find those common traits and then switch it up with by contrasting flavors rather than complementing them. Instead of pairing a spicy Thai dish with a spicy IPA, take a shot at a contrasting flavor, like spicy Pad Thai with a fruity hefeweizen. And although a light pilsner well complements shellfish, a bitter stout can go a long way toward cutting down the sweetness of oysters or lobster.
When in doubt, you can also go regional. After all, there is a reason Mexican brews pair well with fajitas or burritos, or German beers taste fantastic with bratwurst. Development in the same region lends itself naturally to a winning combination. However, you may limit yourself if you fall back on this standby method every time because a great Belgian blonde ale may be the perfect accompaniment to sushi, but how would you know that unless you ventured beyond the region?
Mostly, though, I would like to leave you with this advice: because taste is subjective, what works for you may ultimately surprise you. It’s okay to throw out all the rules and just experiment. Follow your cravings and your mood of the day, and don’t be afraid to try pairing even the oddest of flavors. Practice really does make perfect, and there is nothing more enjoyable than practicing with great craft brews and delicious foods.
