Craft beer has been growing in popularity for years due to its complex flavors and top-notch ingredients. While having a beer is often seen as an activity to enjoy with your friends at the bar, there are several craft beers that pair nicely with many of your favorite foods. If you’re looking for a delicious beer to serve at your next party or want to enjoy a beverage other than wine with dinner, this food guide could prove helpful and allow you to be more creative in the kitchen or on the grill.
Fried Foods
If fried chicken is on your dinner menu for tonight or you want to prepare several fried foods for your guest to enjoy in a sample platter, an ale is likely your best beer pairing. Ales have a crisp, clean flavor and there are several ales to choose from, including cream ale, wheat ale, and blonde ale. Since the flavor of the beer isn’t too overwhelming, the crisp taste will add a smooth finish to a dinner that includes fried foods. You can even try an ale with a lighter fried meal, i.e. fried cauliflower “chicken” or fried veggies like green beans or zucchini.
Grilled or Smoked Foods
Lagers and porter beers are the best beers for smoked and grilled foods. If you love to barbecue and want to fire up the grill for an outdoor get-together or summer meal with loved ones, these beers add a light and refreshing aspect to the meal. Lagers have a malty taste that is slightly bitter, which goes well with the ingredients you may use to smoke your meat, including soy sauce or olive oil. Porters have a dark, roasted flavor, which is the perfect compliment to charred meats your vegetables accented with citrus or barbecue sauce.
Vegetables
If most of the meal will consist of vegetables, try a Pilsner beer. Veggies like asparagus, escarole, and potatoes go great with pilsner since the beer is sweet and malty to counteract the bitter and hearty flavor notes of these vegetables. A pilsner is also a delicious choice if your meal will consist mainly of salad since the beverage goes well with various types of greens.
Appetizers and Cheese Platters
When you’re having a dinner party or a small get-together where your guests will eat finger foods, you may also want to go with Pilsner, since it pairs great with most cheeses. Or, you can go with a stout craft beer if most of the items on your appetizer menu contain chocolate or have pronounced salty flavors. Stout beers are dark and dry and have an aroma that will likely remind you of chocolate or espresso. There are also stouts with notes of plum, cherry or raspberry, so you can serve the beer if dried fruits will also be included on your cheese platter.
Desserts
If you’ll be serving dessert, there are several beers that will pair nicely with a sweet ending to dinner. For slightly heavy desserts like carrot cake, an IPA is the ideal dessert beverage when it comes to beers. IPA has caramel malts that taste delicious with the carrots and raisins in the cake. If you’re serving an equally decadent dessert with a different texture like a creme brulee, pair the dessert with a quad craft beer. Quad beers have fig and stone fruit flavor notes that are a rich and flavorful addition to the vanilla and sugar in the creme brulee. Keep in mind that you don’t have to pair chocolate desserts with a beer that has chocolate notes. Next time you have brownies or chocolate cake, try a Kriek with cherry notes that taste wonderful with chocolate.
Check out the selection from Melvin Brewing to find the perfect beer for your next culinary creation
