Beer goes with food

Cheers, April, 2005

The how-to's of successful pairing of beer with food while driving sales were uncovered in a workshop hosted by beer expert and Cheers columnist Stephen Beaumont. Beaumont is the author of five books on beer and co-owner of beerbistro, in Toronto, Canada's first beer cuisine restaurant and bar. During the workshop, he presented his own four guidelines for pairing beer with food.

First, Beaumont reminded attendees of the basic differences between ale and lager: ale, brewed at warmer temperatures, generally posses a more rounder character with at least some fruitiness. Lagers, fermented at cooler temperatures, tend to be crisp and lean.

Because of these flavor profiles, Beaumont recommended pairing ale with foods considered suitable matches with red wine (rich meat dishes, for example) and pairing lagers with foods better suited to white wines. In his pairings, Beaumont demonstrated how beers work with and alter the flavor of specific foods. In general, he recommended selecting a beer that contains lots of hoppy bitterness to pair with dishes that are spicy or oily, equating hoppiness with acidity.

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There are two directions to go when deciding the best pairings--to match dishes with beers that possess complementary characteristics (i.e., robust stews with full-bodied ales) or to try directly contrasting flavors, as a crisp, dry lager with a creamy soup. Finally, when matching beers with desserts, he advised that the sweetness in the dessert not exceed that in the beer served, or the beer will be overwhelmed, Beaumont warned.