Beer Observed: What pairs well with beer?: Don’t let the wine lovers have all the fun this summer — find a great brew to go with that special meal

Beer Observed: What pairs well with beer?

Don’t let the wine lovers have all the fun this summer — find a great brew to go with that special meal

By Marty Rambsberg

The right wine with the right food makes the meal. But what pairs well with beer? Sure, beer buddies up with popcorn, pretzels, and pizza, but what of things that don’t start with “p”? Salad, say, or sole meunière, or a nice grilled salmon?

Craft brewers have put a fair bit of thought into this, and tell us that many of the beers they produce are ready to move out of the pub and onto their rightful place of honor at the dinner table. And there is an art form to the pairing.

Beer’s great range of tastes, weights, and richness comes from four basic ingredients: water, malted grain, hops, and yeast. From there, in varying combinations, spring everything we love about Pilsners, Belgian dark ales, India pale ales, imperial stouts, and all the rest.

Let’s take a quick look at these four ingredients, and then I’ll give you an equal number of can’t-miss pairing tips to match:

Water

No surprise there: up to 97 percent of a brew is the H2O, but that water’s not a silent partner. Minerals in water impart flavors and other properties that inform the final product. Take the ales from Burton-on-Trent in England: these taste hoppier than those brewed in London, and water analysis tells us why: Burton-on-Trent’s water boasts a higher sulfate content, bringing out the hops. 

Malted grain

Malted grain provides lots of any beer’s flavor, not to mention the sugars needed for fermentation. Grain, especially barley, but also wheat and rye, are steeped in water, which softens the kernels and essentially releases the starches. Then the grain is kiln-dried, and that’s what converts the starches to sugars. The temperature at which the grain is dried yields different types of malts, which in turn affect the beer’s color, aroma, and flavor. Grains dried cooler yield lighter and more delicately aromatic malts. Turn up the heat and you’re cooking with dark malts that impart flavors from sweet caramel to roasted coffee or chocolate.

Hops

Hops, perennials within the family that includes cannabis, are an aromatic addition that pull their weight in a brew. Originally added to balance a bitterness against malt’s sugars, they also brings essential oils that contribute mightily to beer’s aromas and flavors. Plenty of hop varietals abound, each with an aromatic identity — from fruit to grass to resin to spice.

Yeast

Now we’re cooking. Yeast is critical to fermentation, converting the sugars in the malt to alcohol and expelling carbon dioxide that brings the bubbles. Secondary compounds produced during fermentation yield a broad range of aromas and flavors, including fruit (think green apple, apricot … even banana), resin, butterscotch, and spice.

Beer pairing tips

Hungry yet? Just as with wine, it’s worth learning a few essentials to strike the right pair with beer and food:

• Match the weight: Pair lighter, more delicate beers with lighter foods, and save the full-bodied brews for rich meals. Heavy sauces and red meat dishes come to mind. Weight is measured in large part by alcohol, with higher-alcohol beers holding their own with a substantial main course. Anything above 6 {1/2} to 7 percent alcohol is a weighty beer.

• Think flavor intensity: Delicate dishes such as white, flaky fish or an herbed omelet will be overwhelmed by a rich, full-bodied beer such as a double India Pale Ale (IPA) or an Imperial Stout. See how you fare there with a light Pilsner or wheat beer. Now, if someone plates up rich, even fatty foods like sausage, duck, or dairy, you can safely greet them with an intensely flavored beer along the lines of a Scotch Ale or Porter. Bitterness cuts through fat, so trust that double or even triple IPAs, or Belgian Dubbels or Tripels, will harmonize with anything you’re eating that’s rich, or buttery-saucy.

• Balance the heat: Let’s call this a caveat. Hops magnify heat, so high-hops beers, such as a perfectly lovely India Pale Ale, will add an edge that could bring an unwanted tear to the eye. To play it safe and not overwhelm the entrée when you’re sitting down to spicy Thai or Indian food, ask the server for something sweet or malty: a brown ale, maybe, or a lower-alcohol Porter or stout.

• Complement those flavors: Roasting meats brings out their sweetness, so pair roasted chicken, pork, or beef with a malty Oktoberfest or a balanced brown ale. A smoky grill or sweet-savory barbecue might suggest a brew born of darker malts that produce roasted, smoky, sweet flavors. Try a nice roasted Porter or richer Stout with your next rack of ribs.

Don’t let the wine lovers have all the fun. Know your beers, know yourself, and whether you’re at a ball game, neighborhood watering hole, or are hosting something special, you’ll find the perfect pour.