Which Foods To Pair With Which Beer Styles!

With all the styles and flavours of beers these days, it's hard to know which ones accentuate a food or simply drown it out. Here’s a primer on pairing to make the most of your tailgate tasting.

- Amity Moore Joyce

You might think beer goes best with hot wings, brats and burgers, but the truth is, this favorite tailgate beverage is versatile enough to pair with foods sweet to savory. It goes with most anything these days, agrees Adam Dulye, executive chef at the Boulder, Colorado-based Brewers Association, in part because of the “diversity and the creativity that brewers are bringing to the styles today. They’re expanding the range of it and really pushing the flavours. Plus he adds carbonation makes beer an excellent companion to food— “It scrubs the palate, it cleanses, it refreshes, it keeps the palate awake.”

That said, every beer does not pair well with every food. To ensure you’re getting the best from both, the Brewers Association outlines three basic principles to follow when deciding which foods to pair with which beer styles.

1ST: MATCH STRENGTH WITH STRENGTH

First, match strength with strength, meaning you’re looking for equality across the partnership. For example, lighter foods require lighter beers. Think delicate foods match strong beers, which is why an imperial stout tastes so good with dark chocolate.

Bear in mind that equality comprises several factors, so, for beer, you’re considering alcohol strength (ABV), bitterness, maltiness, sweetness and roastiness. For food, it’s the texture, richness, sweetness, spicing and cooking methods contributing to the sum character.