Food and Beer Pairing Guidelines

If you have 30 minutes to spare before your beer party you should spend this extra time making homemade easy beer snacks. If you do not want to ruin the flavor impact that your snacks can have on the taste of various types of beer then this post is definitely worth your time.

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What Snacks Go Well with What Beer?

There are many easy-to-follow recipes for appetizers, snacks, and other hearty dishes that anyone can make at home. However, there are several basic rules to follow when you choose those that are good with beer that you are serving:

  • Match the intensity of beer with the intensity of the flavor of the dish. You should consider the level of alcohol, sweetness, bitterness, the richness of the flavor in the beer and the food, cooking method, and the level of the fatness of the dish are most important factors, where spiciness and sweetness come in second place.
  • Light beer pairs well with neutral light snacks and dark beer go well with a more distinct and rich taste of the snacks.
  • The stronger the beer, the more caloric dishes should be present on the table.
  • When choosing exotic rare varieties, you need to take into account the traditions of their use.
  • Rich, spicy dishes (sausages, pork) are good with German and Czech beers.
  • It is best to serve Belgian fruit beer, which has a slight hint of sweetness, with poultry dishes and veggie sides.
  • Amber beer can be served with any snack or dish that is not sweet.
  • English beer pairs well with heavy food: stews, fried food (fish and meat), English and American cuisines.

In order not to make any mistakes with your choice of snacks that can help to reveal the natural elegant taste of each alcoholic beverage in full capacity, try to consider the following characteristic features of the most popular beer styles and their types.

What snacks go well with what beer

Pale Lagers and Pilsner

These golden-colored beer styles are lighter and clean in color, can have slight notes of maltiness. They are not so challenging on the flavor so can be paired with lighter food. Seafood and poultry go best with classic pilsner. Among my favorite dishes to serve are the following recipes:

Wheat Beers (Witbier, Blanche) and Lambic

Due to their tangy flavor, Blanche beer pairs perfectly with salads, lighter seafood dishes, and soft cheeses. Moreover, Lambic and wheat beer are often brewed with added fruits. The unique combination of sour and sweet notes makes Lambic types of beer a good option to serve with fruit platters and desserts (especially with citrus ones). Wheat beers are best paired with seafood, poultry, and German cuisine.

Dark Beer (Brown Ales, Stout, and Porter)

These types usually have mid to high levels of alcohol content. Chocolate, caramel, and coffee notes can be found in all three types where brown ales have a toastier caramel flavor. Porters are somewhere in between with a more chocolaty but less coffee-like flavor and stouts have the strongest roasted flavor.

As per usual, choose snacks for dark beer depending on how the taste of food complements or contrasts with the taste of the drink. The taste of dark beer enhances the taste of the snack. That is, bitter will go well with a spicy, peppered, and chocolate taste. If you are trying to make up your mind on, which snack goes well with dark beer, the most obvious answer is any hearty meat dish: barbecue, burgers, grilled/roasted meat, ribs, sausages, Cajun blackened fish, any rich spicy cuisine.

And, of course, dark beer is perfect to be served with any chocolate dessert:

Beer and Cheese Pairing Guide

Cheese is the perfect beer snack that you can have. With all the variety to choose from, you won’t be surprised that you will find a pair to every beer type with the selection of cheese that we have. Both pale and dark beers can be served with cheese plates. In the middle ages, Belgium monasteries earned good money by producing these two items.  Therefore, the guarantee of cheese as a wonderful snack is confirmed for centuries of experience. Here is a simple chart that can help you navigate cheese and beer pairing.

Cheese and Beer Pairing

Best Potato Dishes to Serve with Beer

You won’t find any better pairing to beer than potato dishes. They come in so many different varieties and forms. Baked, fried, boiled, stuffed with different ingredients, and used as a filling. Just see for yourself with of the recipes below is best for you:

Pairing beer and snacks should not be seen as a complex problem. The basic rule to serving beer is to remember that each beer has its history and country of origin. Therefore, the beer you choose should be drunk with the national cuisine of the country from which it originates. Hope that the given information was helpful. If you have any questions, please, leave them in the comment section below.

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Julia Miller is the founder of FreeFoodTips. Julia loves to travel and test new recipes. Here you will find recipes that are simple, delicious and perfect for everyday meals. FreeFoodTips is also packed with cooking tips and tricks.

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