by John Mizer
August 15, 2005

You know you're getting older or at least feigning maturity when you attend a wine & cheese party. It's a rite of passage into adulthood that ranks right up there with reading the Wall Street Journal or watching the Weather Channel for pleasure. Believe it or not, a subculture exists that will pair beer with food in a similar fashion done with wine. Like wine, beer can be a complex drink, complete with dozens of assorted flavor and aroma profiles. In food pairing the first rule is that there are no rules. There are guidelines however that can help you match your grog with your grub. Beer can be used to complement, contrast or cut whatever food item you wish to dish out. Have I mentioned that there are no rules? Experimentation is encouraged.

Complementing food with beer is the most popular and probably the easiest to achieve. You can loosely base your pairings with what wine lovers do. For example, red wines complement red meats and white wines complement poultry and fish. In beer speak, your darker beers work well with roast beef, steak, smoked meats and the like while lighter beers harmonize with most seafood, poultry, soups & salad. Your amber beers will jive with pork, poultry, pizza and pasta.

Contrasting your food with beer is fairly straight forward as well. Hoppy beers with more bland food and mellower, less bitter beers for spicy food. A pilsner may be just what the doctor (or chef) ordered for a spicy or curried dish whereas an IPA will stimulate your taste buds and add some flavor to a pedestrian dish, not to insult anyone's cooking!

Alcohol and hops are the players for cutting your food. The bitterness from the hops or warmth of the presence of alcohol can cut some of the greasy, rich, or spicy sensations your food may deliver.

Which brings us to dessert! A stout or porter will go swimmingly with chocolate while a lambic or fruit flavored wheat beer is a perfect match for sweet or fruit based desserts.

Barley Wine succeeds heartily as your appertiffe to wind down your meal. Please take heed of the high alcohol content (10-12% abv) that barley wine normally packs.

You'll find that beer isn't just something to chase your food down with. It can enhance your meals and in turn direct you to finding a style which may be your new favorite!