Okay, so it's not actually Stephen Beaumont's World of Beer that has turned forty, just Stephen Beaumont. But despite my rapidly advancing age and the admittedly slow pace at which World of Beer has been updated lately, I've been keeping myself busier than ever over the past nine months. Suffice to say that beer seems to have needed me as much as I need beer!
So, on the heels of my fortieth birthday, I've decided to head off to France for a short break to re-energize. Problem is, I've left myself with precious little time beforehand to pull together a proper Feature for this month's World of Beer. So, in place of your regularly scheduled original tale, I am offering instead a reprint of my basic guidelines for beer and food pairing, taken from my second book, 'A Taste for Beer.' If you already have a copy of 'Taste,' then please explore the other sections of the site and meet us all here at the start of next month. But if you're new to the idea of partnering beer and cuisine, then please read on and enjoy.
As for me, well, I'll see you all a bit later on, after I've had my fill of French wine and foie gras!
Cheers, and Happy Spring!
Four Guidelines for Pairing Beer With Food
1. Think of Ale as Red Wine and Lager as White Wine: In other words, when red meat or any other dish that you normally pair with red wine is on the menu, select an ale to serve with it. Conversely, if the main course is fish or poultry or other typical white wine fare, try a lager.
2. Hoppiness in Beer = Acidity in Wine: Anywhere that you would seek high acidity in a wine - such as with spicy or oily food - choose a beer with significant hoppiness. The more acidic you would like the wine, the hoppier you will want the beer.
3. Complement or Contrast: Try to match foods to beers with complementary characters, such as a robust stew with a full-bodied ale. Or for a change, try a directly contrasting flavour, such as a crisp, delicate lager with a heavy cream soup.
4. Keep the Beer Sweeter than the Dessert: Nothing kills the flavour of a beer like the overpowering sweetness of a dessert. Keep the sugar contents of both beer and dessert balanced, however, and the pairing will work tremendously. The one exception to this rule is chocolate, which pairs beautifully with a wide variety of beers almost regardless of sweetness.
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