It may seem strange to some, but there are people who truly believe beer goes better with food than wine does.
Ales and lagers are carbonated, for starters. Beer cuts through fried dishes. And some styles can complement courses that have a sour quality, which is a true challenge for wine.
Not strange to me nor, I suspect, to you.
Jamie Fulton, brewmaster at the Covey Restaurant & Brewery in Fort Worth, Texas, suggests these recipes to pair with his artisan brews or similarly styled beers on the market.
Cream of Roasted Garlic Soup (Covey’s Texas Wheat, Sierra Nevada Wheat, or New Belgium Sunshine Wheat)
Ginger Sriracha Halibut (Covey’s India Pale Ale, Breckenridge Small Batch IPA 471, Saint Arnold IPA, or Bridgeport IPA)
Honey Whipped Ricotta With Berries (Covey’s Chupacabra or Predicament, Allagash Double, Maredsous 8 or Unibroue Trois Pistoles)
Times Herald-Record: Tastings: Dishes that pair well with beer
“Ginger Sriracha Halibut (Covey’s India Pale Ale, Breckenridge Small Batch IPA 471, Saint Arnold IPA, or Bridgeport IPA)”
If the sriracha in that recipe is the same sriracha I have at home in a plastic bottle with a rooster on the front, then that must be a pretty spicy fish dish.
A lot of chefs and food writers recommend hoppy beers with spicy foods, but the combination has never worked for me. The hops seem to make hot stuff hotter. They go to war in my mouth.
I’d prefer a light-bodied and lightly-hopped lager with a spicy dish.
But these things are very subjective, I know.
Anyone else feel the way I do?
Channeling Frampton there a little bit.
Sorry…
1) Pizza;
2) Burgers/Hot Dogs; and,
3) Eastern North Carolina BBQ.
Well, yeah.
I agree with you Eric, too much hop does fight with spicy food; I never have an IPA with hot stuff. I think you are right on with a lightly hopped lager, or a weis, is just right. You don’t want it strong and sweet either.
As Tom’s comment, those fattier foods, like pizza, that’s when I like my IPA – it cuts the fat and oil nicely.