Holiday Food & Beer Pairings

Photo from Flickr: Schlüsselbein2007

The holidays are upon us and that means multi-course, epic meals and countless opportunities to flex your beer and food pairing muscles. Ten years ago, hardly anyone was talking about how well the wide array of beers now available compliment different foods but the craft brewing renaissance has changed all of that. Foodies now know that craft beer has all of the distinction, diversity and food compatibility of wine and it has finally made it as an adult this holiday season. Light lager is refreshing and ubiquitous but rarely a great partner for flavor-forward foods. Craft beers have a lot more flavor and diversity. Yup, they will usually have a little higher calorie count then their light lager cousins but holidays are the time to relax and reward yourself. Suck it up and go for a jog or bike ride the next day but life's too short to resist treating yourself when so many great beer options are now available coast to coast.

First off, everyone's palate is different, that's why there are so many different kinds of beers and these suggestions should be taken as just that: suggestions, not mandates. The most sweeping wine analogy I can offer when considering beers to pair with food is this: ales tend to be more fruity and robust, like red wines, so they generally pair with foods in a similar way (e.g., steak, spaghetti & meatballs); lagers are similar to white wines, refined and mellow, so they pair better with more delicate foods (e.g., grilled fish, sushi).

So here are some suggestions for pairing beers with some common holiday food groups that your are bound to run into or are planning to cook up for guests yourself this season.

Cheeses
This is the de facto way into many a holiday meal and, while wines may go pretty well with some cheeses, the carbonation and diversity in beer make it a better partner. The bubbles in beer exfoliate the tongue of the fatty weight of the cheese to prepare you for the next bite. Some great combinations:

• Fresh mozzarella and a nice bready, spicy white beer like Avery White Rascal or Allagash White.


• Sharp aged cheddar with a hoppy beer like Russian River's Pliney the Elder or Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.


• Roquefort or a big stinky bleu with a beer with some serious body and darker roasty grains, like Thomas Hardy's Ale or Deschutes Abyss.

Meats

• Sirloin steak is usually paired with dry, tannic red wines; however, this classic dish is a great partner for spicy beers like Saison du Pont or Chimay Red.


• A pork chop's lighter meat has more subtle flavors so you don't want to overpower it with too big of a bee so opt for a German bock, like Schneider Aventinus or an Amber Ale like New Belgium Fat Tire.


• Glazed ham is both sweet and salty, so it needs an earthy and fruity beer as a partner, like Theakston Old Peculiar Ale or Brooklyn Brown Ale.

Shellfish

• New England clam chowder is a thick, rich soup that has a lot of tongue-coating cream and a salty flavor, but it can be overwhelmed by too strong a beer. Opt for a stout, like Murphy's or Guinness.


• Lobster is a dish that goes really well with traditional lager, like Heineken or Yuengling Lager.

Seafood

• Grilled tuna (assuming it is lightly seasoned and unadorned with a heavy cream sauce) goes well with a mid-body lager, like Troeg's Troegenator or Sam Adams' Double Bock.


• Fried fish and chips needs a beer that is dry and bubbly enough to cut through the palate-coating batter. I recommend Bink Blonde Hoppy Golden Ale or Birra del Borgo ReAle.

Chocolate

• Whether it is pure chocolate bars and candy or rich chocolate cakes, I think the ultimate beer and food pairing is any type of chocolate and dark roasty imperial stout. Try Ten FIDY from Oskar Blues or Chicory Stout from Dogfish Head.

Now eat up, drink up, have fun and cheat on your go-to beer...and don't forget to go for that run tomorrow morning.

 

Comments

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

03:13 AM on 12/18/2010

new belgium, heinekin and guiness got recomended ? next article please.

[thebeerdoctor]

01:42 AM on 12/18/2010

One of the best books available on the pairing of food with beer, is Garrett Oliver's The Brewmaster's Table.

[CptKendrick]

02:30 PM on 12/17/2010

The problem with this list is that it is all backwards for alcoholics like me.

When I got to a restaurant, I order a drink first, then an appetizer.

So if I'm in a mood for say, an Abbey Tripel, I need to know what appetizer to pair with my booze.

This list totally puts the wagon in front of the horse.

[BeerGeekGirl]

05:37 PM on 01/03/2011

Make your first drink your aperitif, whilst you browse the menu, and go from there, just as the eonophiles would. :)

[timqueeney]

12:04 PM on 12/17/2010

Love the support for beer! Wine usually gets all the props. But a good beer is pure enjoyment.

What about food types who are even more adventurous, more daring with their holiday food choices? Those who like to "live off the land" even in cold months.

check out this story: http://bit.ly/hQsdEI

[thebeerdoctor]

05:57 AM on 12/17/2010

Since this IS my subject, both personally and professionally, I would say that when it comes to Holiday Beers, there are mainly two types: the spiced and non-spiced. For big time malt experience, there are plenty of choices: Great Divide Brewing Hibernation Ale, Avery Old Jubilation Ale, Brooklyn Winter Ale, Saranac Season's Best, Samuel Adams Holiday Porter, Breckenridge Christmas Ale, Smutty Nose Winter Ale, Left Hand Brewing Fade To Black, and so forth.
If you want hop spiciness without any spices, I immediately think of the new world classic: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2010.
For wassail, or spiced beer, there is Anchor's "Our Special Ale" 2010, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Dundee Festive Ale, Shiner Holiday Cheer, Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale, and many more. Probably one of the greatest of this school is from Belgium: La Binchoise Speciale Noel.

[Germanlearninghelp]

02:44 AM on 12/18/2010

I'd agree with the beer doctor. I recently tried Anchor's "Our Special Ale," a complex blend of several different spices including nutmeg, and *loved* it, of course. You can read my review on ratebeer.com as DerBiermeister.

Also, be on the lookout for fancy German sampler packs or Belgian sampler packs - around Christmas time they even come with a nice, "free" glass advertising the fancy brand. High class, high glass...

~ Zac Sullivan, M.A. ~
http://www.germanlearninghelp.com

[homer winslow]

03:00 PM on 12/21/2010

The Old Jubilation has been one of my favorites this season. I tried the Fade to Black last weekend. The first drink took me by surprise, but as I sipped it I realized how great it was. I added a couple to my latest make your own sixpack. The best one I have had so far though has been the Killer Penguin from Boulder Beer.

[kevinbr38]

05:26 AM on 12/17/2010

Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer wine with my meals. I appreciate all of these great beers, particulary the Belgin ones. However, nothing tops a good ole Miller High Life.

[homer winslow]

03:00 PM on 12/21/2010

yuck.

[BeerGeekGirl]

05:41 PM on 01/03/2011

Give beer a proper chance and you might just be surprised. I read a fantastic article in the NYT some years ago, where Garret Oliver was challenged by the publication's wine critic to pair beers with a meal. By the end of the article, this respected wine critic had conceded that in most cases Oliver's beer choices paired with the food every bit as well as might a well-chosen wine, and in one case he conceded that beer fared better than would have any wine he could imagine.

[Design4you]

11:57 PM on 12/16/2010

Great article!!! Thanks!

[garystartswithg]

10:40 PM on 12/16/2010

Most breweries make winter brews that are great for holiday meals and you don't have have 12 beers ready to go. My only disappointment this season is Trader Joes vintage ale.

[coblstone]

10:24 PM on 12/16/2010

Please Distribute Yeungling to Los Angeles !!!

[CTDFalconer]

12:29 AM on 12/17/2010

You kiddin'? We have access to plenty more better brews than that here.

[TheRealThang]

07:28 PM on 12/16/2010

another to go with chocolate is Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout. 10%. its fantastic.

[daez]

09:30 PM on 12/16/2010

Love chocolate, love beer (especially big stouts) but I always felt that the sweetness of the chocolate stole from the beer. You know, like eating a piece of cake and then eating a piece of fruit. The fruit, although sweet on its own, loses some of its sweetness. When I go from choclate to beer I expreience the same disappointment.

I like your idea better: chocolate beer!

[DrinkCraftBeer]

09:55 AM on 12/17/2010

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout doesn't actually contain any chocolate. They use a good amount of chocolate malt, which when used in beer tastes a little chocolatey from the roasting process. So this beer might be right up your alley!

[homer winslow]

03:02 PM on 12/21/2010

My wife makes an incredible chocolate stout cake that goes well with, well, chocolate stout.

[CTDFalconer]

12:32 AM on 12/17/2010

Chocolate and malt is a classic combination, of course. I would say that any beer with a rich full malty flavor would go nicely with chocolate. But I would avoid abundantly hoppy brews here.

[Sixtracks]

07:08 PM on 12/16/2010

Pliny the Elder!

We NEED Russian River beer in Wisconsin. You too Stone!

[genrel1248]

06:21 PM on 12/16/2010

My favorite pair is food then beer.

[Elamdri]

06:11 PM on 12/16/2010

Oh St. Bernardus...why must you be so delicious and yet so expensive...

T.T

[Knightro829]

04:55 PM on 12/16/2010

Love the new show, Sam. Keep up the good work!