With so many various varieties of beer and even seasonal styles to consider, coming up with excellent matches for every beer on your restaurant or bar’s beer list may be challenging. Creating an outstanding beer and food matching menu may significantly increase your earnings. Continue reading to discover some principles for beer and food pairings and which finger foods would be great to have with a nice, cold beer.
Guidelines for Food and Beer Pairing
Contrast
To produce an optimal combination, you must choose a beer or meal with a single strong, dominant taste, such as sweet, rich, or greasy. You want a meal with a unique flavour that can stand out without being overpowering. Oysters and stout are an example of a nice contrast match. Oysters offer a strong saline flavour that can stand up to the stout’s thick mouthfeel and chocolate flavours.
Complement
One of the simplest ways to create a wonderful meal and beer match is to use complimentary tastes. It is best that you pair rich dishes with beers with a thick and rich flavour, such as stouts or porters. Light beers or wheat beers go well with light salads and fish, while fruit tarts go well with light beers or wheat beers.
Cleanse
You may also use your beer to cleanse your palate. This beer match is good for foods with strong or overwhelming tastes, such as spicy Indian cuisine or fatty fried food. For example, you may wash down the fire of Korean fried chicken with the cold and pleasant flavour of light lager. This combo may also be used in the reverse direction, with fatty foods such as french fries or almonds helping to cut through the bitterness of an IPA.
Avoid Overpowering Flavours
It is recommended that you keep in mind the taste levels in your meal and beverages. Many medium and dark beers have a robust taste that might overshadow certain foods. For example, you wouldn’t serve salmon with a pint of Guinness since the beer’s flavour would entirely mask the taste of the fish.
Finger Food and Beer
Snack Mix and Mailbock
Snack mixtures are crunchy, lightly flavoured, and frequently a little sweet. This type of food would be perfect to match with a cold beer on the side. Snack mixtures require a beer that will not interfere with or be washed away by the spicy tastes. Maibocks (also known as Heller Bocks) are an excellent choice as well since they are strong and malty without being cloying or obnoxious. Furthermore, because most are just moderately alcoholic, you may drink one or two before moving on to the next food combination.
Chicken Wings
Chicken wings have so many powerful tastes and buttery richness that need to be complemented with a nice drink, instead of overpowered. With that being said, when eating this certain dish, it would be great to have a beer on the side because it will play nicely with the food, instead of fighting against it with its own taste and flavours. Beer pairs nicely with fried chicken because its bitterness and carbonation cleanse the palate between pieces of chicken, much like an acidic wine would. If you ever have the chance, you must try this combination, as it is one of the most liked pairing on this list.
Burgers
When done right, burgers and beer are one of the most gratifying grilling combinations there is. Like chicken wings, burgers come with a slew of flavours after each bite because of the seasoning of the burger itself, as well as the toppings that are stuffed inside this type of food. Tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, mustard, onions and much more are all types of toppings that could potentially affect the taste of the burger. With all the possible burger combinations , the key to really enjoying the burger and beer experience is to create the right balance in taste between the burger, its toppings, and the beer.
Fries
The inherent sweetness of the potato is heightened by the malts in the beer, making fries and beer the ideal pairing. Furthermore, the texture of the fries, with the crunchiness of its outside and the softness of its inside, makes it a great finger food to have with a nice, cold beer. Crisp beers will cut through the fattiness of the frying and oils, while rich beers will complement the earthy texture. Any kind of beer would pair great with fries, so if you are planning to have this type of food as your late night snack, but don’t have beer to wash it down, order from an after hours alcohol delivery service!
Pizza
Beer is good, and pizza is good, but both together are perfect. With the oiliness of the pizza and the flavours provided by the toppings of the pizza, this type of food pairs well with a beer of your choice. Because of this, it’s one of the finest meal combos known by the general public, and the perfect beer may even make your pizza taste even better!
Finger food and beer is a perfect combination that you should try, as they compliment each other very well. That is why the two are paired together at parties and gatherings between your friends and even your family. In order to make sure that you are getting the best out of this combo, you must be aware of how the two contrast each other, whether or not they compliment each others’ tastes, if you can cleanse your food with beer and how to avoid overpowering flavours. Some of the best types of finger food that goes well with cold beer include snack mixes/Mailbocks, chicken wings, burgers, fries and pizza. Combining this set of finger food with beer will enlighten your taste buds and help you have a great night on a full stomach.