Without question, the greatest invention
in the history of mankind is beer.
Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention,
but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
~Dave Barry
Welcome back fellow Caesurians to another tasty beer post!
Last week we dispelled some myths around beer; one of those myths might as well have been "wine is way better to pair with food than beer" - Pah!
Some advantages that beer has over wine when it comes to food parings, are:
- There is way more diversity in different types of beers so you'll be able to find something to perfectly compliment or contrast any kind of food you're serving.
- Beer's carbonation and acidity acts as a great palate-cleanser, especially for oily or spicy foods.
I'll go through a few types of beer that are popular in Ireland right now, and give my favourite Irish example of a beer in this category:
Lager:
Example: 1601 Lager (Blacks of Kinsale)
Treat this like your white wine. It's often lighter and brighter in taste than many other beers, and so, goes well with sea food, chicken and light pastas.
Pale Ale:
Example: Ambush (Trouble Brewing)
These are great with the classic pub food - burgers, pizzas, grilled meat, apple pie, cheese - because that have a bready flavour to them with a bit of hops to work well with bready, salty food.
IPA:
Example: Of Foam and Fury (Galway Bay Brewery)
India Pale Ales are full of hoppy goodness, so they can handle (and complement) spicy (Thai) food. They also cut the fat of a nice barbecued peppered steak! Careful with the one listed above though, it's a double IPA - and at 8.5%, you might end up forgetting all about the meal!
Stout:
Example: The Hare & The Hag (coffee stout collab by The White Hag Brewery and Kinnegar Brewing)
Stouts are popular in Ireland, probably because of a certain most popular commercial stout in the world being brewed here...Stouts are classically served with oysters (check out the Galway oyster fest if you don't believe me!) and work with other seafood and cured meats because they can temper the saltiness. Malty and infused stouts (like the coffee stout above) are also fantastic with chocolate!
Man, this has got me hungry (and thirsty!) just writing this post!
I'll see you next week, when we'll begin our focus on West Coast Canadian breweries right here on The Art of Caesura!
Watching: The Handmaid's Tale
Drinking: Buried at Sea
Next Week:
Inspiration through fermentation...
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