Traditional Beer Pairings

Most people assume that beer goes with just about anything, and while this may be true most of the time, if you're a beer connoisseur of sorts you know that different beers go with different foods. For example a dish with lobster or crab in it, goes well with a Stout or Bohemian pilsner. Unlike wine pairings there is no red wine with meat or white wine with fish. Its a whole 'nother ball game with beer. Lets start off with some real quick definitions for a few popular beers, some of these are types of bears and some are styles with in beers. These are the ones your going to be seeing in these pairings.

Stout - Dark beer made by using roasted malts and or barley. Usually its darker in color, fuller bodied, and maltier than other ales

Ale - Ale is a top fermenting ale, this means the yeast tends to ferment quicker, have less sugar, amd pruduce more esters than lager. Ales usually have a
fruitier and sweeter taste. Different kinds of ales include Old, Cream, Blonde, Amber, India, Mild, Bitter, Pale, Brown, Scotch, Belgian, Porter and stout.

Lager - Lagers are stored for months at a time in near freezing temperatures. Lagers are usually bottom fermented and are that of Dutch, German and Czech
styles.

Weizen - German Wheat Beer

Doppelbock - Bavarian beer first brewed my monks of St. Francis of Paula. Alcolhol content is from %6-%10 by volume.

Kölsch - Top fermenting beer brewed in Cologne Germany

Hefeweizen - An unfiltered German wheat beer

Porter - Dark beer originally produced in the UK but later introduced to places like the US and Ireland

Märzen - aka Maerzen is a pale lager from Germany

Alt - aka Altbier is a pale ale that priginated in Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and the Rhineland region in Germany.

Kriek - Belgian beer fermented with sour cherries

Best Bitter - Is a British type of beer, usually a pale ale

Lambic - Type of beer brewed in Belgium

Soups -
Lobster Bisque - Kölsch
Creamy Soups - Pilsner
Minestrone - Lager
French Onion - Scotch Ale
Beef Stew - Porter

Salads -
Green Salad with Creamy Dressing - Pilsner
Green Salad with Vinaigrette - Brown Ale
Fruit Salad - Pilsner

Red Meat -
Roast Beef - Best Bitter
Cheeseburger - Amber Ale
Leg Of Lamb - Scottish Ale
Steak - Porter
Prime Rib - Brown Ale

Poultry -
Chicken - Märzen
Roast Chicken - Dunkel Lager
Fried Chicken - Märzen, Pale, Porter
Turkey - Bock

Pork -
BBQ Ribs - Vienna Lager
Roast Pork - Märzen
Pork Tenderloin - Stout
Bratwurst - Märzen, Vienna Lager

Seafood -
Crab or Lobster - Pilsner, Stout
Shrimp - Wheat, Pilsner
Shrimp - Pale Ale
Fried Seafood - Pale
Oysters - Irish Stout
Caviar - American Beer
Mussells - Lambic

Fish -
Grilled Salmon - Dunkel Lager, Stout
Smoked Salmon - Dry Stout
White Fish - German Pilsner

Dessert -
Bannanas Foster - Weizen
Cherry Pie - Kriek
Chocolate Cheesecake - Scotch Ale
Chocolate Mousse - Oatmeal Stout
Chocolate Cake - Stout
Lemon Meringue - American Wheat Ale, Weizen
Belgian Chocolate - Belgian Ale
Ice Cream - Sweet Stout

Misc.-
Pasta - Amber Ale
Pizza - Amber Ale
Popcorn - Pilsner
Pretzels - German Pilsner
Sushi - Japanese Lager
BBQ - Amber, Bock, Dunkel

Cheese -
Cheddar -Best Bitter
Blue Cheese - Dry Stout
Brie - Dry Stout
Limburger - Bock
Stilton -Old Ale
Gruyere - Rauchbier

So thats about it, well of course thats not ALL but thats about the gist of it. I really liked writing this because I didnt have any real personal knowledge about beer pairings. I never really thought about it before, but after letting the thought pass through my head, I was thinking this would be a really cool thing to look into. And it was! I have to be honest though, I had to sort of chuckle to myself when I saw "Caviar" paired with "American Beer", because Caviar isint very American at all. Not to most people anyway! And that was also the first time American Beer was even mentioned. So I thought it was a little ironic to say the least. I really hope you enjoyed reading this, and someday you plan on testing these waters out. I know I will, this has peaked my interest in a lot of different ways!