Beer should not be paired with food - Page 3

**binkman** · 01-26-2012, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HokieBrewer

But what do you pair it with?

No pairing necessary.

**Piratwolf** · 01-26-2012, 11:26 PM

I prefer to pair beer with... another beer!

TwoGunz · 01-27-2012, 07:30 AM

There's a time and a place for pairing beer with food and for going it alone. I personally enjoy a well matched bite, often just a good cheese. This is particularly true for me with high gravity beers. I love a nice cheddar with an imperial stout.

gratus fermentatio · 01-27-2012, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightynintendo

As craft breweries become ever increasingly popular, I am hearing more and more "pair this beer with that food." This topic is so prevalent that some upscale restaurants that offer an extensive beer list will even have beer pairing guidelines right on the menu. In fact the brewer's association even made this extensive pairing table: http://www.craftbeer.com/attachments/0000/0533/beerandfood.pdf

As a devout beer and food lover, I find myself in absolute disagreement with this. I don't just disagree with the chart and choices, I disagree with the concept of pairing food and beer entirely.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not entirely against having a beer with a meal. I think some beers are awesome when consumed while eating. If you were to ask me, "should I have a beer with my meal?" my answer is always a resounding YES. Any beer with a light palate and flavor is an awesome beverage with food. Other, more complex, beers should be enjoyed by themselves, BEFORE or AFTER eating. I have never enjoyed mixing the flavors of IIPA's with pizza. GROSS.

Drink what you like, when you like. Some of those pairings are just silly, I often have a porter or even a scotch ale with sushi. I'll have a brown ale with just about anything. I don't have IPA's with anything cuz I'm not a fan of IPA's. If somebody is having a party & wants to pair brews with food, great. If they don't want to pair a particular brew with a particular food, great. Life is too short to worry about such stuff, RDWHAHB.
Regards, GF.

**Homercidal** · 01-27-2012, 01:12 PM

I would never follow someone else's pairing guide. I can guess what a food will taste like and imagine what a beer would taste like with it. Most of the time I think a foodie's pairing tastes gross.

Yes, I'll have the stuffed sole and a Celis White, please!

HIM_Tattoos · 01-27-2012, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrambledegg81

I'm somewhat in the same boat as OP. Once the craft movement finally gained some momentum, people realized that the public's perception of beer needed to change and began making the food pairing comparisons similar to that of wine. Sheer snootiness imo.

I'm glad I read through all three pages, because I was about say this exact same thing.

I don't always agree with the suggested pairings that I'll see, but I/we know more about beer than the average dinner at an establishment with suggested pairings. We're subject to our own palets and tastes, but to someone who doesn't know, this is a great starting point for them.

And to say that this is "hurting" the craft community or that it's a "band wagon", is kind of silly. Don't we want more people drinking good beers so we can get better beers to drink? Don't you think that by trying to keep these great beers to ourselves, we are in fact, the snobs?

mightynintendo · 01-27-2012, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwoGunz

There's a time and a place for pairing beer with food and for going it alone. I personally enjoy a well matched bite, often just a good cheese. This is particularly true for me with high gravity beers. I love a nice cheddar with an imperial stout.

There can be no doubt that beer and cheese go together very well indeed.

HollisBT · 01-27-2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightynintendo

There can be no doubt that beer and cheese go together very well indeed.

What doesn't go well with cheese?