Beer Pairings: Know What Drink to Down With Those Yummy Kebabs!

Beer and food 101: Do you know what beers go best with your finger foods?

If you thought that wine was the only drink that paired well with food, you thought wrong. (Photo: iStock)

If you thought that wine was the only drink that paired well with food, you thought wrong.

Beer has its place – for those evenings when you just want to loosen your tie, roll up your sleeves, gather a few of your closest buddies, plug into a never ending playlist – and just chug!

However, before you get ready for any of those shenanigans, here’s our 50 cents.
Food pairing with beer has become as important, if not more, as wine drinking. There are ‘beer sommeliers’ to help you pair the right food with the right beer for it helps bring out the right notes in the brew.

Any ardent beer drinker would know how a particular snack pairs perfectly with a particular beer and he would be a tad devastated if it is not available.

For the uninitiated, beer can be divided into two broad categories: lagers and ale. While a lager is lighter, crisper and clean tasting, ales can vary from very light to strong and tend to be fruity-estery. Thus, while you can down anything greasy and meaty with the lagers, ales make a great combination with cheesy saucy dishes.

Now that you’ve got your lesson in place, we suggest a few finger foods to accompany those shenanigans and keep the beers flowing!

Fish and Chips

For a perfect pairing with a platter of fish and chips, you should go for an ale. (Photo: iStock)

Pair with: An English Ale.

A simple rule to beer and food pairing is that, lighter beers pair well with lighter, delicate flavours – whereas heavier beers pair well with heavy, powerful flavours. Well then, for a perfect pairing with a platter of fish and chips, you should go for an ale. An ale has sufficient malt sweetness and just enough bitterness – this will help cut through the fatty fried fish and chips.

Your perfect choice of ale? An English Ale or the Indian Pale Ale.

Chicken Wings

These greasy, meaty chicken bites are your best bet with the lagers. (Photo: iStock)

Pair with: Lager

When pairing chicken wings you have to understand that it’s as much about the tangy sauce as it is about the savoury meat. These greasy, meaty chicken bites are your best bet with the lagers.

Malty beers tone down heat while beers high on hops enhance it. Thus, your obvious choice should be a lager that will help you wash down the big, brash flavours of the tangy chicken wings.

Kebabs

The key to successful pairing lies in dealing with the powerful flavours of the kebabs. (Photo: iStock)

Pair with: Indian Pale Ale

These will find a popular seat on the Indian snacking table. The key to successful pairing lies in dealing with the powerful flavours of the kebabs. Cumin, coriander, parsley, garlic, lemon, mint and other spices will lead to complex, sharp flavours that will make for some great pairings while some will fall apart.

These rich flavours pair well with ales which are heavier and citrusy. The Indian pale ales that have a more roasty flavour complement the heavy powerful herbs in the kebabs.

Sliders

A good burger will complement any type of beer – from lagers to ales. (Photo: iStock)

Pair with: Any kinda beer!

A good burger will complement any type of beer – from lagers to ales. If your sliders boast of toasty browned crust on the chicken or generous slices of cheese, then they’ll definitely pair better with a lager.

Make sure to balance the sweet flavours of the lagers with some hops.

Sausages

Pilsner which is a lager, pairs perfectly well with sausages. (Photo: iStock)

Pair with: Pilsner

Beer and sausage are a traditional combination and have roots in Europe. However, today Americans celebrate Oktoberfest with beer and sausage much the same way as Bavarians do.

Pilsner which is a lager, pairs perfectly well with sausages. These are fairly dry style beers with a strong malt flavour. They help wash down the greasy meaty sausages and make for a match made in heaven.

(A freelance food and fashion blogger, Pranjali Bhonde Pethe aims at getting people and their favourite food and style closer through her blog moipalate. Email her at [e-mail] and follow her on @moipalate.)