Step one: Eat food
Step two: Drink beer

Step three: Order another beer

Food, meet beer.

Beer, meet food.

Om nom nom chug om nom nom chug...

I think Imperial and pizza covers this

Gecko Gingrich: Also, beer's taste is as varied and complex, if not more so, than wine. To think that Stella and a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA will compliment the same food equally is as ludicrous as to think a big California Cab and a Pinot Grigio will.

Absolutely. I know beer much more than wine, but the wife and I were at a restaurant that knew how pair wine with the food being ordered and it was very, very good. So I will always defer to the local folks for suggestions, they know. If the beer selection is good, I'll go with what I know and deal with the consequences if I miss.

Gecko Gingrich: I manage a liquor store in Maryland. Last year, in the middle of crab season, I had a lady come in and ask, "What wine would you suggest with steamed crabs?" I quipped, "Pilsner." She insisted she wanted wine. I thought for a second, and came up with, "Sauv Blanc or Viongier." She frowned.

"I want a red."

Maybe she meant barbecued crabs instead of steamed.

Gecko Gingrich: I had a lady come in and ask, "What wine would you suggest with steamed crabs?" I quipped, "Pilsner." She insisted she wanted wine. I thought for a second, and came up with, "Sauv Blanc or Viongier." She frowned.

"I want a red."

She's obviously a spy. This is how James Bond identified the spy in From Russia With Love. He ordered a red chianti with fish.


wee: If you like it, drink it. Hell with "what it goes with"...

My fave advice came from Justin Wilson (late, great.) When asked what kind of wine you drink with whatever he was cooking, he said, "You drink the wine you GOT!"

Gecko Gingrich: My favorite beer/food pairing:

Lambic (Framboise) with Caesar salad.


Lambic Peche (peach) is my fave. I occasionally serve it in a champagne flute with breakfast for special occasions instead of mimosa.

"Dat be so good, you be lockin da door--just in case your neighbors be smellin dat and wanta ta come over and get some."--Justin Wilson, R.I.P. Awesome Cajun chef. I must dig out his recipes.

Ya, "...you drink what you got!" works.

Although ... I don't go to restaurants that only offer Bud, Bud Lite, Miller or Miller Lite, forcing me to have Miller with my meal (the lesser of the evils.)

...oh, and don't fruit the beer!

/Please

Budweiser / BOD: JAN 2010

It was a very good month

30 years ago, the differences between various wines was incredibly pronounced because wine was made as an art, not a science. Back then, in the U.S. the number of beers was more limited, at least out here in flyover country. Now, the reverse is true. Wine is much more homogeneous than it used to be because the wine-making process has been standardized - vintages have lost a lot (although not all) of their meaning. The explosion of micro-breweries has now turned the brewing of beer into the art that used to be the province of the vintner.

There are still plenty of good wines that complement a meal beautifully. Now we have the addition of a huge palette of beers from which to select.

Life is good.

Mr. Right:
30 years ago...
Life is good.

Mr. Right: His FARK handle, it says it all.

/Agreed
//And, please. Don't fruit the beer.

a Bucket of Popeye's spicy fried Chicken and a kegger.

Which beer would you suggest as a compliment for Ritz crackers and aerosol cheese, Genesee Cream Ale or Utica Club? I'm hosting an affair with local glitterati and wish to impress them with my refined palate.

Oh great, now I have to go out and get fish and chips and a Guinness later. Thanks subby.

42 by ten Quote 2010-04-25 06:46:54 AM
Doric: I think Imperial and pizza covers this

I hope to dear lord you're not talking about something as complex and refined as an imperial stout, and pairing it with something as pedestrian as pizza...as a true lover of both, I'd weep dearly.

Imperial is teh crap, Ur beer suks (In before the beer snobs)

Mr. Right: Life is good.

Seconded!

But I haven't figured out pairing yet. I like various beers and wines in and of themselves, and I like a lot of food too. It's all good to me. I typically have a couple of drinks first to savor the beverage as a work of art, then dig in and enjoy food.

ignatzbrickbat: Which beer would you suggest as a compliment for Ritz crackers and aerosol cheese, Genesee Cream Ale or Utica Club? I'm hosting an affair with local glitterati and wish to impress them with my refined palate.

You, sir, win one (1) Internets.

ignatzbrickbat: Which beer would you suggest as a compliment for Ritz crackers and aerosol cheese, Genesee Cream Ale or Utica Club? I'm hosting an affair with local glitterati and wish to impress them with my refined palate.

Matt's, you fool...anyone knows that...UC is ONLY for saltines, and Genny is for when you skip the crackers and spray the cheez directly into your mouth.

/sheeesh

My pairings:

Guinness with a crap sandwich. That way you have the crap to get rid of the taste of the Guinness.

Blue Moon with everything else.

JSieverts: ignatzbrickbat: Which beer would you suggest as a compliment for Ritz crackers and aerosol cheese, Genesee Cream Ale or Utica Club? I'm hosting an affair with local glitterati and wish to impress them with my refined palate.

Matt's, you fool...anyone knows that...UC is ONLY for saltines, and Genny is for when you skip the crackers and spray the cheez directly into your mouth.

/sheeesh


Oh, my. Mainlining the aerosol Cheez Whiz are we?

Isn't there 12-step program for that?

I use beer to determine the grill time for our food..
When I'm out on the deck grilling, my wife will usually ask, "How much longer till they're done?"
My response depends on how I'm feeling at the moment.
(Hungry??) "A FEW MORE MINUTES.."

(Not so hungry??) "A FEW MORE BEERS.." (she hates that heehee)

So... thats my way of pairing food to beer..
amazing all the wonderful uses in a cold bottle of beer.. aahh..

My pairing:

beer, meet cornflakes

Light beer (the lighter the better) + hot wings = teh awesome

Any beer + potato flour + pepper, salt, hint of garlic + onions, deep fried until golden brown and served sizzling hot = onion rings from heaven.

Any other beer + any other food = ugh! you're ruining my food!

You can have FOOD with BEER!?!?!?

Who knew?!?

in reviewing posts made by Gecko Gingrich, I am reminded of a beer I used to drink in Maryland...it is called Wild Goose Amber, and it bills itself as The Beer For Crabs. The first time I tried one, my reaction was...it is good...nut there is a flavor missing... later on, I tried one with crabs....HEAVEN...somehow or other, they brewed a beer missing the flavor of Old Bay Crab Spice!!!

I am not joking...ask Gecko!

JSieverts: in reviewing posts made by Gecko Gingrich, I am reminded of a beer I used to drink in Maryland...it is called Wild Goose Amber, and it bills itself as The Beer For Crabs. The first time I tried one, my reaction was...it is good...nut there is a flavor missing... later on, I tried one with crabs....HEAVEN...somehow or other, they brewed a beer missing the flavor of Old Bay Crab Spice!!!
I am not joking...ask Gecko!


???

Every beer I've ever drank was missing the the flavor of Old Bay Crab Spice.

That article wasn't written by a knowledgeable beer drinker, because it doesn't even consider any lagers or bitters, even as general categories.

If you want to learn how to pair beer with food, start at Beer Advocate. But more importantly, drink beer and eat food, and see what you like.

It is the food.

That article wasn't written by a knowledgeable beer drinker, because it doesn't even consider any lagers or bitters, even as general categories.

Plus, it doesn't tell you what to drink at breakfast.

The obvious tag, the most misused tag in all of Farkistan.

The obvious tag should be used for things like "Study: Eating Fast Food 3 times a day may make you gain weight".

Why does this article have the obvious tag?

Colours from cloud white to midnight black, golden, red, clear and down right dirty.

Heavy gravity sugars to fruits like acids.
Aged in oak, imparted with redgum, stone fruit, citrus, vegetables, coffee, liquors, herbs, multiple yeasts.

Bottle conditioned, cold filtered, gas injection.

With so many options beer can meet great to any food, with exceptions to maybe ah say beach sand.

Ow My Balls: Mr. Right: Life is good.

Seconded!

But I haven't figured out pairing yet. I like various beers and wines in and of themselves, and I like a lot of food too. It's all good to me. I typically have a couple of drinks first to savor the beverage as a work of art, then dig in and enjoy food.

If that's what works for you, do it. 30-40 years ago, when French wines ruled, the snobbery that went with it was almost insufferable. It was a way that someone with way too much time on their hands could try to demonstrate their superiority over the proletariat by knowing which obscure chateau went most perfectly with which tediously prepared dish. The truth was that, for a vast majority of folks, they couldn't tell the difference between a 1967 Haut Brion and MD 20/20 if they watched it being poured from the bottle.

Individual tastes vary. Suit yourself. When I throw a dinner party, I give a "food tour" of what's on the menu for the various courses, then allow folks to decide what they'd like to drink. I even have one very good friend who's an alcoholic and drinks (gasp!) water! And only coffee with dessert! And yet, he survives!