Food pairing
Beer with beetroot
Earthy and distinctly sweet, with a mineral finish that divides opinion.
Earthy and genuinely sweet, with a mineral finish that divides people more than any other common vegetable. Roasting concentrates both.
A beer with some malt sweetness meets it; a very dry or bitter one sharpens the earthiness in a way most people dislike. It is one of the few vegetables where a maltier answer beats a crisper one.
Beetroot rules a lot of beer out, but several beers do the job it needs equally well. Pick between them on preference — the reasons matter more than the order. The attribute doing most of the work is sweetness.
What to drink
London brown ale — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Czech dark lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Dark mild — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Milkshake IPA — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Sweet stout — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Alcohol-free pale lager — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Alcohol-free wheat beer — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Best bitter — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- Altbier — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- American wild ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- California Common — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.