Food pairing
Beer with brisket
Smoked for many hours, with a peppery bark and an enormously savoury interior.
Hours of smoke, completely rendered fat and a peppery bark. Nothing here is crisp, so a beer that works by cutting will be lost.
Caramel and nut malt meet the bark without competing with it, and there needs to be enough body to sit beside several hours of cooking. Smoke on both sides is possible and bold rather than automatic.
Brisket narrows the field sharply, and one answer stands clear of the rest. Most beer falls down on at least one thing this dish demands. The attribute doing most of the work is smoke.
What to drink
American brown ale — excellent pairing
Caramel and nut malt against a peppery bark, at a weight that matches without competing.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Baltic porter — strong
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Foreign extra stout — strong
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Belgian dark strong ale — strong
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
American barley wine — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Doppelbock — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Wee heavy — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Bock — good
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
What not to drink
- Australian sparkling ale — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Strong bitter — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Alcohol-free stout — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.