Food pairing
Beer with brunch
Fried eggs, bacon, sausage and toast — fat and salt across the whole plate.
A moving target: eggs, cured meat, bread, sometimes something sweet, usually all on one plate. Fat and salt are the constants.
Which means the beer should refresh rather than commit. Something light and well carbonated works across the whole plate where a beer chosen for the bacon will fight the pancakes.
Brunch 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 fat.
What to drink
Weissbier — excellent pairing
High carbonation cuts through fried breakfast fat, the wheat body suits eggs, and at 5% it is a defensible thing to drink before noon.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Belgian dark strong ale — outstanding
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Tropical stout — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Baltic porter — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Bock — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Old ale — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Weizenbock — strong
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Doppelbock — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
What not to drink
- Czech amber lager — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Kentucky Common — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Alcohol-free IPA — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.