Food pairing
Beer with burrito
A substantial wrapped meal of rice, beans, meat and cheese.
Rice, beans, meat and sauce wrapped together, so the components blur into one soft, heavy, mildly spiced mouthful.
Nothing here is delicate and nothing is crisp. Carbonation and a moderate bitterness keep it from accumulating, and where the salsa brings real heat the usual chilli rules apply.
Burrito 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 weight.
What to drink
Belgian dark strong ale — outstanding
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Caution: Capsaicin is an irritant rather than a flavour, and alcohol and hop bitterness both intensify it. A sweeter, lower-strength beer will do more for the heat.
Tropical stout — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Baltic porter — outstanding
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.
Doppelbock — outstanding
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 — outstanding
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 — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Weizenbock — outstanding
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Wee heavy — 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
- Alcohol-free stout — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Alcohol-free pale lager — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Gose — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.