Food pairing
Beer with calamari
Squid in a light coating, fried fast and salted heavily, where the salt and the oil matter more than the seafood.
Squid cooked properly is either very quick or very slow, and fried calamari is the quick end: seconds in hot oil, so the flesh stays tender. What reaches the palate is salt, oil and a mild sweetness from the squid itself.
Salt and fat together are the pairing problem, and the answer is the standard one for fried food — carbonation to lift the oil, a dry finish so the salt does not accumulate. The seafood is too mild to build a pairing around.
Calamari 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
German Pils — excellent pairing
Salt and hot oil, with a mild squid sweetness underneath that is easily lost. A pils lifts the oil and its dry finish stops the salt building up over a plateful, which is the failure mode of a maltier beer here.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Dry stout — outstanding
Dry roasted bitterness against saline, savoury seafood is one of the sharpest contrasts in beer and food — the classic case being oysters with dry stout.
Irish extra stout — outstanding
Dry roasted bitterness against saline, savoury seafood is one of the sharpest contrasts in beer and food — the classic case being oysters with dry stout.
American wild ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Australian sparkling ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Bière de Garde — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Dubbel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Belgian golden strong ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- Sahti — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- Milkshake IPA — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.