Food pairing
Beer with cauliflower
Roasted until nutty and browned, with a faint brassica bitterness underneath.
Roasted until browned it turns nutty and sweet, with a faint brassica bitterness underneath that raw or boiled cauliflower does not have.
That bitterness means a very bitter beer stacks rather than balances. Something dry and aromatic with modest bitterness lets the nuttiness lead.
Cauliflower does not constrain the beer much: nothing clashes and nothing is clearly best. Drink what you like, or choose for the sauce, the seasoning or the sides, which will decide more than the dish itself.
What to drink
Saison — good pairing
Roasted brassica carries a nutty sweetness and a faint bitterness, and a dry peppery saison meets both without weight.
English porter — strong
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Czech dark lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Lichtenhainer — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Kentucky Common — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Munich Dunkel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Dark mild — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Irish red ale — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.