Food pairing
Beer with cheese
A cheese board spanning fresh to aged — fat and salt are the constants a beer must handle.
Cheese is not one pairing problem. A young mozzarella, an aged cheddar and a blue are as far apart as three different courses, and the only thing they reliably share is fat that coats the palate.
What decides it is usually salt and sharpness rather than the milk. Carbonation clears the fat, bitterness handles the salt, and residual sweetness is what stands up to a genuinely pungent cheese. The one combination to be wary of is hop bitterness with blue mould, which turns metallic.
Cheese 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
Munich Dunkel — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
American brown ale — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
American porter — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Bière de Garde — outstanding
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Czech dark lager — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
American wild ale — strong
Tartness resets the palate between mouthfuls, the way a squeeze of lemon does.
Dubbel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
English porter — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
What not to drink
- American lager — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Milkshake IPA — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- Belgian table beer — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.