Food pairing
Beer with cheese toastie
Melted cheese and toasted bread — fat, salt and Maillard browning together.
Melted cheese and browned butter on toasted bread: fat, salt and Maillard character in the simplest possible arrangement.
Bitterness cuts the cheese fat and malt meets the toast. It is a straightforward pairing that mostly goes wrong by reaching for something too heavy.
Cheese toastie 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 fat.
What to drink
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.
Bière de Garde — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
American 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.
Czech dark lager — 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.
Oud Bruin — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
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.
Rauchbier — strong
Smoke in the beer meets smoke on the plate — the same family of compounds on both sides.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free IPA — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Milkshake IPA — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Dark mild — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.