Food pairing
Beer with chips
Deep-fried potato — salty, greasy and hard to stop eating.
Hot, salty, fatty and crisp — surface fat that a beer can genuinely clear, which is what makes them so easy to drink alongside.
Carbonation and bitterness both work. Vinegar, if present, means the beer should not be sharp itself.
Thickness matters more than people expect: a thin fry is almost all surface and clears easily, where a thick chip carries enough soft interior to want a beer with a little more body behind it.
Chips 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
Dubbel — 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.
Australian sparkling ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
American porter — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
American stout — 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.
Munich Dunkel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Saison — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- Eisbock — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- English barley wine — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- American barley wine — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.