Food pairing
Beer with churros
Fried dough with cinnamon sugar, usually served with thick chocolate.
Fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar, usually served with thick chocolate. Fat, sugar and warm spice together.
The chocolate usually decides it. A dark, sweet beer meets both the cocoa and the cinnamon, and the fried surface wants some carbonation to clear.
Churros 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 sweetness.
What to drink
Belgian dark strong ale — good pairing
Cinnamon sugar and thick chocolate against dark candi sugar and Belgian yeast spice.
London brown ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Sweet stout — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Weizenbock — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
Pastry stout — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Milkshake IPA — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Wee heavy — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Doppelbock — good
A big beer has the presence to stand alongside a rich, sweet dish.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free pale lager — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- American lager — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Alcohol-free stout — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.