Food pairing
Beer with croissant
Laminated pastry that is mostly butter and air, rich without being heavy and barely sweet.
A croissant is dough folded through butter dozens of times, so the fat is present in a way almost nothing else in the catalogue matches while the weight on the plate stays low. Sweetness is minimal; the flavour is butter and a well-baked crust.
Fat with no sweetness and no salt is an unusual combination, and it points at carbonation rather than at bitterness. A dry, effervescent beer clears the butter between bites; anything heavy compounds it and anything sweet has nothing to balance.
Croissant 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
Gueuze — strong
Tartness resets the palate between mouthfuls, the way a squeeze of lemon does.
American wild ale — strong
Tartness resets the palate between mouthfuls, the way a squeeze of lemon does.
Grodziskie — 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.
Saison — 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.
Australian sparkling ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Tripel — good pairing
Laminated pastry is mostly butter and air — very high fat with almost no sweetness or salt to work with. A tripel is dry and strongly carbonated and clears it, and its own bready character meets the crust.
Caution: Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
Cold IPA — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- American barley wine — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- Helles Bock — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- British strong ale — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.