Food pairing
Beer with fish tacos
Fried or grilled white fish with lime, cabbage and a chilli-spiked sauce.
Fried or grilled white fish with lime, cabbage and a chilli sauce. The acidity and the heat both matter more than the fish does.
Cold and carbonated is genuinely the right answer rather than a lazy one — there is already acidity on the plate and the heat means bitterness is unhelpful.
Fish tacos 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 acidity.
What to drink
International pale lager — classic pairing
Lime, chilli and fried fish want cold carbonation and nothing else. This is a case where a simple lager is genuinely the right answer.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Flanders red ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
American wild ale — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Caution: Capsaicin is an irritant rather than a flavour, and alcohol and hop bitterness both intensify it. A sweeter, lower-strength beer will do more for the heat.
Australian sparkling ale — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Caution: Capsaicin is an irritant rather than a flavour, and alcohol and hop bitterness both intensify it. A sweeter, lower-strength beer will do more for the heat.
Dubbel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Tripel — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Caution: Capsaicin is an irritant rather than a flavour, and alcohol and hop bitterness both intensify it. A sweeter, lower-strength beer will do more for the heat.
Bière de Garde — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Dunkelweizen — 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.
- American lager — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Pastry stout — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.