Food pairing
Beer with full english breakfast
Bacon, sausage, egg, black pudding, beans and toast — the fattiest and saltiest plate in British cooking.
The fattiest and saltiest plate in British cooking: bacon, sausage, egg, black pudding, beans and toast, with smoke and char on several components.
Anything strong compounds it. A low-strength bitter clears the fat and leaves you able to finish the plate, which is more than most beers manage here.
Full English breakfast 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Weizenbock — strong
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding 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.
Oud Bruin — 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.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free IPA — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Kentucky Common — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Belgian table beer — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.