Food pairing
Beer with gammon
Cured and roasted pork, salty and often glazed sweet.
Cured and roasted pork, very salty, usually glazed with something sweet and often served with pineapple for the same reason.
Salt and sweetness together want a malty beer with enough bitterness to finish clean. A very dry beer sharpens the salt rather than balancing it.
Gammon 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 salt.
What to drink
Tropical stout — outstanding
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Weizenbock — outstanding
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
American porter — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Czech dark lager — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Bock — outstanding
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.
Old ale — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Bière de Garde — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
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
- Kettle sour — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Alcohol-free wheat beer — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Cold IPA — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.