Food pairing
Beer with guacamole
Rich avocado with lime and chilli — fatty but fresh.
Avocado fat, lime acidity and usually a little chilli and onion. Rich and sharp at the same time, and served cold.
The acidity is already there so the beer need not bring more. Carbonation lifts the fat, and any heat present means bitterness is unhelpful.
Guacamole 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
Berliner Weisse — outstanding
Tartness resets the palate between mouthfuls, the way a squeeze of lemon does.
Fruit lambic — strong
Tartness resets the palate between mouthfuls, the way a squeeze of lemon does.
Lichtenhainer — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Grodziskie — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
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
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
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.
Alcohol-free pale lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Alcohol-free wheat beer — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Belgian single — 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
- Helles Bock — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- Bock — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- Old ale — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.