Food pairing
Beer with gyros
Spit-roasted meat with yoghurt sauce in flatbread, fatty and lightly acidic.
Spit-roasted meat with yoghurt sauce in flatbread: fatty, salty and lightly acidic, eaten fast.
The yoghurt provides acidity so the beer does not need to. Carbonation and moderate bitterness clear the fat without fighting the sauce.
Gyros 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
American porter — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Bière de Garde — outstanding
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.
Czech dark lager — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Munich Dunkel — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
American brown ale — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
English porter — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Oud Bruin — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Dubbel — 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
- Belgian table beer — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Lambic — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Milkshake IPA — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.