Food pairing
Beer with ice cream
Cold, sweet and very fatty — the cold itself dulls whatever it is paired with.
Very sweet, very cold and very rich, and the temperature suppresses aroma on both sides of the pairing.
Cold is the difficulty. A beer needs real sweetness and enough flavour intensity to register at all against something served near freezing, which is why dark and sweet works and delicate does not.
Ice cream 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 sweetness.
What to drink
Imperial stout — excellent pairing
A beer float has a real mechanism behind it: the cold fat coats the palate and the beer’s roast and alcohol cut straight back through it. The temperature contrast does much of the work.
Caution: Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
Belgian dark strong ale — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
London brown ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Sweet stout — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Weizenbock — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
Eisbock — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
English barley wine — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Milkshake IPA — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free stout — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Lichtenhainer — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Best bitter — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.