Food pairing
Beer with katsu curry
Breaded fried cutlet over rice with a mild, sweet curry sauce.
A breaded fried cutlet over rice with a mild, sweet curry sauce. Fried surface, sweetness and almost no heat.
Clearing the coating matters more than matching the sauce. A clean malty lager sits beside it and resets between mouthfuls without adding sweetness to something already sweet.
Katsu curry 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
Weizenbock — outstanding
Peppery and clove-like notes from the yeast pick up the warm spicing in the dish — the same aromatic family on both sides.
Tripel — outstanding
Peppery and clove-like notes from the yeast pick up the warm spicing in the dish — the same aromatic family on both sides.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Dubbel — outstanding
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Belgian IPA — outstanding
Peppery and clove-like notes from the yeast pick up the warm spicing in the dish — the same aromatic family on both sides.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Bière de Garde — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Dunkelweizen — strong
Peppery and clove-like notes from the yeast pick up the warm spicing in the dish — the same aromatic family on both sides.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Tropical stout — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Oud Bruin — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- Dry stout — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- German Pils — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Dark mild — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.