Food pairing
Beer with korean barbecue
Grilled marinated meat with sweet, salty and fermented-chilli accompaniments.
Grilled meat with gochujang, sesame and sharp fermented sides. Sweet, hot, savoury and acidic in one mouthful.
Char rewards roast malt, and the chilli means bitterness is unhelpful. The kimchi means the beer does not need acidity of its own.
Korean barbecue 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 char.
What to drink
Tropical stout — outstanding
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Foreign extra stout — outstanding
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each 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.
Rauchbier — outstanding
Smoke in the beer meets smoke on the plate — the same family of compounds on both sides.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Bock — 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.
Weizenbock — 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.
Old 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.
Czech dark lager — 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.
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.
What not to drink
- Berliner Weisse — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Kettle sour — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Dark mild — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.