Food pairing
Beer with lemon tart
A sharp citrus custard in pastry, where acidity is the point and the sugar is there to make it bearable.
Most desserts ask a beer to deal with sweetness. This one asks it to deal with acid, and the two problems have opposite solutions — which is why a rich imperial stout, the reflex answer for pudding, is wrong here.
Sourness against sweetness reads as a clash, and roast against citrus reads as bitter. What works is a beer with its own fruit and acidity, so the two sit on the same side: a fruit lambic or a lightly tart wheat beer meets the tart rather than arguing with it.
Lemon tart 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 acidity.
What to drink
Fruit lambic — excellent pairing
A dessert whose problem is acidity rather than sweetness, which inverts the usual advice. Putting a beer with its own fruit and sharpness beside it means the two sit on the same side; a rich stout, the reflex answer for pudding, argues with the citrus instead.
Caution: Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
Alcohol-free wheat beer — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
London brown ale — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Alcohol-free pale lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Weizenbock — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Czech dark lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Belgian dark strong ale — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Caution: Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
Dubbel — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
What not to drink
- Imperial stout — Match the acidity, not the sugar. Sweet desserts and sharp ones want opposite beers.
- Belgian IPA — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- British golden ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.