Food pairing
Beer with meat pie
Braised meat in pastry — rich, salty and heavy, with buttery fat from the crust.
Braised meat in gravy under pastry: rendered fat, savoury depth and a soft heavy finish with nothing crisp underneath.
Cutting will not work because there is nothing on the surface to cut. Malt body meets the gravy, and the pastry adds enough fat to want some bitterness.
Meat pie 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
Belgian dark strong ale — outstanding
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Tropical stout — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Baltic porter — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Doppelbock — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Bock — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Old ale — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Weizenbock — outstanding
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Wee heavy — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free stout — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Alcohol-free wheat beer — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Kellerbier — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.