Food pairing
Beer with pancakes
Soft batter cakes served with syrup or sugar, where the sweetness is applied on top rather than baked in.
The cake itself is barely sweet; the syrup is doing nearly all of the work, and it sits on the surface rather than through the dish. That is what makes this different from a baked dessert, where the sugar is distributed and integrated.
Surface sweetness is easily met and easily overdone. A beer sweeter than the syrup will taste of nothing at all — sweetness cancels sweetness — so the more useful direction is a beer with roast or a firm bitterness to set against it.
Pancakes 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
Pastry stout — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
American porter — good pairing
The syrup is on the surface and doing nearly all the work. Roast and light bitterness set against it rather than adding to it, which is the only direction with anywhere to go once the plate is this sweet.
Caution: Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
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.
Weizenbock — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
Wee heavy — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
Doppelbock — good
A big beer has the presence to stand alongside a rich, sweet dish.
Eisbock — good
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.
What not to drink
- Lichtenhainer — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- English brown ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Scottish ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.