Food pairing
Beer with creamy pasta
Rich cream, cheese and cured pork over pasta — very fatty and salty.
A cream sauce coats the palate more thoroughly than almost anything else and does not clear on its own.
Carbonation and acidity both lift it. The pasta itself contributes little, so the beer should be chosen for the sauce and for whatever is in it.
Creamy pasta 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 — 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.
Baltic porter — 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.
Bock — 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.
Old ale — 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.
Weizenbock — strong
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Doppelbock — 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.
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
- California Common — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- English brown ale — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Festbier — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.