Food pairing
Beer with pavlova
Crisp meringue with cream and sharp fruit, which is the highest sugar and the highest acidity in the catalogue on one plate.
Meringue is nearly pure sugar, the cream is nearly pure fat, and the fruit — raspberry, passionfruit — is there to make the first two bearable. All three are at their extremes, which is unusual.
A beer cannot out-sweeten the meringue and should not try. What can work is meeting the fruit instead: a fruit lambic or a tart wheat beer sits with the raspberry and against the sugar, which is the same trick the dessert is already playing on itself.
Pavlova 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
Fruit lambic — excellent pairing
Meringue is close to pure sugar and the fruit is there to make it bearable — the dessert is already playing the trick a beer would otherwise have to play. Joining the fruit rather than the sugar puts the beer on the side that is winning, which is the same move a lemon tart wants.
Caution: Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
London brown ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Belgian dark strong ale — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
Weizenbock — strong
Brisk carbonation lifts residue off the palate between bites.
Milkshake IPA — good
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dessert rather than being flattened by it.
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
- Imperial stout — Match the acidity, not the sugar. Sweet desserts and sharp ones want opposite beers, and this is a sharp one.
- Belgian table beer — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Helles Bock — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.