Food pairing
Beer with pickles
Sharply acidic preserved vegetables, often with sweetness and spice.
Pickles are acidity in concentrated form, with salt behind it and often sweetness and spice from the liquor. Vinegar at this level does something specific to beer: it makes a low-acid beer taste flat and faintly sweet by comparison.
The way round that is a beer with acidity of its own. A Berliner Weisse or a lambic meets the sharpness on its own terms instead of being flattened by it. Pickles are rarely the main event, but they are sharp enough to affect whatever they are served alongside.
Pickles 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 acidity.
What to drink
Berliner Weisse — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Fruit lambic — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
Alcohol-free pale lager — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Alcohol-free wheat beer — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Dark mild — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
Lichtenhainer — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
American lager — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
American wheat beer — good
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- English porter — Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
- British strong ale — Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.
- Helles Bock — Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.