Food pairing
Beer with pork pie
Cured pork in hot-water pastry with jelly — very fatty and salty, eaten cold.
Cold water-crust pastry, seasoned pork and jelly — dense, salty, fatty and eaten cold.
Cold fat is harder to clear than hot, so carbonation matters more than usual. A bitter with a firm finish handles it; the pepper in the filling rewards a little malt.
Pork pie 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 fat.
What to drink
Ordinary bitter — excellent pairing
Cold fatty pastry and salty pork need bitterness and not much else. The low strength matters — this is lunch, not an event.
Caution: A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
Bière de Garde — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
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.
Dubbel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Märzen — 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.
American 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.
Czech dark lager — 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.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free stout — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Alcohol-free pale lager — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Pre-Prohibition lager — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.