Food pairing
Beer with pork ribs
Slow-smoked pork under a sweet, sticky glaze, where smoke, sugar and rendered fat all arrive together.
Three things at once, and they pull a beer in different directions. Smoke wants either a match or a clean contrast; the glaze is sweet enough that a very bitter beer clashes with it; and the fat wants cutting.
Roast malt threads all three. It echoes the smoke without competing, its own faint sweetness sits alongside the glaze rather than against it, and dark beers carry enough perceived bitterness from roast to handle the fat without the hop bite that the sugar would fight.
Pork ribs 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 smoke.
What to drink
American porter — classic pairing
Three things arrive together — smoke, a sweet glaze and rendered fat — and roast malt is the one flavour that answers all three. It echoes the smoke without competing, its own faint sweetness sits beside the glaze rather than against it, and roast carries enough perceived bitterness to handle the fat without the hop bite the sugar would fight.
Caution: A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
Baltic porter — strong
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
English barley wine — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Belgian dark strong ale — strong
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Eisbock — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Doppelbock — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Wee heavy — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Weizenbock — good
Malt sweetness rounds off the salt rather than compounding it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
What not to drink
- Double IPA — Sweet sauce is the constraint, not the meat. Roast handles the fat without arguing with the sugar.
- Lichtenhainer — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- American brown ale — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.