Food pairing
Beer with prawn cocktail
Cold prawns in a mayonnaise and tomato sauce, where the dressing rather than the seafood decides the pairing.
Marie rose is mayonnaise, ketchup and a shake of Worcestershire, so what is on the plate is fat, sugar, acid and a mild seafood sweetness, served cold on lettuce. The prawns are the least assertive thing present.
Cold fat is harder work than hot fat, because it coats without the heat that would help clear it. Carbonation does most of the useful work, and the sauce sugar means a bitter beer will read as a clash rather than as a cut.
Prawn cocktail does not constrain the beer much: nothing clashes and nothing is clearly best. Drink what you like, or choose for the sauce, the seasoning or the sides, which will decide more than the dish itself.
What to drink
Flanders red ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Kettle sour — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Alcohol-free pale lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
India pale lager — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Kristallweizen — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Weissbier — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
White IPA — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Alcohol-free wheat beer — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
What not to drink
- Imperial stout — Something lighter will let the food lead. This pairing works only if you want the beer to be the main event.