Food pairing
Beer with pulled pork
Slow-smoked pork in a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce.
Slow-cooked until the fat renders completely, then usually sauced with something sweet and sharp. Like a braise, there is no crisp surface to cut through.
Malt depth and enough body to sit beside it. The sweetness in the sauce means a very dry beer will taste thin, which is the same trap as barbecue generally.
Pulled pork 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 smoke.
What to drink
Tropical stout — outstanding
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
American porter — outstanding
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Rauchbier — outstanding
Smoke in the beer meets smoke on the plate — the same family of compounds on both sides.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Weizenbock — outstanding
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
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.
Czech dark lager — 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.
Old ale — 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.
Bière de Garde — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free pale lager — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Grodziskie — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Kettle sour — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.