Food pairing
Beer with roast vegetables
Root vegetables roasted until sweet and caramelised at the edges.
Roasting concentrates the sugar in root vegetables and caramelises the edges, so the dish is sweeter and more charred than the same vegetables cooked any other way. Preparation changes this one more than it changes most.
That sweetness and char want malt rather than hops. A beer with caramel or light roast character echoes the caramelised edges, and a smoky beer works surprisingly well with anything that has taken colour in a hot oven. Bitterness against sweet vegetables tends to taste like an argument.
Roast vegetables 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 sweetness.
What to drink
Rauchbier — outstanding
Smoke in the beer meets smoke on the plate — the same family of compounds on both sides.
Sweet stout — outstanding
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
American porter — strong
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Czech dark lager — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
London brown ale — strong
Enough residual sweetness to stand up to the dish rather than being flattened by it.
Alcohol-free stout — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
American brown ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Munich Dunkel — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- Grodziskie — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- American wild ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.
- Australian sparkling ale — Sweet food makes a drier drink taste harsher than it is.