Food pairing
Beer with smoked fish
Cold or hot-smoked fish — salty, oily and dominated by smoke.
Cured and smoked, so it arrives oily, salty and smoky at once, and usually physically light.
Meeting smoke with smoke is bold; clearing the oil with something dry and firm is safer and lets the fish lead. Both are legitimate and they produce very different meals.
Smoked fish 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
Rauchbier — excellent pairing
Smoke meeting smoke, with the lager base keeping it clean. A pairing that could easily be too much, and works because both sides are restrained.
Dry stout — outstanding
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Munich Dunkel — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Grodziskie — outstanding
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Czech dark lager — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
English porter — outstanding
Roasted malt echoes the charred, caramelised edge of the food, so the two reinforce each other.
Altbier — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Alcohol-free stout — 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.
What not to drink
- Milkshake IPA — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.