Food pairing
Beer with stilton
A blue cheese of considerable intensity — salty, mineral and pungent, with a crumbly-creamy texture.
The most intense cheese in common circulation: very salty, very fatty, and pungent from the blue mould. It overwhelms most beer.
What meets it is sugar and alcohol together, which is why barley wine is traditional and works. Roast bitterness is a legitimate alternative and gives the cheese somewhere to go. Hop bitterness is the one thing to avoid — it and blue mould turn metallic together.
Stilton 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 salt.
What to drink
English barley wine — classic pairing
The established pairing, and one of the very few where a beer over 8% is the correct answer. The cheese's salt and pungency need something with sugar and alcohol behind it, and barley wine's dried fruit meets the blue mould's sweetness.
Caution: Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
Imperial stout — excellent pairing
Roast bitterness against salt and blue-mould pungency. Less traditional than barley wine and arguably more decisive — the roast gives the cheese somewhere to go.
Caution: Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
Bière de Garde — 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.
Tropical stout — 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.
Oud Bruin — strong
Tartness resets the palate between mouthfuls, the way a squeeze of lemon does.
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: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
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.
Old ale — 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.
What not to drink
- American IPA — Both sides are already assertive. The result reads harsh and metallic rather than complex.
- Alcohol-free stout — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Alcohol-free pale lager — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.