Food pairing
Beer with vegetable tempura
Vegetables in a deliberately thin, brittle batter, fried so the coating stays light rather than becoming bread.
Tempura is the delicate end of fried food. The batter is barely mixed and very cold so that gluten never develops, which produces a shell that shatters instead of holding oil, and the vegetable inside is only just cooked.
It needs the same cutting effect as heavier fried food but at a much lower intensity, because the flavours underneath are faint. A dry, well-carbonated beer without much bitterness does the job; an IPA will scrub the plate clean of everything, including the point.
Vegetable tempura 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 fat.
What to drink
German Pils — classic pairing
Tempura needs the fat lifted without the vegetable underneath being erased, which is a narrower target than fried food usually presents. A pils has the carbonation and the dry finish to do the first, and restrained enough hop flavour not to do the second.
Berliner Weisse — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Gueuze — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Australian sparkling ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Grodziskie — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Lichtenhainer — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Saison — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Grisette — 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.
What not to drink
- Helles Bock — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- American barley wine — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- British strong ale — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.