Perfect Pairings

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Confused about pairing beer and wine with food? Try these quick tips and you’ll be pairing like a pro.

5 great summer beer picks

THIRST QUENCHER
312 Urban Wheat, Goose Island Brewing Co.
Smooth bready sweetness is followed by a zippy but gently spicy hop bite, while whiffs of citrus fl oat in the background.

PACK FOR A PICNIC
Eliot Ness Amber Lager,
Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Sweet caramel and toasted bread crust dominate, with moderate bitterness to balance. A crisp, dry finish keeps it light and drinkable.

GREAT FOR GRILLING
Oasis, Tallgrass Brewing Co.
Grassy hops are the star of this Extra Special Bitter (ESB), but not enough to hide the rich, caramel malt backbone. Refreshing, yet bold enough to stand up to grilled meats.

ROMANTIC GETAWAY
30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred and Ken’s Bock,
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Big and dripping with caramel and honey, with light notes of citrus. Spicy hops bring it to an agreeably bitter crescendo. The elegant corkfi nished bottle adds to the romance.

EVENING SIPPER
Glissade,
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Herbal, almost minty hops offer a fresh counterpoint to the honeytinged malt. It’s just bitter enough to keep it from seeming too sweet.

Start with intensity. Lighter foods need lighter beers. More flavor-intensive foods require heavier beers. Be sure to consider the whole preparation, not just the main ingredient. Sauces and spices can easily turn that lightweight grilled chicken breast into a heavyweight.

Consider light and dark. By “light” and “dark” I don’t mean color. I’m talking about the quality of flavors in both the dish and the dram. Light flavors are bright and refreshing, with a touch of acidity, like fish with fruit salsa. These foods call for dry, crisp beers, with those same fresh, fruity and spicy qualities: Kölsch, pilsner, wheat beers, and citrusy pale ales. Dark-flavored foods are redolent with roast, toast, and earthy, savory goodness, such as mushroom risotto. These foods pair well with dark flavored beers like porters, bocks and funky bières de garde.

Look for complements and contrasts. The sweet, caramelized maltiness of a German doppelbock is a great complement to roasted sweet potatoes or baked winter squash. Salty foods do well with the contrasting fruitiness and light, citric acidity of a hefeweizen.

Hops intensify heat, malt calms it down. As a general rule, bitter beers with high levels of hop flavor will pump up the volume on spicy foods, while sweeter, malt-balanced beers envelop them in a flame-taming blanket.

Carbonation and hops clear the palate. Like acidity in wine, carbonation and hops in beer will clear away the tongue-coating fat of rich foods and creamy cheese. They leave your palate clean for the next bite.

5 super summer wine picks

THIRST QUENCHER
Ameztoi Txakolina
This Spanish favorite is zippy, zesty and vibrant, lovely paired with a fresh summer salad or all by itself. $18–$22

PEOPLE PLEASER
Ponzi Vineyards’ Pinot Gris
Know someone who’s on the fence about wine? This is a nofail, palatable, peoplepleaser, round with notes of sunkissed summer fruit, yet crisp. $16–$18

GREAT FOR GRILLING
Zero Manipulation
by Peterson Winery
Smokin’ hot, charred and right off the grill deserves a wine with similar attributes. This darkfruited mouthful is a combination of Carignan, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Zinfandel. I love it! $15–$17

ROMANTIC GETAWAY
Franciacorta Brut,
from Ca’ del Bosco
Surprise that special someone with a bombshell bubbly from the Lombardy region of Italy. This sparkles with a full, rich, luxurious palate. $35–$41

PACK FOR A PICNIC
ForeFront by
Pine Ridge Pinot Noir
I really enjoy this price friendly Pinot from Napa Valley—a slightly smoked cherry, supple red. $19–$23

Don’t choose wines based on the color of your food. Just because you’re having fish doesn’t mean you have to drink white, and red meat doesn’t mean you should always reach for red wine. Consider the preparation of your food, as well as any sauces. Light flavors and broiled or grilled meats and fishes work well with whites, but blackened or Cajun fish or a lively chile sauce will point you more toward red. A Pacific Northwest Pinot goes beautifully with a cedar-planked salmon, and a thick, rich Napa Chardonnay can stand up to a charbroiled Porterhouse steak.

What grows together, goes together! This rule of thumb is an easy way to create natural pairings. If you’re making a classic Tuscan dish, why not pair it with a classic Tuscan wine, such as a Sangiovese or Chianti? And if you’re selecting a cheese from a particular region, choose a wine from the same area.

Serve wines with dishes that feature similar flavors. The best way to approach this is often to check the back label. If it says “bright, green and grassy,” for example, serve something like-minded, like a fresh green-bean salad.

Still not sure? Want a little more guidance (or a great hostess gift)? Pick up a copy of What to Drink With What You Eat, by Andrew Dornenberg and Karen Page. This is one of the best references on food and wine (and beer and spirits) pairings. From Cheetos to Chateaubriand, this book has you covered.