Everyone has heard of wine and food pairings, but we are here to tell you about how to pair beers with different types of foods. Whether you are pairing your beer with food at Lion Brewery Co. or any other gastropub in Singapore, this skill is an art that enhances the dining experience by complementing and/or contrasting the flavours of your beverage and your meal. To us, a meal is not complete until you have a complementary beverage to go with it.
This is why we feel it’s important to know the basics of how to develop these pairs to enhance both the drinking and the eating experience! This guide by us, Lion Brewery Co, offers insightful tips on how to master this art, helping you find the right beer flavors to go with the type of food you enjoy eating.
Understanding Beer Types
Pale Ales: Known for their fruity aromatics and lighter body, light ales work wonderfully with seafood, and cheeses.
Lagers: Crisp, refreshing, and light in flavor, lagers are versatile and can be paired with everything from fried food to char siu pork.
Stouts and Porters: Their dark, roasted flavors make them perfect for heavy meats or sweet desserts like chocolate.
IPAs: The hoppy nature of IPAs cuts through fatty foods and pairs well with bold, spicy flavors, balancing out the heat.
Understanding What ABV Mean
You will see some acronyms constantly throughout. The first term ABV means alcohol by volume, and . Alcohol by volume (ABV) is a metric used to determine the alcohol content in an alcoholic beverage. The measurement shows what percentage of the beverage’s total volume is pure alcohol.
Knowing the ABV of an alcoholic beverage is important, not only for ensuring you have a happy and safe drinking experience, but also because the level of alcohol in the beer will affect it’s taste profile as well. , especially if you’re just opening a new gastropub in Singapore or are starting a new brewery and plan on making your own alcohol. Small differences in ABV affect factors such as taste and likelihood of intoxication, thus is key to keeping you safe and happy.
What Does IBU Mean?
Another acronym you’re likely to come across is IBU, which stands for International Bitterness Units. This measures how “bitter” a beer is. The following will help you find the right beer flavours to complement your food to make a delicious success. The higher the number, the more “bitter” the beer is on this scale!
Top Guidelines for Food and Beer Pairing
You can significantly enhance the flavours and textures of each food and dish that you have by matching it with the right beer. The truth is that there aren’t many hard rules when it comes to making the perfect beer and food pairings as it ultimately comes down to your own beer preferences.
With that being said, if you are looking for guidelines for the best food and beer pairing to enhance your dining experience at our gastropub further, you are at the right place! Here are some guidelines that you may want to try:
- Taste contrast. You should not be afraid to experiment with some interesting contrasts when it comes to beer and food pairing. Be experimental! To make the ideal pairing, you want to pick a pair that has a big contrast in terms of their flavours. For example, choose a beer with a strong dominant flavour, and a food dish that is very sweet, or oily.
One example of a good contrast pairing is any type of shellfish (oyster) and stout. Oysters have a strong, briny flavour that can stand up to the rich texture and chocolatey notes of the stout. - Complement. Complementing flavours is one of the simplest and most effective ways to make a delicious food and beer pairing. Match rich foods with beers that have a heavy and rich flavour, like stouts or porters. For light-tasting food dishes such as salads and fish, you should pair them with light beers such as light lager.
- Intensity of flavours. Bear in mind to avoid pairing beer with foods that are very rich and overpowering in flavour, and vice versa. One example would be pairing salmon with a pint of Guinness. That doesn’t work as well due to the rich and powerful flavours that exude from Guinness – a stout. Its flavour will completely cover the taste of the fish, which is not desirable for anyone who is looking to enhance their dining experience.
- Pairing with regional cuisines. Consider the origin of the beer and food before you start dining in. Oftentimes, you may find shared flavour profiles between the beer and the food, both hailing from the same region. For example, nutty brown ales from Somerset are to be paired with mature cheddar cheese from the region. These interesting symphonies between craft beer and food from the same region sometimes bring out interesting taste profiles that you may not have expected!
- Cleanse your palate. Some beers can serve as palate cleansers so that you can reset your taste buds and allow yourself to experience the full range of flavours longer. To achieve that, you have to choose the appropriate beer style. For example, a cool light lager will wash away the more robust and rich flavours when eating fried foods like chicken wings. On the other hand, other beers with a high IBU like IPA might be used when pairing with foods with a more robust profile such as barbecue ribs.
How Beer Styles Influence Food Pairing
There are many different beer styles available, as explained above. All vary greatly in their colour, alcohol content, taste, and mouthfeel. Each style has its distinct flavour profile, which will then influence how it pairs with your food dishes.
So if you want to make a good pairing, you must first understand the different styles of beer. We have included a reference below for you to make the quick pairing on the go! Here’s a summary of the pairing:
- Light lagers: Spicy food, burgers, salads
- Wheat beers: Spicy food and fruity desserts
- India pale ales (IPA): Steak, barbecue, and Mexican food
- Amber ales: Pizza, fried food, smoked pork
- Dark lagers: Pizza, burgers, hearty stews
- Brown ales: Sausage, sushi, fish
- Porters: Seafood, coffee-flavoured desserts, game meats
- Stouts: Chocolate desserts, shellfish, Mexican food
Recommended Beer Styles with our Food Items
These are just some general pairing ideas. To create the best beer pairing experience with the bar snacks and starters at Lion Brewery Co., you’ll need to fully understand the flavour profiles of each beer.
Light Lagers
Light lagers are among the most pale types of beer, and they are well known for their crisp and refreshing taste. Most do not have a strong flavour, and they are rarely hoppy or bitter. The ABV of light lager is mostly below 5%, which is lower than other more full-bodied alcohol types.
Light lager food pairings:
Because light lagers have such a refreshing flavour, they are ideal for pairing with spicy dishes. But you can pair these beers with just about any type of food. Here are some ideal beer and food pairing options that we recommend:
- Souvlaki Platter (Moroccan lamb | grilled vegetables | tandoori chicken | asian spicy pork | pita bread | hummus | cucumber tzatziki)
- Straight-cut french fries
- Sets with fries
- Fish & Chips
India Pale Ale (IPA)
India pale ales, also known as IPAs, are one of the most popular styles of beer in the craft brewing scene today. Typically, IPA is a bitter beer that is very hoppy and offers fruity and pine notes. To make the bitterness more palatable, many brewers add citrus or herbal tones to the beer. With all its variants and a variety of styles, there is an IPA for every taste. An IPA has an ABV that ranges from 5.5%-7.5%, with an IBU from 50-70.
India Pale Ale (IPA)
Because of its bitterness, IPA typically pairs well with fatty foods and spicy foods. Here are some ideal pairing options that we recommend:
- Crispy pork belly bites
- Curry spiced nuts
- Straight-cut french fries
- Mixed grilled platter
Amber Ales
Amber ales are characterised by a medium mouthfeel and have colours that range from amber to a deep reddish gold. These beers have a strong flavours of malt, with notes of sweet caramel that complement each other. They have a dry and crisp finish, and do not have an overpoweringly flavour profile. Amber ales offer an ABV of 4.5% to 6.5%.
Amber ale food pairing:
- Asian lotus buns
- Pizzas
- 36 signature platter
- Beef & ale cottage pie
Dark Lagers
There are several types of lager, and dark lagers have a distinct taste. This style of beer is made with roasted malts, and has caramel syrup added to sweeten the beer. The roasted malts give the beer a nutty flavour, and the caramel provides a slight hint of sweetness. Dark lagers have an ABV that is around 5%, quite similar to stout in that it’s also made from roasted malt, which gives it its dark colour.
Dark lagers food pairing:
Dark lagers are an excellent complement to hearty traditional European dishes. Here are some examples of ideal pairings to go with dark lagers that we recommend:
- Scotch eggs
- Mixed grilled platters
- Shepherd’s pie
- Pizzas
Brown Ales
Brown ales are not as hoppy or bitter as other medium-coloured beers. Instead, they are full-bodied beers that boast a sweet malty flavour with hints of caramel and chocolate flavour, similar to those of stouts and porters. Brown Ale is an ABV that ranges from 4.2%-8.8% with an IBU of 25-45.
Brown ale food pairing:
Brown ales are quite a versatile beer option for most food dishes. With that being said, here are a few dishes that complement the rich chocolate and nutty caramel flavours in brown ales:
- Mixed grilled platter
- Sticky BBQ pork ribs
- Crispy pork belly bites
Stouts
Stouts are best known for its black and dark colour, roasted flavours that are similar to that of porters. Surprisingly, stouts are not high in alcohol content, bitterness, or flavour, and are usually characterised by strong hints of rich malty flavour with notes of coffee and chocolate. These unique styles offer a wide variety of flavor profiles ranging in ABV from 4.0%-13% with IBU’s from 20-90.
Stout food pairing:
Because stouts have a chocolatey flavour profile, they are the perfect pairing for many kinds of desserts. Here are some examples of the best stout and food pairing that we recommend:
- Chocolate stout cake
- Chocolate brownie
- Crispy pork belly bites
- Sticky bbq pork ribs
Pilsner
Pilsners are best known for their light and crisp taste profile, making them the perfect match for a range of dishes. The Strong flavor of Pilsner offers a moderate to high hoppy bitterness depending upon the style of Pilsner, along with an ABV ranging from 4.6% to 5.3% and an IBU of 25-40.
Pilsner pairing:
Because of its crisp and light taste profile, they are perfect for almost all kinds of lighter food dishes that you pair them with. Here are some pairing suggestions that we recommend to enhance your pilsner experience:
- Chicken caesar salad
- Mixed green salad
- Chicken burger
Conclusion
Adding food and beer pairings to your menu when dining in a gastropub in Singapore or in any other countries, can help enhance the flavor of your dishes and bring in more profits. To make the best beer pairings possible, it is important to understand which flavors work well together. Once you understand the flavor profiles in all types of beer, you can make delicious and interesting beer pairings that will draw out the flavours and bring the taste of your food to a whole new dimension!
For the perfect beer and food pairing in Singapore, consider a trip to Lion Brewery Co. where we have a rich history with beer brewing and extensive range of brews. Happy pairing!
