How To Pair Craft Beer With Your Favorite Foods

If you are new to the craft beer scene, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of different styles of beer on tap at your average craft brewery. Porters and goses, light and dark lagers, pale ales from all around the world—it is a lot to take in, especially if you are trying to decide what to eat for lunch, dinner, or an afternoon snack that will not mix with your drink’s flavor in the wrong way.

Fortunately, many different beers pair well with a variety of foods: sometimes accentuating your meal, sometimes serving as an interesting contrast or palate cleanser, and always delicious when dining and drinking somewhere with as much variety as Red Bear Brewing. Here is our advice on how to pair craft beer with your favorite foods so you can eat, drink, and live deliciously.

Light Lagers and Wheat Beers

If you are drinking something light, such as a Mexican, Italian, or classic American lager, it is hard to go wrong with nearly any type of food pairing. That said, if your favorite meal is something spicy, such as buffalo wings, a cold artisan beer with a subtle, fruity flavor profile can be a perfect salve for a burning tongue—and if you are a little more adventurous, so too can slightly heavier brews, such as wheat beers and Hefeweizens.

Red Ales and IPAs

India pale ales (or IPAs) are a reliable mainstay at most craft breweries, but as you will quickly learn if you drink a West Coast right after a Hazy, not all IPAs are created equal. Amber and red ales with dry finishes and fewer hops go well with barbeque pulled pork and pizza, while hoppier pale ale brews pair nicely with greasy foods, such as French fries, or with flavorful fare, such as burritos and fajitas.

Stouts, Porters, and Other Dark Beers

Brown ales, stouts, porters, and other dark beers hail from the British Isles, so it probably will not surprise you to learn that they pair well with shellfish, barbeque, sausages, and other heavy meats. What many people do not realize is that some dark beers also mix well with coffee- and chocolate-flavored desserts—so if you are contemplating bending the rules of a diet with a DC Dirt Porter and one of our homemade brownies, your secret is safe with us.

Saisons and Sours

Sour craft brews, such as goses, have a sour flavor profile with fruity and salty notes, so greens and veggies are often a good option when choosing food pairings. Saisons, however, can go with just about anything, depending on how they are made and what ingredients go into them, but checking with the bartender for their recommendation is never a bad decision.

Visit Red Bear Brewing Today To Find Your Perfect Beer

If you are not sure what you want, why not stop by Red Bear Brewing and try one—or more—of our on-tap selections. We are open every day from 11:30, and we would love to help you learn how to pair craft beer with your favorite foods.