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’Tis the season to entertain
By Roger Mittag
December 6, 2010
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It seems that every holiday season brings along with it a growing need to get together with our friends and family. And what better than to have a fine selection of cheeses along with beer?
Beer is a natural match with cheese. In fact, I recently met a fromaggier who insisted that beer is the only thing that goes with cheese. Personally, I believe that each of us must find our way to understanding which drink suits us best.
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Think about it this way. Beer and cheese are both traditionally farmhouse products which are fermented and aged. Both have extremely complex flavour profiles and work very hard to balance sweetness and bitterness or acidity. To me, the most important aspect of beer and cheese pairing is really quite simple; the bitterness in beer (achieved through hops and carbonation and to some degree, darker malts) cuts and reduces the impact of the richness and sharpness of cheese in your mouth. This means that we can actually enjoy more of both of these wonderful gastronomic delights.
Try some of these cheeses with these styles of beers: |
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| Soft cheeses like camembert or brie |
Mild and creamy flavours with great earthy aromatics |
Belgian Witbier or a German Hefeweissen – the light finish should reduce the impact of the full flavours of the rinds while the light finish complements the body of the cheese |
| Semi soft cheeses like Boconcini, Oka, Havarti or Mozzarella |
Typically mild flavours with soft & supple textures |
Amber ales or lagers or a good Pilsner– the slight elevated sweetness is a good match |
| Firm cheeses like cheddar, Edam and Jarlsberg, Provolone or Swiss |
Full, rich and complex with a tendency toward sharpness |
English bitter, Pale Ales or Brown ales – these will reduce the sharpness and bring out more of the sweetness |
| Hard cheeses such as Parmesan, Asiago, Romano or Ementhal |
Dry and grainy textures with sharp and pronounced flavours |
Dark lagers, Porter or Bocks – the sweetness of these beers cuts the sharpness and the malty body works well with the grainy textures |
| Blues such as Stilton, Gorgonzola or a Danish Blue |
Rich, creamy and pungent. Strong flavours with generally pronounced flavours |
These cheeses need strong beers – Belgian Trappist, India Pale ales, Barley wines, or try a fruit beer to contrast the big flavours |
On a simpler scale, people often tell me that the best food pairing is beer and pizza. I know that this usually has some form of humour attached to it, but seriously, it is a great match. The breadiness of the crust matches very well with the maltiness of most beers while the cheese toppings are cut nicely by the bitterness in the beer. It’s no wonder that we can plough through a large ‘za’ while sipping on the golden nectar. I’m not sure the days of Pepperoni pizza are over but we’ve seen the emergence of many a gourmet pie.
Pizza and Beer matches
Pepperoni – just about anything, but I would stay on the lager/Pilsner side.
Hawaiian – pick a beer to match some of the sweetness and take away the saltiness of the ham. Perhaps try a nice amber beer or an Asian lager as they tend to be a bit sweeter.
Meat Lovers – go big or go home and get a beer with some body. Darker beers would be my choice here.
Mediterranean – in this case, lighter is better. We need to consider the feta, olives and tomatoes.
Spicy – look for high bitterness on the beers here – Pale Ales, India Pale Ales etc.
Vegetarian – stay light to keep the calories down (just kidding). Light flavours of beer match lighter flavours of pizza.
Chicken – lagers primarily are the best here, but don’t be afraid to try the darker lagers.
Roger Mittag is the professor of beer and can be found at www.thirstforknowledge.ca.
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