Perfectly Pairing Your Beer with Your Food

In case you missed our Flights of Fancy beer and fine food pairing event this week, here's a peek at the menu:

Radish & Butter on Pretzel Bread with Sea salt
Grilled Cheese and Candied Walnut Panini with Manchego, Goat, Swiss and White Cheddar
Hot Italian, Mild Italian and Habanero Sausage with Sauerkraut & Pretzel Bread
Light Potato Salad-Celery, Chives, Sour Cream & Shallot Vinaigrette
Super Spicy Rice Noodles in Peanut sauce with Shrimps, Shaved Carrots Basil Julienne
Butter Lettuce, Crab, Orange & Radish Sprout Roll Pistachio Dipping Sauce
Vanilla & Orange Flan with Stout Caramel

And if you couldn't make it, we thought we'd share some pointers. Are you wondering what kind of beer to serve with a spicy meal or what goes best with dessert? Well, here are a few starting points, based on many of the beers and foods we served at our event:

1. Spice goes with spicy. Hoppy Beers such as brew pub ales, Samuel Smith, or black Bavarian lagers go well with dishes like spicy peanut noodles. India Pale Ales, Island Brewing Company Blond Ale, and Telegraph Brewing Company Wheat Ale are all great with BBQ chicken wings with either a spicy or tangy sauce.

2. Mild lagers such as Einhorn, Weltenburger Urtyp, and Rieder Maerzen go well with bratwurst and sauerkraut, manchego cheese with pretzels, and even a Reuben Sandwich. Ayinger wheat beer pairs well with Schnitzel- either pork or chicken - and potatoes.

3. Bock (like Weltenburger Wintertrau), Doppel Bock (like Einhorn Unikator) and Oktoberfest Beers (like Innstadt Stadlbeer) go well with seafoods like crab salad and shrimp cocktail; but they also work well with tacos and burritos because they are a bit spicier but not too bold.

4. Dark beers go with dessert. Think Ayinger Celebrator, Islands Bluebird Porter, Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, and Guinness and you're on the right track. Try these with flan, sachertorte (a dense dark chocolate cake that hails from Austria), and even with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And if you're not afraid to mix your beer with liquor, sweet shots like Wild Turkey and Jaegermeister go well with stouts and bitters.