10 great beer and food matches for summer

We all know a beer goes down well with a ploughmans and that it’s a great drink to wash down a barbecue but here are 10 more unusual pairings which should liven up your summer drinking.

Crab and witbier
My own favourite, I confess. Doesn’t matter if the crab is simply dressed or gussied up Thai-style, it works brilliantly though I prefer the Belgian style to the more banana-y Bavarian one with seafood.

Ham and parsley paté with English bitter
Cold ham and English bitter is a classic but this gives the pairing a bit of a twist (and is a great way to use up some leftover ham into the bargain). You simply cut up about 140g of cooked ham (smoked is nice) and whizz it in a food processor until finely chopped. Add an equal amount of unsalted butter and a couple of tablespoons of water, whizz until smooth then season with 1 - 2 tsp of English or Dijon mustard and fold through some finely chopped parsley and chives.

Kebabs and lager
What else do you drink with a kebab? Make your own straight off the barbecue, stuffed into warm pitta bread with lettuce, onion, houmus and a good squeeze of lemon juice and accompany with a good pils or Kolsch.

Prawn, fennel and leek risotto with wheat beer
A summery seafod and herb (dill) risotto which we found went really well with Colomba, a light, aromatic Corsican wheat beer. Would also pair well with a witbier or bière blanche

Joloffe rice and IPA
Joloffe rice is a spicy West-African rice dish that’s a bit like a paella and makes great outdoor eating. I’ve successfully drunk a light English bitter with it but would usually go for an IPA or an amber ale.

Beer-can chicken and amber lager
Yes, you may cook the chicken on a bog standard can of lager but the finished dish deserves something better! With its spicy dry rub and accompanying BBQ sauce or salsa you’ll find it goes really well with a Viennese-style lager or amber ale.

Chicken Caesar salad with a blonde or golden ale
The creamy, tangy sauce makes this much-loved salad a great match with a golden ale or lager such as Duvel or Schiehallion.

Cheesecake and cherry (or raspberry) beer
A fantastic match so long as you top the cheesecake with similar berries to the ones in the beer. (The great thing about matching beer and food is that you can mirror the flavours in the dish. That doesn’t work with wine where the food tends to strip similar flavours out of the wine)

Bakewell tart and raspberry beer
Similar thinking. You pick the fruit flavour - in this case raspberries - out with the beer. If you live in the states there’s a wonderful one called Raspberry Tart from the New Glarus Brewing Co in Wisconsin but Lindemans Framboise will do nicely

Blueberry and peach beer jellies
A bit of a cheat as the beer is actually in the dish rather than paired with it but fruit beers make absolutely knock-out jellies that are perfect for summer desserts (find the recipe here.) Try two or three different kinds such as blueberry and peach beer, raspberry and cherry beer and mango and passionfruit beer - a real showstopper.

Food pairings for wheat beer I: witbiers (bières blanches) and lighter wheat beers

Wheat beers are fabulously flexible when it comes to food matching - the beer world’s equivalent of a crisp white wine.

There are two main styles - the cloudy, citrussy, aromatic Belgian-style witbier (aka bière blanche) and the richer banana-and-clove flavours of German hefeweizen which you can read about here.

In between are a range of wheat beers from different sources which fall somewhere between the two but are basically suited, like witbier, to salads, seafood and dishes flavoured with citrus and herbs

Matches for Northern French and Belgian style witbiers:

Seafood such as crab, mussels, oysters and clams - witbier is great for a beery version of moules marinières

Simply prepared fish like fried or grilled sole or plaice

Fish cakes

Smoked salmon or trout

Dim sum and other light Chinese dishes such as stir fries

Sushi

Raw fish such as ceviche and tartares

Fried fish like fish and chips, calamari or whitebait

Seafood pastas and noodles like crab linguine with chilli and coriander or pad thai

Seafood and light vegetable risottos

White pizza or seafood-topped pizza

Spring vegetables such as peas, beans and asparagus - as you can see from this article

Light fresh cheeses such as young goat cheese, sheep cheese and feta. Beer and food matching guru Garret Oliver recommends an omelette with sharp apple and goats cheese

Salads, especially mozzarella basil and tomato salad, Greek salad and caesar salad

Brunch dishes

Potjevleesch - a chunky jellied terrine of pork, chicken and rabbit you find in north-east France

Lighter Thai and Mexican dishes flavoured with citrus and herbs

Thai green curries

Photo ©zavgsg at fotolia.com

Which beers to drink at Easter

You may find family and friends resistant to the idea of putting beer on the Easter table (though some will be secretly pleased) but stick to your guns.

The more your guests see how great beer is with different types of food the more confident they’ll feel about serving it themselves and the less likely it is that the only beer you’ll find when you go to their house is a Bud. So, here goes:

Turkey
Roast turkey is a very beer-friendly dish. I particularly like it with Duvel and with the Scottish golden lager Schiehallion but you could pair it with any kind of golden ale or lager such as Budweiser Budvar from the Czech republic or with a Belgian or Northern French blonde ale, the beer world’s equivalent of chardonnay. Amber ales and lagers work well too.

Lamb
Two ways to go here - you could go for a strong Trappist beer like Orval, Chimay Rouge or a French bière de garde (the equivalent of a full bodied red) or a slightly sour red ale such as Duchesse de Bourgogne (think pinot noir)

Duck
Surprisingly, given how different a type of meat it is, the beers I’ve recommended above with lamb would work with duck too. If you were feeling particularly daring you could offer a cherry or raspberry beer. Duck and cherries? Classic.

Chocolate
Better with beer than with wine, many think but I’m not sure that most beer fans favourite choice, porter, isn’t too heavy for this time of year. Again a raspberry or cherry-flavoured fruit beer could well work particularly if you serve fresh berries with the dessert

Lemon tart
I’ve already focussed on the problems intensely lemony desserts pose for wine and beer certainly isn’t any easier. Hey, why not just eat it on its own?

Eggs
A witbier, bière blanche or other light, cloudy wheat beer is generally regarded as the best match for brunch dishes. Since it’s also good with smoked and cold salmon, spring vegetables such as asparagus and salads it’s well worth having a few bottles around.

You may also find this post useful:

Which wines to drink at Easter

Image by Oscar Trompenaars from Pixabay

What's the best match for a barbecue?

Should it be wine or beer - or even a cocktail? Last year I asked the Twitter community what their favourite barbecue bevvy was and this is what they came up with . . .

@HarryReginald covered all the options with his prescription:

On a hot day: bubbly, followed by bubbly and then some Chenin and a solid Pinot. Or simply cold, hoppy, beers.

There was a fair amount of support for Sparkling Shiraz

Sparkling Shiraz like Peter Lehmann Black Queen, Rockford Black, Majella - especially with chargrilled and marinated meats and ribs @nywines. @robertgiorgione @rovingsommelier agreed

And for light reds . . .

Lightly chilled Austrian Zweigelt/Blaufrankisch @robertgiorgione

Chilled Beaujolais like Brouilly and other Gamay @scandilicious @goodshoeday (if the BBQ is not too spicy @spicespoon)

Cold Valpolicella Allegrini @Lardis

Leg of lamb with juicy, chilled Loire Cab Franc @foodwinediarist

How about a nice juicy Grenache w/ bbq foods? Not too heavy for hot weather. @TheWineyard

but not much for more full-bodied reds except for @HawksmoorLondon who tipped Super Tuscan wines with chargrilled steak

A couple mentioned whites, especially with fish

Hunter Valley Semillon and oysters @SomeSomm @DanSims (not typical UK barbie fare but a great idea)

Catalan Grenache Blanc with grilled sardines and red peppers @foodwinediarist

Others went in a more aromatic direction

Hilltop Estates Cserszegi from @thewinesociety with home made piri piri BBQ chicken @LouiseHerring

Chicken brochette in the Pakistani manner with Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris @SpiceSpoon

A nice crisp chilled wine like an Alsace Riesling for me @eatlikeagirl @aforkful. @scandilicious agreed: "nice Riesling or Grüner Veltliner w/BBQ fish or prawns"

Surprisingly few went for rosé, one of my own BBQ favourites

Dry rosé like Chapel Down (with butterflied lamb) @goodshoeday - although she also mentioned Peronelles, a kir-like blush cider from Aspalls

There were other fans of cider

Ashridge Devon cider @BistroWineMan

I do like cider at a bbq - its a good gutsy match to bacon rolls which are another bbq must have! @KateWild

But far more fans of beer

Beer fizzy and cold from my shed fridge @crownbrewerstu

BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, CIDER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER, BEER @MelissaCole

What matches caramelised and charred BBQ flavours better than roasted malt flavours? Got to be beer everytime! @WBandBEER

I'm liking dark beers with BBQs at the mo - BrewDog Zeitgeist, a decent Dark Mild, a porter, all served cold @markdredge. @HawksmoorLondon suggested Porter too.

Chimay for a spicy BBQ @spicespoon and Rodenbach Grand Cru for BBQd meats @scandilicious

@Hoegaarden @goodshoeday

not a #twitmatch but a #twecipe-Young's Bitter & Ginger marinade 4 bbq'd spatchcocked poussin @jo_dring

A couple mentioned cocktails (another personal favourite, especially margaritas and rum punches)

Jugs of Bloody Marys @rovingsommelier

A remojito (fino or manzanilla topped up w soda water, mint leaves, ice and lemon) @taralstevens (love the sound of this)

and @bluedoorbakery just went for sherry

@aforkful came up with a great non-alcoholic option: "try this delicious cordial if staying off the booze"

There was even a recommendation for ‘cool water’ from @howardggoldberg (the first - and I hope not the last - #twitmatch linked to a song)

Thanks all, for the great ideas.