The trick to pairing great food with great beer is not just in the taste, but in the temperature of the beer (a warm ale, for example, or perhaps a cold cider or a chilled lager) and the presentation of the two together. Now that the summer months are upon us, it is BBQ season – and with that comes the need to find an alcoholic beverage best served cold to match our favorite food! In our opinion, cider is one of the best examples of an alcoholic beverage, falling within the wider beer category that is absolutely perfect when served outside, on a hot summer’s day, with a grilled sausage and lashings of mustard.
Other great beer and food pairings resort to another classic British combination: the match made in heaven between beef and ale. Indeed, one of the best ways to hasten this marriage of gastronomical passion is to make a stew with diced beef sirloin (approximately 7-10% fat content) with a bottle of your favorite local ale (so approximately 500ml of beer). If left to simmer over a low heat for three hours, mixed with a selection of vegetables, chopped tomatoes and a touch of flour and rosemary, you will have a stew of champions.
Equally, another fantastic stew can be made from mixing cider with pork. The recipe remains the same, but mix diced pork with a bottle of your favorite cider, with a healthy dollop of fresh sage. Furthermore, for those who have grown up on the American favorite of pork chops, you can marinate them first in cider to give them added succulence and flavor.
Another British classic is the combination of fish and chips and beer batter. Your palate will respond fantastically well to a white, moist fish that has been battered in high-quality beer-infused breadcrumbs, creating a crust that is flavorsome and very, very delicious!
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