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The best beer and food pairings

There aren’t many better pleasures in this world than savouring a delicious craft beer with a beautifully cooked meal. The art of pairing the right beer with the right dish can enhance your taste buds and perfect your dining experience! But how do you know which food goes with which beer?

Here at City Brew tours, we understand this exciting challenge comes with some tricky questions. That’s why, we’ve put together this ultimate beer and food pairing guide to some of the most delicious types of beer you can find!

If your stomachs still aren’t satisfied afterwards, then we also host some of the most exciting brewery tours in Montreal since 2018. You’ll hear from the experts themselves about how craft beer is produced, while trying out some perfect beer and food combinations, with various beer styles.

How do I make a good beer and food pairing?

a beer and food pairing with ham and chili pepper

One of Canada’s most iconic beers, Molson Canadian is a classic lager that has been enjoyed by beer drinkers for over 60 years. Indeed, Molson Canadian is the best-selling beer in Canada. It has a clean and refreshing taste with a slightly sweet finish, making it a popular choice among Canadians. This is one of the most popular Canadian beer brands. Molson Canadian is a traditional Canadian lager, brewed using the finest Canadian barley and hops, and it’s the perfect light beer to enjoy on a hot summer day.

If you’re interested in the beer brewing process, Molson Canadian offers a brewery tour where you can see the first step of the process. The brewery tour will take you through the brewing process from start to finish, and you’ll get to taste some beer straight from the tanks. Molson Canadian is one of the most authentic beers for Canadian beer fans.

When you’re deciding what beer goes well with what food, luckily there aren’t too many strict rules you need to follow. Just bear in mind these important factors and you can’t go wrong!

  • Strength: Typically, stronger beers require a stronger, more intense tasting food in order to cut through and compliment the beer.
  • Hops: Consider which hops are used to make the beer. For example, IPAs are often made using hops. Typically employed in beer as a bittering, flavoring, and stability ingredient, imparting floral, fruity, or citrus flavors and smells as well as bitterness. Therefore, foods with similar features would pair excellently.
  • Flavour: Craft beer can be made using almost any variety of flavours these days. Matching (or even contrasting) flavours is always a good rule to follow when pairing beer with food.

With these three elements in mind, you will find a perfect match with all styles of beer!

Which food to pair with sour beer?

Sour beers are extremely versatile! Even if you’re not a traditional beer drinker, you can easily enjoy a sour beer thanks to its balance of fruity flavours and lively, acidic nature. As a result, they pair very well with a wide variety of delicious foods, we’ve highlighted some of our all-time favourites below.

A strong cheese board

There aren’t many better food pairing combos around than beer and cheese! This is a classic pairing. Strong and sharp cheeses such as blue cheese, goat cheese and Gorgonzola perfectly compliment the fruitiness of the beer and are able to cut through its acidity. Cheese and beer are a perfect pairing!

Cured, salty meats

Another ideal match with sour beer is a selection of salty foods such as meats or sausages. As a general rule in beer and food pairing, strong flavours compliment other strong flavours. Therefore, meats with a high salt content such as beef jerky, smoked bacon or prosciutto are the perfect partner for a refreshing sour beer. So, think about salty meats for your dinner parties, It is an ideal pairing!

Mussels, clams, and shellfish

Our final sour beer and food pairing recommendation matches perfectly with shellfish and other seafoods. Fresh clams, mussels or oysters, combined with a squeeze of lemon juice or drizzled with a creamy butter sauce, draw out the rich flavours of the sour beer in ways few other dishes can. This is one of our favourite pairings!

a beer and food pairing with mussels

What food does IPA beer go well with?

India Pale Ales (IPAs) are typically made using hops packed with intense, deep flavours. These hoppy beers are also a little stronger than typical light lagers in terms of alcohol content. Therefore, the best beer and food pairing possible is with spicy foods that can compliment these features.

Mexican food

The blend between the light and dark flavours of Mexican food is the perfect combination to pair with an IPA. Spicy dishes such as roasted meat fajitas packed with chili and heat pair excellently with a darker, brown ale. Alternatively, fried fish tacos with a crunchy salad and a citrus kick are great with a lighter bodied IPA.

Indian curry

Intense Indian curries such as a Madras work to enhance the flavours of the hops contained in IPAs. Typical notes of caramel and coriander contained within the beer are emphasised by the roasted flavours of the indian food. As well as bringing out the flavours in both, the IPA also works to cool down the harshness of the curry and acts as a palate cleanser for the next mouthful!

BBQ chicken wings

BBQ’d meats (you can use any, but our favourite is spicy chicken wings) pair beautifully with IPA’s malty flavors, this is a natural match. The caramelisation process that occurs on the meat while it’s on the grill strengthens the caramel flavours of the malt and hops contained within the beer. Whether you prefer lighter, amber ales or darker beers, all varieties of IPA pair well with grilled meats!

a mexican beer and food pairing on a plate

What food does porter beer go well with?

Due to its dark complexity, you would most likely associate porters and stouts with deep, intense flavours such as grilled meat or spicy food. However, these tasty beers are very often a little sweeter than IPA or lager, and hold flavours such as chocolate, coffee, and caramel.

Oysters

We all know just how popular Guinness has become worldwide, so it’s only right that we include one of the most well-known beer and food combinations across the globe! It may not seem the most likely combo, but trust us, Guinness and oysters is a true match made in heaven.

Dark chocolate cake

Porters and stouts are wonderfully creamy and, thanks to its sweetness, helps it pair perfectly with a velvety dark chocolate cake. At the end of a long day, what better way to enjoy your favourite beer than with a chocolatey dessert!

Discover all the best beer and food pairings with Brew City Tours

people enjoy beer and food pairing in a bar

If you want to learn more about what food goes well with a wide range of delicious beers, then why not book onto one of our fantastic City Brew tours. We have two options to choose from, both offering a different tasting experience:

Sip of Montreal Brew Tour: We’ve partnered with some of the best breweries in Montreal’s coolest neighborhoods to give you the opportunity to sample over 10 craft beers. You’ll be tasting local cheese and charcuterie, while discovering which beers pair best with each food. After this 3.5 hour tour, you’ll be able to share your knowledge with friends and even host your own tasting evening!

Montreal Happy Hour Brew Tour: In our ultimate beer and food pairing tour, the Montreal Happy Hour Tour, not only will you get to try a wide range of local craft beers, but you’ll go behind the scenes to learn about production and the brewing process. After each stop, you’ll be treated to a delicious full meal to perfectly partner your freshly brewed beer! Do not hesitate: our private brewery tours are also available for groups and parties of all sizes, so you can enjoy an IPA or any other beer you like with your loved ones!

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