Christmas dinner: what kind of food pairs with beer?

The end of the year festivities and the Christmas dinner awaits us to give our palate a feast of flavors between Creole, spicy, salty, bittersweet and sweet. We do not always have to accompany our dinner with a wine or champagne. It can also fall like a glove a refreshing beer, which, believe it or not, combines with everything.

This is how he points out, Walter Proetzel, German-trained brewmaster and trainer at Backus company, who teaches us, in an interview for the group Trade, what kinds of foods are best for this popular drink, but first review the types, styles and descriptors of beer that we can find in the market.

“There are two main types of beer: ale and lager. While in styles there is the porter, stout among others … There are also monks’ beers (Trappist beers) that are well known in Belgium and lager-type beers recognized in Germany. When the Germans immigrated to America they brought the beer culture of the lager type, which is what we consume in our country … When you see beers of different colors, they are known as descriptors, that is, those that define the styles of beer, they define organoleptic qualities, physical-chemical characteristics such as color, units of bitterness or texture”Explains the brewmaster.

Basic rules of pairing:

According to the specialist, beer is the best option to pair with Peruvian food. “Peruvian food is made for him pairing perfect with beer”, Emphasizes Walter, who warns us that to match we must take into account balance, harmony and contrast.

• Balance: It is when the intensity of the food is aligned with the beer.
• Harmony: When you choose a flavor that is present in beer, but also in food. So there is a harmony between the pairing that accentuates your culinary experience.
• Contrast: If you have a sweet or spicy element, you can also pair it with a beer. The beer regulates or balances the flavors giving an ideal contrast for your gastronomic experience.

Advantages of pairing meals with beer

1. Beer has very low alcohol content. This is important because it doesn’t leave the feeling of alcohol in your mouth.
2. It has carbonation. It’s a wonderful science because it cleanses your palate and leaves it ready for the next bite.
3. It has bitterness. Which makes the pairing very interesting, depending on the style of the beer and the level of bitterness.
4. Presence of texture and aroma. The texture is the sensation in the mouth that the beer leaves and the floral or fruity aromas that the beer may have.

Pairing with beer:

• Grilled meats: The grilled meat is roasted, but at the same time it is caramelized. So, for this type of meat, a beer with caramel malt content is perfect, that is, it contains the texture of a malt and is not very bitter. It may be ale style beer.
• Stews: The (pot) meat does not have the power of a grilled meat, so it would look great with a lager beer.
• oriental meat: When you consume for example a chifa, it goes very well with a wheat beer, it is not bitter, it has a degree of sweetness and it has an intense carbonation. It has a perfect pairing with oriental food.
• Turkey: This meat has a strong texture, you can lacquer the turkey with a dark beer or make a reduction with dark beer and then accompany this meal with the same beer that you used. It is the ideal.
• Creole food: Here you can pair with beers that have a higher bitter content or Belgian or German-style wheat beers.
• Spicy: You have to be very careful about using too much spice in your food because it can make you lose the perception of what you are eating. That’s why when I have a very spicy dish, I should avoid a bitter beer because it emphasizes the heat. You would have to look for a beer with a higher maltiness, with less bitterness that could be a dark beer that soothes the sensation of itching in the mouth.

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