Beer Time: Pair your beer with these foods 🍻
Here’s a feast that most Maltese will be fond of: Beer Day! It’s actually next week, on the 5th of August, but with the Farsons Beer Festival starting within 2 days, we felt inspired. 😏
Each different type of beer pairs best with a different kind of food, similarly to wine. Some beer experts say that beer gives you more room to experiment than wine when it comes to flavour, since beers can be made with hops, barley, yeast, spices, and even chocolate! 🍫
Check out which foods pair amazingly with different kinds of beers (and where you can enjoy a good pint in Malta):
India Pale Ales (IPAs)
The flavour of IPAs is quite bitter and it’s common for IPAs to have herbal flavours incorporated to balance out the bitterness. There’s a whole variety of IPAs, so food pairings are quite diverse, but generally, IPAs are paired with fries, ribs, cheese, Mexican food, and steak. 🥩
Amber Ales
Characterised by a strong malty taste and hints of sweetness, amber ales have a crisp and dry finish that is ideal for a palate cleanse. Amber ales go beautifully with meats like brisket, jerk chicken, and pulled pork. They also go really well with pizza. 🍕
Farsons’ Blue Label Ale is a local amber ale that we’ve paired with an incredible Butter Chicken Curry from Shakinah. You can check it out here.
Brown Ales
Brown ales are characterised by coffee and chocolate undertones. You can also find ones that have a nutty taste. Brown ales are super versatile when it comes to food pairings, but they go very well with BBQ foods, sausages, fish (including sushi), and roast pork. 🤩
Light Lagers
Light in both colour and flavour, light lagers are quite refreshing, crisp and they’re very popular. They go well mostly with spicy foods, but they’re also paired with most dishes, like buffalo wings, hot dogs, noodles, seafood and shellfish, fresh fish, light pasta dishes, Asian food, and grilled light meats. 😋
We’ve paired the classic Cisk Lager with a delicious Pinsa Burrata e Parma from Sotto (p.s. have you checked out their new restaurant in St. Julian’s yet?) Have a look at this beer pairing here! 😎
Dark Lagers
Strong, sweet, and nutty in flavour, dark beers are quite unique and popular in Europe. They go very well with European meals, like bangers and mash, sausages, sharp cheeses, and smoked meats. A dark lager also pairs nicely with a good pizza, like the killer pizza from Tre Pale! Try it with the Cisk Strong Lager! 😍
Pilsners
Pilsners are slightly bitter in taste and they balance out complex dishes. They pair well with Mexican food, Asian food, and fish dishes like salmon, tuna, and trout. Pilsners are also great with chicken, salads, bratwurst, Monterey Jack cheese, Havarti cheese and Vermont cheddar. Did you know that there’s a Cisk Pilsner? 🍺
Stout Beer
This black beer is famous for its roasted flavour, similar to porter beer. They are quite mild and they are also characterised by chocolatey and coffee tastes. Stouts pair relatively well with desserts, like chocolate truffles and mousses, but they’re also great with lobster, shellfish, barbeque foods, roasted foods, and even braised dishes. 👌
Every kind of beer differs in taste, complexity, colour, mouthfeel, and even alcohol content, and knowing those elements about the beer you’re about to taste will help you pair it with the right food. Experiment and discover what works best, but at the end of the day, it’s all about what tickles your taste buds! What’s your ultimate beer combo? Let us know in the comments! 👇
Comments