The Three C’s of Beer and Food Pairing
Beer and food pairings are an essential part of any good restaurant or bar menu. With the right selection, you can elevate your dishes and increase your sales.
Beer is an excellent palate cleanser, and can even act as a digestive aid. It also helps you relax, which can be a huge benefit.
The three C’s of beer and food pairing: Cut, Complement and Contrast – are key to finding the perfect match between a delicious dish and a well-crafted beverage. Here are some examples:
*Cut – The best way to pair food and beer is to find a beer that cuts through the flavor of your meal, refreshing the taste buds and producing new flavors. For example, light beer can be used to clean the palate after a heavy meal, while a dark stout or porter can be used with fatty fish or shellfish to round out the richness.
*Complement – The easiest way to find the right pairing is to look for foods that complement each other in taste and texture. For example, a wheat beer works perfectly with desserts or fruit tarts; but you can also use a pale lager to complement a simple pasta dish, or a stout with a steak or burger.
*Contrast – The other way to find the right pairing is to find the right contrast between beer and food. For example, a chocolatey stout pairs well with oysters; whereas a bitter IPA can be used to cut through the fattiness of fish or shellfish.