Beer with food

A lot has been said and written about matching beer and food. I have been slow in buying in to the many concepts banded about (the marketing people call that a 'laggard' I am told.... bloody cheek). However, I am now coming round to the idea having conducted a few scientifically calibrated experiments on a carefully selected sample of those who know everything (i.e. Mrs Cellarman).

Here are some tips:

Pilsners - cuts through fatty foods, oily fish and refreshes the mouth with spicy foods. Great with seared fillet of salmon or Thai green curry

IPAs - great foil for hot and spicy dishes eg. Indian, Mexican etc.

Bitter - classic English ales work brilliantly with roasts, pies, cheese based starters, hearty soups

Strong Bitter - fuller bodied ales work well with cheeses

Wheat beers - mussels, creamy white meat dishes

Porters - caramelised dishes such as seared scallops, chocolate desserts

Abbey & Trappist beers - braised meats, casseroles and stews

Fruit beers - pates and foie gras

I hope this helps. Give me your opinion.

Cheers