What is beer pairing?

If you haven’t tried beer pairing before, don’t knock it before you try it. It’s pretty much the same bag as pairing wine with your food; dark beers go better with rich, roasted or barbecued food, whereas light beers go well with fresh seafood, crisp salads or chicken dishes.

We’ve enlisted the help of the top beer gurus at HonestBrew to make beer pairing easy for you. Plus there’s a chance to win a box of brews perfectly paired with our three cracking recipes below!

The Brews

The Food

Sweet Potato Cottage Pie with Roasted Broccoli

Hearty foods such as beef dishes with gravy require the robust flavours of dark beers such as stouts and porters. Renowned as a “real foodie beer”, Yeastie Boys’ Pot Kettle Black has quickly become a go-to brew for chef’s around the world, and now it can be the beer of choice in your kitchen alongside our delicious sweet potato cottage pie. The South Pacific Porter is packed with the dark berry and chocolate (yes, chocolate!) flavours that work so well with red meat. While a bitter hop finish will counteract the sweetness of the sweet potato mash and mirror the fresh bite of the broccoli. 

Red Thai Prawn Curry with Star Anise Rice

Famous for its dynamic range of flavours and textures, the balance between ingredients is essential with Thai cooking. Therefore, you need a beer boasting flavours that won’t get lost in the crowd while enjoying dishes that pack spicy, sweet, salty and sour notes into every bite. Pressure Drop’s Wu Gang Chops The Tree is a light and refreshing Foraged Herb Hefeweisse filled with aromatic flavours of coriander and fresh citrus fruits that work well beside Thai spices such as ginger and lemongrass. Both the dish and beer exhibit several levels of flavour – it’s down to you to journey through them!

Cajun Pork with Bulgur Wheat and Garlicky Spring Greens

While Cajun and Creole food may well contain a hefty dose of spice, the level of heat is more subdued than most Asian and Indian dishes. Warming smokey flavours often take precedence, and spices such as paprika, black pepper and cayenne replace copious amounts of chilli. Red and Amber beers will complement the sweetness of the pork and spices without overpowering them. Siren’s Liquid Mistress is built upon a biscuity malt base that offers a pleasantly sweet foundation of raisins and sultanas, while a bitter hop bite of grapefruit refreshes the palate in preparation for that next succulent mouthful.

Time to try it yourself…

Now you know the deal, why not give it a go at home? You could even win these delicious recipes AND the beers to pair with them! Head over to our Instagram to enter.

Get £10 off your first Honesty Box with HelloFresh. Click the button below to start your beer adventure and leave a special note if you’d like to request the beers featured in our recipe pairings.

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