The Best Beer and Food Pairings

Monday, April 6, 2015, 12:21 pm

"Good food can make good beer taste better, and vice versa," says Aviram Turgeman, a beer sommelier at Cafe D'Alsace in Manhattan. 

Select the food you're eating to learn his picks for which beers are the perfect match for your main dish.


Pizza, Mackerel

Drink this: Pilsner, lager

Why it works: Structure. A dry, crisp beer with balanced hops can overcome strong flavors, like seasonings on pizza, or the oiliness of fish. Plus, the hops can scrub your taste-buds between bites, enhancing the flavor of both beer and food. 

Health bonus: When steaks were soaked in pilsner for 6 hours before panfrying, a suspected carcinogen in the meat was reduced by as much as 88 percent, according to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study. 

Turgeman's pick: Jever Pilsener

Also try: Stella Artois, Kronenbourg 1664 

Burger, Chicken, Lamb

Drink this: Amber ale 

Why it works: Intensity. "Strong flavors overwhelm light beers," says Turgeman. That's why you need a complex, heavier brew. 

Health bonus: The hops in a beer like an amber ale may help lower cholesterol and prevent blood clotting, according to a 2007 study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. 

Turgeman's pick: Fischer Amber

Also try: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale 

Beef, Sausage, Pork

Drink this: Farmhouse ale 

Why it works: Region. European beers taste great with meat cooked in European styles. Carry the lesson to other cuisines, to complement undertones in each: Asian beer with sushi, a Mexican cerveza with tacos, and so on. 

Health bonus: The barley used in ale's brewing process contains flavonoids—a group of compounds, also found in wine, that may interfere with the multiplication of cancer cells. 

Turgeman's pick: Saison Dupont

Also try: La Choulette Blonde, Castelain Blond 

Green Salad, Egg

Drink this: Belgian white

Why it works: Weight/body. Citruspacked, lighter wheat beers make food taste fresher and cut through the richness of yolks or hollandaise sauce. 

Health bonus: Wheat beers may help lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases, say Austrian researchers. A test-tube study found that compounds in beer helped prevent tryptophan degradation and neopterin production, two factors that are linked with coronary-artery disease. 

Turgeman's pick: Gruut Belgian Wit Beer

Also try: Hoegaarden, Blue Moon 

Cheese, Salmon

Drink this: Trappist, Abbey

Why it works: Body/strength. The mild sweetness and yeastiness of Trappist beers play off the charred flavors of smoked or grilled food or pungent cheese. 

Health bonus: Brewer's yeast contains B vitamins, protein, and minerals, but it rests on the bottom in Trappist beer bottles. So pour most of your beer into a glass, then swirl the last bit to pick up the yeast. 

Turgeman's pick: Chimay Red

Also try: Leffe Blonde, Goose Island Matilda 

Chocolate, Fruit

Drink this: Stout, Porter, flavored lambics

Why it works: There are no rules. "Experiment with sweet beers," Turgeman says. "You can make great combinations." To cap off a dinner date, pair chocolate with cherry lambic. 

Health bonus: The black-cherry juice in cherry lambics is higher in disease-fighting antioxidants than cranberry and orange juice are, says a 2008 UCLA study. 

Turgeman's pick: Lindemans Kriek Lambic

Also try: Smuttynose Robust Porter, Young's Double Chocolate Stout