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Like beer? Then try these wines.
23 May 2022 - Justin Sims
I know what you’re thinking. Is this really doable? Surely they’re too different? After all, one’s made from grapes and the other’s made from grain, right?
Well, yes, not really, and yeah, but if you look at them both from a purely sensory perspective, you’ll be gob-smacked by the similarities. By sensory, we’re mainly concerned with aroma and taste, but there are some instances where, visually, certain beers and wines are uncannily similar. We’ll come onto that in a bit.
As the UK beer market has evolved over the past 15 years, in close succession to the US market, the David’s have collectively become Goliath, and now the choice of brew for the consumer is mind-boggling. So with more beers than you can shake a stick at and considerably more wines, where on earth do we begin?
Well, in order to really understand this and break it down, there’s a common denominator that we ought to consider and that’s food. Historically, we know that wine has been a drink to accompany a meal and beer should be no different.
There’s been a real push over the past decade or so to pair beer with food in the same way that we’ve been doing it for wine and, to a lesser extent, with spirits too.
Let’s establish our core beer categories
To make this more approachable, we need our core beer categories. I’ve taken eight straight off our website which should more or less cover the spectrum. While these general categories will have a heavily nuanced range of beers within them, stylistically there’ll be some commonality.
Our categories are:
Now for the fun profiling bit!
So now we have our beer categories, it’s time to look at the key characteristics of each, highlight the best food pairings and then suggest the wines that fit the bill.
Here goes…
ABBEY & TRAPPIST
These big flavoured beers with higher alcoholic strengths, showing dried fruit, spices and a burnt sugar sweetness are an ideal match for creamy, stinky cheeses like Brie de Meaux and Époisses de Bourgogne. They can also pair up nicely with game (in particular pheasant, venison and wild boar) as well as decent bangers, Beef Wellington and a prime cut steak like rib-eye.
Recommended wines: Aged red Rioja like Reservas and Gran Reservas, Grenache/Garnacha (especially Rhône reds), Syrah/Shiraz and even ports like Ruby or Late Bottled Vintage.
BROWN & AMBER
Almost exclusively British, these traditional stalwarts are characterised by a sweet maltiness and bitter hoppiness that leans either way depending on the brewer and the type of hops used.
They’re generally medium-bodied in weight and those that lean more towards malt sweetness are ideal with roasts like beef, pork and lamb and are also great with pub classics like bangers and mash and shepherd’s pie. Those that emphasise the bitter hop characters work particularly well with fish and chips as well as grilled salmon.
Recommended wines: Barrel-fermented whites like Chardonnay, white Bordeaux and Chenin Blanc alongside lighter Argentinean Malbecs, Primitivo from Puglia, Montepulciano and Valpolicella Ripasso.
IPAs
Although massively varied, these tend to be crisper and slightly more alcoholic than the browns and ambers. The increased bitter and pithy characters are balanced by citrus freshness and sweeter fruit notes on the finish. Herbs and floral characters will often feature too.
Brilliant with spicier dishes that use fresh chilli like Thai curries or chicken fajitas. They’re also divine with mild blue cheeses like Dolcelatte and Cambozola and will also pair with fruit puddings.
Recommended wines: Chilean Carménère, Cabernet Franc and Monastrell for reds and Grüner Veltliner, Dry Rieslings and Old World Sauvignon like Sancerre for whites.
PALE ALES
Pretty diverse, these are lighter in colour than your browns and ambers and range from gold to copper. They’re generally less bitter too. British pales strike the right balance between malt biscuity sweetness and hoppy bitterness while American pales are basically IPAs with the hop volume jacked up to the max and some Caribbean fruitiness thrown in for good measure!
The food options are just as diverse with British pales being well suited to classic British fayre; meat pies, Sunday roasts, burgers and fish and chips. American pales pair really well with spicier stuff like Pacific Rim cuisine as well as Tex-mex flavours.
Recommended wines: New World Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Soave and Pinot Noir (especially New World).
PORTERS & STOUTS
These make me think of coffee, both in colour terms and aroma terms, and can also feature bitter chocolate, liquorice and blackcurrant nuances too. Not only do they pair brilliantly with oysters, their smoky overtones complement rich stews, grilled meats, blue cheeses and game. Some even work with rich chocolate desserts.
Recommended wines: Given the oyster connection, equivalent white wines like Muscadet, Picpoul de Pinet and Albariño should appeal as well as New World Cabernet Sauvignon, red Bordeaux (especially ‘right bank’, so Pomerol and St. Émilion) and Chianti.
SOUR BEERS
With more funk than Bruno Mars, these sour Brett-fests can often be challenging to the uninitiated. The taste spectrum ranges from citrus to cider vinegar and fermenting fruit to farmyard. The flavour intensity, earthiness and tart acidity make these heavenly with salty charcuterie and salty or strong-flavoured cheeses like Roquefort, Gorgonzola and goat’s cheeses. Classic German sausage, like Bratwurst, with sauerkraut, is just about perfection too.
Recommended wines: Natural & Orange wines, Loire Chenin Blanc, drier and more savoury rosé wines made from Tempranillo (Rioja Rosé is in this category), Syrah and Mourvèdre (aka Mataro & Monastrell). Authentic Lambrusco and young, fresh Beaujolais should also appeal.
WHEAT BEERS
Lighter, creamier, often cloudy, these beers are characteristically less bitter and show hints of banana, citrus, bread and occasionally clove, roasted nuts and caramel. Plenty of food matches here too from mussels and oily fish to charcuterie and cheese boards right through to hot curries.
Recommended wines: Lower acid whites from the Rhône like Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. Semillon also fits nicely, again because of its low acidity. Light, tangy reds like Gamay, Bardolino and young, Old World Pinot Noirs should fare well.
Phewee…all that talk of beer, wine and fodder has given me the serious munchies. Time to hit the local for a pie and a pint!
Now you've matched your wines why not dive even deeper have a read of our blog about matching beer to food.