Amber Hybrids

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Amber Hybrids

Pint Glass

Amber Hybrid Beers are beers that combine some characteristics of ales and lagers into one brew. Often more aggressive in flavor than their Light Hybrid cousins, Amber Hybrids make more use of darker malts and can be more assertively hopped as well as darker in color. 

Amber Hybrids are great beers with salads, red meat and smoked meats of all kinds. Pork dishes are also a good pairing with these beers and we prefer earthy or tangy cheeses with them like camembert, edam or feta.

Amber Lagers

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Amber Lagers

Pilsener Glass

Amber Lagers are a specialty of central and eastern Europe. Malty and rich in taste, they are popular with many non-beer drinkers! The Oktoberfest beers are among the most popular Amber Lagers and are a must during the Oktoberfest season, which starts in mid-September.

Amber Lagers pair well with barbecue, poultry, and many beef dishes. Latin American and German foods work well, as well as smoked meats.

American Ales

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American Ales

Pint Glass

American Ales are usually bigger interpretations of the classic European Pale and Brown styles, featuring more malt and hops. American Ambers (also called Red Ales) are the most original style in this category and feature a strong, but balanced, combination of malt and hops.

Amber Ales complement sharp cheeses, poultry, fish and beef dishes. Amber Ales are also terrific with BBQ and smoked or grilled meats.

Belgian & French Ales

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Belgian & French Ales

Tulip Glass

Belgians have been master brewers for centuries. Sharing a border with France, the beer culture has developed a very distinct and sometime wine-like character. Belgian Ales like Witbiers, Saisons and Belgian Pales boast complexities to rival most wines, and typically cost a lot less!

Belgian & French Ales work with a wide range of dishes. Witbiers (white ales) work wonderfully with salads while Belgian Pales work well with meat and fish.

Belgian Strong Ales

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Belgian Strong Ales

Tulip Glass

Belgian brewers can be subtle, but Belgian Strong Ales are examples of extreme beers that are usually very high in alcohol content. High alcohol contents in Dubbels, Tripels, Blonds, Golden and Dark Strong Ales are achieved with the addition of sugar to the fermentation process.

Belgian tripels are great with poultry, pork and sharp cheeses. Belgian dubbels are wonderful with beef, chocolate, buttery cheeses and strong cheeses.

Bock Beers

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Bock Beers

Pilsener Glass

Bock Beers are stronger than average lagers that are typically amber to dark in color. Bock Beers are traditionally brewed in Germany and signal the end of winter and suggest the coming of warmer weather.

Bock beers pair well with German foods, earthy cheeses like Camembert and Fontina and can be terrific with chocolate or game.

Dark Lagers

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Dark Lagers

Pilsener Glass

Dark Lagers are dark because of the liberal use of roasted malts. Malty is the best way to describe the dominant taste, but some Dark Lagers also make liberal use of hops as well.

Dark Lagers pair well with barbecue, poultry, and many beef dishes. Latin American and German foods work well, as well as smoked meats.

English Brown Ales

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Brown Ales

Pint Glass

English Brown Ales often have an initial malty sweetness followed by a moderate caramel flavor. England is the original home of English Brown Ales, though Americans have embraced them and created a more robust version of them known as American Brown Ales.

Brown Ales are terrific with many red meats and nutty cheeses. They are also exceptional with BBQ, pork and grilled meats.

English Pale Ales

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English Pale Ales

Pilsener Glass

Most beers of this style are known as “bitters” in England. English Pale Ales feature earthy British hops like East Kent Goldings that do not completely dominate the malt, as they sometimes do in American Pale Ales. English Pale Ales are flavorful, yet low to medium alcohol beers.

Pale Ales go great with big fare like grilled burgers or combination pizzas, as well as lighter fare like sushi and green salads.

Fruit Beers

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Fruit Beers

Pint or Flute Glass

Fruit Beers are flavored with fruits or fruit syrups. The ale itself is typically well balanced and light on flavor to allow the fruit itself to be the dominant taste. Many different kinds of fruits are used.

Fruit Beers are sometimes great as aperitifs or as desserts, by themselves or with cakes and pies. Lighter fruit beers can be a wonderful pairing with salads before a meal.

German Wheat Ales

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German Wheat Ales

Weizen Glass

In southern Germany (Bavaria), wheat beers are traditional. By law, German Wheat beers replace at least 50% of their barley malt with malted wheat (or 50% rye for rye beer). The resulting beer is refreshing and flavorful. German Wheat beers often taste of banana, clove and bubblegum.

German Wheat Ales are perfect for poultry, Latin American cuisine and earthy cheeses, as well as green salads. They are typically very refreshing and most popular in warmer weather. Of course, they pair very well with German food!

India Pale Ales

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India Pale Ales

Pint Glass

India Pale Ales get their name and unique style from British brewers who were making beer for export to India. The hops were used to preserve the beer for the long sea voyage. Not surprisingly, India Pale Ales are usually very hoppy!

India Pale Ales (IPA’s) work especially well at cutting the heat of chili and other spicy foods. IPA’s stand up well to foods with strong flavors.

Light Hybrids

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Light Hybrids

Pint Glass

Ales and Lagers are the two types of beer, but sometimes a beer has the characteristics of both. Light Hybrid Beers include Cream Ales, Blond Ales, Kolsch and American Wheat beers. Light Hybrids are typically lager recipes brewed with ale yeast and lagered at cool temperatures.

Light Hybrid beers are very flexible in cuisine. Our favorites are German foods, but many red meat dishes (beef and pork) are terrific with these beers. Salad course are also a great match for these beers because of their light flavor profiles.

Light Lagers

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Light Lagers

Pilsener Glass

Light Lagers dominate the beer scene in much of the world as large brewers have made cheap versions of them a staple. Craft brewers still brew high quality versions of Light Lagers like Munich Helles or Dortmunder Export beers that contain no adjunct ingredients to lessen the flavor.

Light Lagers are great thirst quenchers and also pair well with many cuisines like Italian or barbecue. Earthy cheeses like Camembert work well with them as well as pairings with poultry, pork, fish and shellfish.

Pilseners

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Pilseners

Pilsener Glass

Pilseners popularized the lager style of beer with their distinctive crispness and golden, clear appearance. Czech and German brewers first explored this style that typically features a rich, malt flavor balanced with noble hop flavors that contribute to the crisp, dry, refreshing finish.

Pilseners pair wonderfully with curried, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Pan Asian cuisines. They are also great matches for sharp cheeses like Blue and  Cheddar.

Porters

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Porters

Pint Glass

Porters are light brown to dark brown in color, often with ruby highlights when held up to light. Malt flavor includes a mild to moderate roastiness (frequently with a chocolate character) and often a significant caramel, nutty, and/or toffee character.

Pilseners pair wonderfully with curried, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Pan Asian cuisines. They are also great matches for sharp cheeses like Blue and  Cheddar.

Scottish & Irish Style Ales

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Scottish & Irish Beers

Mug

Scottish Ales are caramel in color and often have a high sugar content, lending them a sweet taste. Irish Style Ales are usually less sweet and red or amber in color. They are usually very well balanced.

Both Scottish Ales and Irish Style Ales pair well with poultry and pork dishes. Buttery cheese and smoked meats are always great with these beers.

Sour Ales

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Pint Glass

Sour Ales, sometimes flavored with fruit, are very popular beers in Europe and gaining popularity in the US. Purists still enjoy the classic un-fruited Sour Ales like Flanders Red or Brown, or Gueuze, but many people enjoy Fruit Lambics with their refreshing tart and fruity flavors.

Sour Ales often pair well with earthy cheeses as the cheese offsets some of the sour taste. Try fruit lambics by themselves or with dessert and try sour red ales with grilled meat (BBQ).

Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beers

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Spice/Herb/Vegetable beers should be a harmonious marriage of spices, herbs and/or vegetables and beer. The spices shouldn’t overwhelm the beer, but they should add a distinct flavor and character to it.

Spice/Herb/Vegetable beers pair with a wide variety of foods, depending upon the spice and herbs used in the beer. We suggest trying them with foods that you might normally eat those particular spices with.

Stouts

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Stouts

Pint Glass

Stouts are brewed with roasted barley malt, which gives them their characteristic dark black color, as well as their roasted flavor. They often taste of chocolate or coffee, both of which are sometimes used to enhance the flavor.

Stouts are great with many of the same foods and cheeses as Porters (see above), but they are also great with game meats and shellfish. Try a Stout when you want something slightly less sweet.

Strong Ales

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Strong Ales

Weizen Glass

Strong, intense and full of character, Strong Ales are usually the strongest beers offered by a brewer. Strong Ales often taste of toffee, caramel or biscuits and they pair well with sharp cheeses and desserts. Strong Ales are more commonly known as Old Ales and Barleywines.

Strong Ales pair with sharp, sometimes pungent cheeses like Blue, Cheddar, Limburger and Gorgonzola. They are also an excellent digestive to savor after a meal.