How To Pick The Perfect Craft Beer And Wine For Your Dinner Party
Craft beers have exploded in the last decade. There are so many different varieties to choose from, and there is sure to be a winner that will compliment whatever you are serving at your next dinner party. If you are more familiar with wine than beer, let the wine you would serve with your meal help guide you to the perfect craft beer. The next time you have guests over for a meal, you can offer a wine and a craft beer that will both pair beautifully with your food selections. Use the following guide to help you pick out a craft beer for whatever type of food you plan to make.
Seafood
If you are planning to treat your guests to a meal of shrimp, lobster, fish, or oysters, your best bet for a wine would be a nice white. Pick up a bottle or two of pinot grigio, chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris, or sauvignon blanc. Your beer should be also be light, citrusy, and crisp so that it compliments the seafood as well. Try a shandy, hefeweisen, Indian pale ale, kolsch, or Belgian ale.
Steak
Red meat is savory and hearty. Red wines that are full bodied and intense pair nicely with a carnivorous dinner. Try a bottle of pinot noir, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, or a barbera. Your craft beer selection should be just as nuanced and multi-faceted as the wine. Try an amber, lager, stout, or porter.
Greek and Lebanese Food
If your dinner party consists of salads with olives and feta cheese, grilled chicken skewers, lamb, and hummus platters, a blush wine will work nicely. Try a white zinfandel, white pinot noir, mourvedre rose, provence rose, tavel rose, or tempranillo rose. For your beer choices try a lager, Indian pale ale, tripel, or porter.
Barbeque
The delicious smoky flavors of a pulled pork sandwich coupled with cole slaw, corn on the cob, and macaroni and cheese are enhanced by a nice blush wine as well. White zinfandel is a classic pairing with barbeque. For your craft beer selection, try a pale ale, saison, or lambic.
Dessert
The grand finale to your dinner, deserves its own wine and beer pairing. For chocolate confections, try a bottle of port or sherry as your wine. Stouts, brown ales, and lambics all work nicely with chocolate.
For a fruity tart or coconut based desert, try a bottle of muscato or champagne. For a craft beer that plays up the fruit flavors, try a lambic, shandy, or hefeweizen.