As promised, I once had a pleasant spicy food with hoppy beer pairing. It wasn’t an IPA, but here is how it went down. It was a Brooklyn Lager, which is an American pre-prohibition-style lager–meaning it has a solid hop profile and a nice malt backbone. For a basic lager, it has all the right stuff. It is dark gold and smells and tastes of citrus hops, like tangarine and kumquats with a bit of sweet maltiness poking through. I paired the beer with some spicy chipotle-orange barbeque chicken (sorry I can’t remember where I got the recipe) on a bun. The citrus flavors balanced perfectly with the orange bbq and the hops balanced the spice. Every sip was pure refreshment to my burning tongue. So, yes, I agree some hoppy beers do go well with spicy food. I’m making hot wings for the superbowl, so I’ll have to experiment with an IPA tomorrow.
Tags: BBQ, Brooklyn Lager, Chipotle, Orange
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