Perhaps my favorite dish that I make is Thai-Style Grilled Chicken. (Note: if you really want the recipe, you can get a free trial from Cook’s Illustrated on their website). If you’re into grilling, I highly recommend getting a copy of The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbeque, which has this and many other excellent [...]
Continue reading about DFH Pangaea + Thai-Style Grilled Chicken
Adobo from the Philippines is made from chicken or pork, marinaded in vinegar and garlic, with cracked black pepper, salt, and bay leaves, served over white rice. The combination produces a very assertive taste that can most easily be described as “pickled chicken”.
For a food this assertive, I turned to the Terrapin Rye Pale Ale. [...]
Continue reading about Filipino Adobo and Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Well, this was a no-brainer, but lots of work.
Dogfish Head Pangaea is brewed with ginger. I normally don’t like beers with prominent ginger, but what could possibly go better with Chinese food? Especially a dish made with ginger. Beer with ginger paired with Chinese food with ginger: failure was mathematically impossible.
In a move reminiscent of [...]
Continue reading about Dogfish Head Pangaea + General Tso’s Chicken
So Doug is brimming with doubts and fears about pairing IPAs. Obviously, it must now be my mission in life to find good IPA pairings.
Tonight featured a little something I shot from the hip. I essentially just scoured my fridge and freezer for ingredients that needed to be used up and which would go together. [...]
Continue reading about Sweetwater IPA + Chicken Alfredo Bake
This was a bit of a shot in the dark. But not too risky as I’ve found hoppy beers to be generally easier to pair than malty beers. I can’t explain why that is, but it just seems that malty beers are more likely to produce harsh flavors on your tongue when improperly paired. Exceptions [...]
Continue reading about Stone Double Bastard + Southwest Chicken Panini
Eek.
The beer was good. And the pasta was good. But the combination, not so much. Which is the whole point of this blog. To explore these pairings and see what works and what doesn’t.
Wheat wine is an interesting topic. It still is not an officially recognized style by the Beer Judge Certification Program, the [...]
Continue reading about Terrapin Gamma Ray + Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Yes, more leftovers!
This was good. It reinforces my belief that aside from macro lagers (which have almost no flavor of their own) pale ales are the most versatile beers out there for food pairings. They go with most foods, and this was no exception.
Continue reading about Sierra Nevada Pale Ale + Greek Chicken Pasta
Yes, part of cooking is eating… leftovers. Although leftovers aren’t exciting, the He’Brew Lenny’s RIPA is magnificent. Loads of rye, a bit of alcohol bite, lots of hoppy bitterness. Balanced with some thick malty sweetness.
Nice combo. Much better than the gordita with the Ten Fidy. This one works, and it might be worth exploring rye [...]
Continue reading about He’Brew Lenny’s RIPA + Chicken Gordita
This was was ill-fated from the beginning, but it ended up acceptable.
Ill-fated because both the beer and the food were past their prime. The food, I knew about going in; it had been in the freezer for a long time. The beer was a surpise and a let down. Bought at Jax Wine & Spirits [...]
Continue reading about Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner + General Tso’s Chicken
Not offensive, but don’t seek this one out.
I didn’t plan on this, and I suspected it might be awful, but this was how the chips fell tonight. I had planned out my evening beer selection before we decided on what to do for dinner, and then I accidentally finished the DFH 60 Minute IPA right [...]
Continue reading about Oskar Blues Ten Fidy + Chicken Gorditas