Hey all you beer geeks, are you really ready to take your taste buds on a wild ride? Let’s explore the world of craft beer and food pairings. It’s not rocket science, but it sure is delicious! 

What’s the hype of Beer and Food Pairing?

One can think of it, good food plus good beer equals fun incorporated. And then, there you have it with the perfect match, you will love both tastes even better. It’s like they do a high-five in your mouth!

One can never think of pairing seasonal fruits with beers or curating the flavours of it into a beer. But here we are blending the juicy peaches and crispy wheat beer, making it the most refreshing summer beer!

We brew our beer quite differently at Little Miami Brewing. After all, everything has a personality, we do too! When you match that with the right food, these characteristics can be truly expressed. That is the perfect match that we aim to create with every one of the beers in our lineup.

But why craft beer?

Well, because our craft beers are pretty much the jazz musicians of the beer world. Not afraid to improvise upon and create new flavours, this diversity in flavour makes it a perfect pairing with all sorts of foods. Eventually, we specialise in providing different types of beers, so that you no longer have to struggle with just one!

In a nutshell, it comprises different  beer flavours. 

Before we proceed to the paring, there are four types of beer flavours:

Malty: Sweet, caramel, toasty flavours

Hoppy: Bitter, citrusy, /sometimes piney

Sour: Tart, fruity, makes your mouth pucker

Dark: Robust, chocolaty, often coffee-like

Here at Little Miami Brewing Co we have a little bit of everything.  Our Turn the Paige holds a malt one in the middle.  Our Curveball will knock it out of the park with hopheads, no doubt. Get the full lineup here. 

At Little Miami Brewing Company, we believe in giving back to the community and protecting our natural surroundings. Our efforts extend beyond the brewery, participating in local initiatives and promoting sustainability practices that make a positive impact. This commitment not only enhances our local environment but also enriches the community spirit that envelops Cincinnati. Click here to know more about our commitment to quality and commitment. 

Let’s dive deeper into Craft Beer

Malty Beers: These are your comfort beers. These will often have flavours that bring bread, toast, or even cookie-ish flavour to mind. On the other hand, some might have notes of caramel and toffee. Our Steamboat Vienna Lager is a perfect example—all really malty.

Hoppy Beers: Hops create the attention-grabbers in beer. While best known for the bitterness they contribute to some ales, they can in fact convey any number of aromas and taste profiles, from grapefruit and pine, to tropical and citrus fruits. Nevertheless, our Batch 300 is a big showcase for these hoppy attributes.

Sour Beers: Think of these as the wild cards. They are tart and often fruity, with a good one putting you in mind of lemonade, and probably so great it really can’t be described in just one word as weird and wonderful at the same time. We don’t always have sours on tap, but when we do, they are a real treat.As a matter of fact, they’re your dessert beers (though really they don’t have to be). They often bring flavour along the lines of coffee, chocolate or roasted nuts. An example is our very own Foggy Goggles; a coffee vanilla porter.

What is Craft Beer Pairing?

Now, let’s talk about pairing. Generally, there are two ways to go about this. 

On the contrary, the flavours are opposites of each other but still harmonious, such as sweet and salty. A good rule can be followed, strength to strength – light beer with light dishes, bold beer with big, rich or flavorful food. 

Following is just an outline,light beer with lightly flavoured dishes, and bold beer with immensely rich, flavorful dishes. At the same time, classic matches for beer and food can be  sweet beer with sour food, a beer with a certain bitterness to it alongside salty foods, and a roasty beer with smoked food. But remember, these are just starting points – the fun is in the exploration. Regardless of knowing all the combinations, you still have the freedom to explore for yourself.

Malty Beers: The Comfort Food of Beer

Malty beers are like the big, friendly hug to your taste buds for the beer world. They are on the sweet side, sometimes even caramelly, and with just a little edge of toast.

Hence, these are some pairing partners that play well together:

• BBQ: Malts balance with the slight sweetness of this will cup the smoky flavors.
• Grilled meats and roasted meats: Turkey at Thanksgiving.
• Caramel desserts: In the spirit of flavour harmony.
• Enjoy this Vienna-style lager the way we intend: Pull one with some pork and it’s going to make a match.

But now let’s get a little more specific. Think of that big, juicy piece of BBQ brisket. The smoky, lightly spicy goodness fills your mouth, and now take a gulp of that malty beer like our Steamboat. Sweetness in the beer slices right through the richness of the meat, yet at the same time, all its toasty personality mirrors those smoky flavours. It’s like a flavour tango in your mouth!

Perhaps even this, taste a bit of our malty Amber Ale with a slice of apple pie. Accordingly, you see how the delicious caramel notes in the beer really enhance the sweetness of the apple and how the rich body of the beer really complements the richness of the buttery crust. You might say this one puts fall in a glass, on a plate.

Hoppy Beers: The Zesty Crowd-Pleasers

The hoppy beers are bold and aren’t afraid to show it. They’re bitter, often citrusy, sometimes piney. However, the perfect pair for these beers is:

• Spicy foods
• Fried foods
• Blue cheese

Our Batch 300 IPA tastes sumptuous with a spicy curry meal or a crispy serving of fried chicken. Taste it now, you take a bite, sink your teeth through the crispy exterior, and into the juicy, slightly greasy – and, of course, a tad spicy – interior of the fried chicken. Couple it up with a wash off with a fast gulp of our Batch 300 IPA. Clearly, bitter enough to cut through the richness of the chicken and work super well with the citrusy hop flavour complementing the spices. The carbonation is primed to cleanse your palate, preparing you for the next bite. It’s a flavour roller coaster!

Or how about this one: hack off a hunk of stinky blue cheese and load it alongside our Little Miami IPA. Above all, the bold, funky flavours of the cheese battle head-to-head with the aggressive, bitter beer. Taste buds, you are the luckiest here to experience something like this.

Sour Beers: The Bold Taste Experience Explorers

Sour beers are the wild child of the beer world. Tart, fruity; they make your mouth do a little dance. Some of the favourite ways of pairing these beers are:

• Seafood (it’s like having a zesty kick)
• Salad (it makes you add that zesty kick)
• Citrus desserts (pucker power unite!)

Most of the time, we will also have sours on tap, and we often pair them with light seafood dishes or citrusy salads.

Henceforth, picture it now, a summer barbecue, a fresh plate of ceviche – lime-soaked fish, a bit of cilantro, and a kick of chilli. To summarise, it’s a great combination of seafood and sourness. Quickly, take a sip of that sour beer, its tartness brimming with the acidity of the ceviche. At the same time,  the fruit notes are engaging with the flavours in a new dimension. It’s like sitting at the beach, but for your mouth!

Alternatively, you are devouring some delicious warm goat cheese salad with citrus vinaigrette. This time you pair it with a sour. That is just going to be magical. Formerly, the sourness is really going to meld right with that creamy goat cheese to give the taste of citrus in the dressing. Lastly, bringing you immense joy!

Dark Beers: The Rich and Roasty Bunch

These are liquid desserts – bunches of dark beers that are often chocolatey, coffee-like, and full of roasty goodness.

These beers pair well with:

• Grilled meats
• Chocolate desserts
• Rich stews

Our Foggy Goggles, a coffee vanilla porter, complements a rich chocolate cake or hearty beef stew. It’s a cool autumn night, and you’ve marketed a nicely executed, hearty beef stew. The meat is fork-tender, and the gravy is thick and rich and this will enhance the flavour. Next, try it with a sip of our Foggy Goggles Porter. All of a sudden, the roasty qualities of the beer make it a good pairing with deeper flavours. Slowly, the slight sweetness contrasts savoury notes. It’s like a warm, filled hug.

In contrast, you can also try taking pleasure in eating your way through a dense slice of decadent chocolate torte. Have it with our coffee vanilla porter. The chocolate in the torte plus the chocolate in the beer equals an au natural chocolate bomb, but the coffee in the beer keeps it from being one dimensional. In a moment you get to experience, ultimate happiness!

Seasonal Sips: Pairing with the Calendar

Spring Special: Picture-taking a brisk, cool spring day with every bite. Enjoy a salad of fresh greens, strawberries, and goat cheese all tossed together, washed down with our light, citrusy spring ale. The beer is bright, just like the flavours in our salad, and its mild sweetness means it doesn’t bowl over the strawberries. It’s a spring in a glass and on a plate!

Summer Special: Hot, bright summer day, and here you are, grilling away at some spicy shrimp skewers. Ours is bright and light on the palate, with a gentle, yet assertive, blaze of citrus—a true companion for your meal. It will clear your palate without dominating the clean flavours of the shrimp. A beach holiday in the flavour vacation of your palate.

Fall Special: Leaves are turning, and there’s a chill in the air. But you have an oven-fresh plate of root veggies and a juicy pork chop, not to mention our lager brewed up perfect for it, with malty sweetness and just a whisper of caramel for Oktoberfest. It really melds the caramelised flavours from the roasted vegetables and plays all that greatness up against the savoury pork, just perfectly. Autumn on a plate and in a glass!

Winter Special: Cold out, warm in, a cup of rich beef bourguignon. Our beefy stout of winter, big in deep roasty flavours that tease with their chocolate tones, marries beautifully with the richness of the stew. The thickness in the stew allows the beer to get away with being full-bodied without overpowering those distinctions. It’s like a warm, big flavour hug on a cold day!

Pro Tips for Great Pairings

• Start light: Target lighter beers and foods first and then work your way up to stronger and heavier flavours. Consequently, you will reach a certain level of boldness. 
• Consider the sauce: Many times the sauce might just be the making of the pairing as opposed to the main ingredient. Hence, know before you indulge in it. 
• Cooking method: Grilled is great with smoky beers. Likewise look for smoky appetisers. 
• Do not forget: Cheese is just a great combination with cheese. Furthermore, into the art of beer and cheese pairings, let’s delve a bit more now. 
• Classic Combos: IPA and good sharp cheddar, the slight bitterness will cut through richness.  
• Wheat beer and goat cheese: The lightness of the beer will mimic the tanginess of the cheese. Therefore, it comes out as a good balance. 
• Stout and blue cheese: Boldness standing up to itself. 
• Brie with fruit beer: the beauty in this combination is that the sweetness in the beer is a perfect balance with the creaminess of the cheese.

What to avoid when pairing beer with food?

• Overpowering beers with delicate foods
• Very bitter beers with very spicy foods
• Stick to TRYING THE TRUES ONLY – sometimes the weirdest pairings work!

But you still won’t ever know until you try them. Have you ever tried a chocolate stout with oysters? The briny seafood and rich beerness combine into a delicious match. As a replacement, how about sour beer with a creamy pasta dish? The beer’s acidity can actually slice through rich, creamy sauces like a knife.

Bear in mind, however, this is mainly a general guideline since beer and food pairing is basically just one big experiment. Everybody’s palate is different from the next, so what works for one may not for another.

With this in mind…

Why don’t you come down and give some pairings a shot for yourself? We have an ever-rotating taproom full of all styles of beer and purposefully crafted our food menu to pair with them. Click here to get the Taproom details. Such as our event centre is perfect for grand gatherings and to host phenomenal beer dinners as well. Click here to book it now!

We’ve got you completely covered, as even guided tastings are available so you can take the time to really learn the rightful art of beer and food pairing. Beyond everything, this is the best way to crowd the taste of different palates and to even show off at your next dinner party!

So, why wait? Maybe grab a friend, a beer, and some good food – go on, start your very own experience in combination. You could stumble upon a pairing that totally blows your mind! To check out our mouth-watering food menus, tap here!

This is for you, the beer nerds, for those whose keen minds in all things concerning beer, along with the beginners who experience the world above commercial beer today. You’ll find there’s much more than that when it comes to beer and food pairing. It’s not only drinking; it’s making new memories with each sip, each bite.

Cheers to good beer, good food, and good times!