Tilford Brewery’s top tips for food and beer pairing this Christmas
For many of us, Christmas is as much about delicious food and drink as it is about coming together with your favourite people for some quality time (and a board game or two of course!).
To help you tick all the boxes this festive season, and not just those of wine and cocktail lovers, we asked our neighbours at Tilford brewery about their top tips for pairing beer with your food…
Key points to remember:
1. Mirror Mirror
Match the flavour profile of your beer with that of your dish, i.e a sweet dish will be best complemented by a sweeter beer.
2. Opposites attract
Opposing flavours can also work really well when pairing beer with food. For example, you can pair a hot curry with a light, sweet beer to help cool off your palette.
3. A clean slate
There’s a very good reason sorbet is served between courses as it resets your palette. Beer does this excellently as it is carbonated, particularly a pilsner beer so if you are serving a full-flavoured dish, consider offering a palette refresher in the form of a beer!
Pairing suggestions
Below is a menu suggestion from Tilford Brewery to pair your festive feast with their award-winning fine English ales.
Starter
Serve a smoked salmon starter with Tilford Gold. The IPA style hopping cuts through the salmon nicely to contrast the flavours. Even better if you can use an infused salmon such as a cured whiskey salmon; these intense flavour profiles combine perfectly.
Main
A beef Wellington is always a winner, and when paired with Rushmoor Ripper it won’t disappoint. The nutty aspect of the ale, with an abundance of earthy hops and the sweetness of the crystal malt will offset the rich flavours of a typical beef Wellington.
Dessert
It’s not Christmas without a perfectly crumbly mince pie and these pair perfectly with Tilford Brewery’s 12 days of Christmas specially brewed festive ale! The sweet ginger notes combine wonderfully with the borderline savoury, sweet pies.
Tilford Brewery’s Beer and Cheese Workshop 20th Nov, 7pm – 8:30pm
Want to find out more? Join us for our upcoming event with Tilford Brewery where you can learn more about their beer-making process, whilst enjoying their pairing suggestions for beer and cheese.
This private event will take place in The Barn; you will receive a welcome drink followed by a selection of five beer tastings, each paired with local cheeses to highlight how beer really can rival wine when it comes to food pairing, particularly with your cheeseboard. This evening will last approximately 90 minutes. Should you wish to dine with us before/ after, we do recommend you book in advance to avoid disappointment.
The event will start with a welcome drink of their best-selling ale, Tilford EPA. They will also have some crackers to cleanse the palate at the start. Through the evening you will move onto a combination of the following beers and local artisan cheeses:
Prima Donna (Farnham Hoppers limited hop ale) served with Hampshire’s Tunworth Brie
Tilford Gold served with Sussex Charmer
Rushmoor Ripper served Surrey’s Norbury Blue
12 Days of Christmas served with warm mince pies!
Find out more and book your tickets for this one-off event here.
