Beer and dessert can—and should—be enjoyed together. Beer presents an array of flavor profiles that pair perfectly with a wide range of delicious desserts. The key is knowing how to match up your desserts with the right beer. Unfortunately, every type of beer possesses its own flavor profile, making finding the perfect pairing more difficult than it may first appear. In fact, creating perfect pairings is almost an art form. Here’s how to do it.
How to Pair Beer with Dessert
There are two schools of thought when it comes to pairing beer with any food. You can choose the food to compliment the beer. In other words, you can match it up with other flavors that are very similar to its flavor profile. Or, you can contrast the beer with food. For instance, you can pair a fruity, light beer with something a bit heavier, for example. The trick is not to overwhelm any of the flavors in each particular pairing.
For instance, the sweetness of your dessert can affect your perception of the beer you drink with it. If your dish is much sweeter than the beer it’s paired with, you might find the drink dry and stark. That’s why your beer should always be as sweet or rich as the dessert it’s paired with. Can’t decide what desserts to serve? Our Edible® Signature Dessert Board is the perfect solution. It’s packed with a variety of decadent desserts like brownies, mini cheesecakes, assorted fruits, cupcakes, and assorted chocolate dipped fruits for an incredible display that looks just as great as it tastes.
It may seem complicated at first, but the more pairings you make, the more you’ll be able to tell a good one from a bad one. So, feel free to experiment a little bit. Take notes and pay attention and you might just discover the next best pairing.
Top 10 Beer and Dessert Pairings
If you’re looking for some examples of how you can pair beer with dessert, we’ve come up with ten of the best beer and dessert pairings for you. Here are our top 10 beer and dessert pairings:
Acidic desserts like lemon bars or lemon tarts provide the ideal blend of sweetness with a tart edge. Blonde ale meets this tartness head-on with notes of vanilla and a hint of spice providing the perfect compliment.
2. Oatmeal Stout and Chocolate Cake
When it comes to pairing beer with chocolate cake, it’s a good idea to keep in mind that the richer the cake, the heavier the beer. A heavy beer like a stout pulls out more chocolate flavors in the cake, making for a delectable pairing.
3. Imperial Pale Ale and Carrot Cake
Carrot cake is incredibly sweet from carrots, raisins, and a layer of sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting. IPAs are bitter beers with notes of citrus and hops. When paired together, the two contrast one other, balancing each other out.
4. Red Ale and Dulche De Leche
Red ale boasts flavors of caramel and buttery toffee with a copper-red to reddish-brown color. This pairs perfectly with desserts with caramel notes, such as Dulce de Leche over your favorite fruit. Or, consider our Sea Salt Caramels made with an assortment of milk and dark chocolate caramels topped with sea salt.
Porter features mild notes of roasted grains, chocolate, and toffee with undertones of coffee. It’s not a sweet beer, so it pairs perfectly with the sweetness of brownies. Similar to the stout above, it also helps bring out different notes from the chocolate.
6. Brown Ale and Cashew Brittle
Brown ales tend to have more of a malty flavor profile with undertones of caramel. That’s why it pairs so well with nut brittle with its caramel base. The hoppiness of the ale balances out with the sweetness of the dessert.
Strong ale is medium-full bodied, malty, and hoppy, with complex flavors and aromas. It pairs nicely with a simple apple crisp that balances out its bitter tones and enhances some of its more subtle flavors.
8. Pilsner with Strawberries and Cream
Pilsner features a mild bitterness and floral, slightly citric notes. It pairs perfectly with any fruit-based dessert, such as strawberries and cream. Or, consider pairing it with our Chocolate Dipped Strawberries made with semisweet chocolate.
Candy bars have rich and complex flavors, including chocolate, nuts, caramel, and more. Contrast this with a light and fruity beer, like a hefeweizen. Hefeweizens boast a round, fruity flavor without any hoppy bitterness.
10. British Style Bitter Beer and Oatmeal Cookies
British bitter beers are malty beers that balance English malts, hops, and yeast in equal amounts. Contrary to their name, they’re not bitter at all and pair well with the sweetness and chewy texture of oatmeal cookies.
Whether you’re complimenting or contrasting, these beer pairings will make dessert time a whole lot more fun. You’re sure to find a beer to compliment any dessert, whether it’s chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, or other sweet treat. Give these pairings a try today!
