Porters
“Old Engine Oil” by Harviestoun goes surprisingly well with shellfish and is much lighter than it sounds.
“Black Bath Porter” by London Fields is a great beer from one of London’s newest breweries.
Stouts
“1913 Stout” by St Austell is made using a 100 year old recipe.
“Tea Kettle Stout” by Tring, named after the shape of Hertfordshire where the brewery is based.
Wheat beer
“Schneider Weisse” from Germany is one of the most famous and tastiest Wheat beers in the World.
“Troublette” by Caracole is a superbly refreshing Belgian style wheat beer that pairs very well with seafood.
Curry – available at India Gate
Strong IPA
“Monkey IPA” by Art Brew is so stuffed full of hops it’ll make your tongue tingle, just like a good chilli hit.
“Big Job” by St Austell, the bigger brother to the popular ‘Proper Job’ IPA, is more than up to the job of matching a spicy curry.
“Yakima IPA” by Great Heck is a powerful beer full of hops from the Yakima valley in America.
Sausages – available at Real Meat Sausage Company and Yuley’s Bratwurst
Smoked beers / Porter
“Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen” is a German smoked beer that is as hard to get your head around flavourwise as it is difficult to say. Using heaps of smoked malt it is sweet and savoury all at the same time and the perfect partner to a Bratwurst.
“A Pork-a-lypse” by Brains isn’t technically ‘smoked’ but is a smokey bacon and chocolate porter, brewed with real bacon.
Dark Milds
“Dark” by Brain’s brewery is a classic dark mild that punches way above its session strength 3.5% abv would suggest.
“Midnight Bell” by Leeds Brewery shares its name with their flagship gastropub and is a big, rich and malty mild for those who want a full flavour hit.
“Sussex Mild” by Harvey’s is a fantastic beer that those outside of Sussex are unlikely to have had the chance to try.
Chicken – available at Dill’s Burgers
Wheat Beers
“Andechser Weissbier Hell” is a pale wheat beer with a fruity flavour and a slightly sweet finish that’s great with chicken.
“Blonde Ash Wheat” by Grain brewery is a British take on a wheat beer, with flavours of bubblegum, orange and coriander.
Bitters
“Wild Swan” by Thornbridge brewery is a very pale ale with a refreshing lemon citrus flavour, massively drinkable at just 3.5%.
“Young’s Bitter” by Wells & Young’s is an excellent traditional English bitter that goes with a huge range of lighter foods.
Steak – available at Great British Steak Bar
Porters
“Black Diamond” by Gower brewery in Wales is smokey and spicy, perfect for with a peppery piece of steak.
“Sir Roger’s Porter” by Earl Soham brewery is a full flavoured, dark brown, malty beer that works well with charred steak.
Dark Milds
“Ruby Mild” by Rudgate is, as the name would suggest, a dark ruby colour with a great nutty, rich flavour perfect with beef.
Fish & Chips – available at Fish & Chips
Golden Ales
“Citra” by Crouch Vale Brewery is, as the name would suggest, a citrusy beer that cuts through the oil in fish and chips
“Beyond the Pale” by Elland Brewery is a fruity and refreshing Golden Ale with a bitter, dry finish.
Pasty – available at Proper Cornish Pasties
Strong Bitter
“Proper Job” by St Austell – What could be better than a strong Cornish beer to go with a tasty Cornish pasty?
Bitter
“Betty Stogs” by Skinner’s is another Cornish beer, with a great balance of malt and hops in its copper coloured body.
Cheeses – available at The Truckle Cheese Co
Light bitters for mild cheeses
“Gem” by Bath Brewery is a great all rounder and would go well with many mild cheeses.
“Windermere Pale” by Hawkshead is low in strength but big on flavour so pair with a mild, salty cheese such as feta.
Full-bodied Ales for strong cheeses
“ESB” by Fuller’s stands for Extra Special Bitter and is a strongly flavoured, well hopped, full-on flavoured beer.
“Big Ben” by Thwaites is a strong brown ale with a great bittersweet flavour, perfect for a strong cheddar.
Barley Wine or very strong IPA’s for blue cheeses
“A over T” by Hog’s Back brewery is a hugely strong and sweet barley wine that should be reserved for powerfully flavoured cheeses.
“Double Jack” by Firestone Walker is an American double IPA. Twice the strength and double the hops of a regular strength India Pale Ale – but goes surprisingly well with Stilton or other strong blue cheeses.
“400 Pound Monkey IPA” by Left Hand Brewing Co is another American beer but this time brewed as a strong British style IPA.
Chocolate – available at Merry Berry Truffles
Imperial Stouts
“Imperial Russian Stout” by Harvey’s is an unusually sweet and sour imperial stout which goes great with bittersweet dark chocolate.
“Rayless Imperial Stout” by Eminent Brewing is a strong American beer aged in Maker’s Mark Bourbon barrels. Try this with boozy truffles.
Belgian Fruit Beer
“3 Fonteinin Kriek” is a Belgian cherry fruit beer which has a great sweet and sour character that’s surprisingly good with chocolate.
“Girardin Framboise” – if cherries aren’t your thing then give raspberries a go with this classic Belgian framboise beer.
