Beer and Breakfast Food Pairing Article

Los Aangeles Times writer John Verive recently wrote a short article describing how well beer pairs with food.

In case you were wondering, here are some of his suggestions:

Here are five of my favorite beer styles to pour when I’m shirking responsible adulthood and whipping up my favorite breakfast foods for supper.

Hefeweizen

A classic breakfast/brunch beer -- especially in its native Germany -- the bready, fruity, and slightly tart flavors of the wheat beer fit right in with breakfast fare. A light hefe also works stunningly well with a rich, spicy plate of huevos rancheros. 

Stout

Stouts are another obvious choice for breakfast beers, especially those examples brewed with breakfast-friendly ingredients like oats or coffee. A flagon of Smog City’s Groundwork Coffee Porter is just about a perfect match for waffles, french toast, or a Dutch baby.

Saison

Light and lively farmhouse ales with a spicy, peppery flavor from rustic yeasts and warm fermentation temperatures are about my favorite thing to pair with a frittata (especially one with some nutty cheese and lots of mushrooms). There are few better dishes for cleaning out the odds-and-ends in your pantry/fridge than a frittata; it’s a great option to flout dinner’s conventions. Try one with a bottle of The Bruery’s Saison Rue.

Kriek 

I don’t mean the overly sweetened examples most often seen, but rather the acidic and subtly funky versions from Belgium or any of the American producers with a serious barrel program. The fruity tartness will match to the sweeter dishes or anything with berries or chocolate, or cut the richness of a savory hash. Serve the sparking, pink brew in a delicate champagne flute for maximum impact, and you’ll want to have breakfast for dinner every night.

Doppelbock

All those previous suggestions work fine when you're enjoying breakfast foods at the natural time of day, but if you’re enjoying typical morning foods at nighttime, why not take advantage with something that packs a little more alcoholic oomph? A dark, sweet, bready doppelbock is best friends to pork, and if you’ve got ham steaks, fatty pork breakfast sausages, or copious piles of bacon on your dinner plate, you can’t ask for a better match than the “liquid bread” that sustained Bavarian monks during their Lenten fasts. I recommend going with a classic import like Ayinger Celebrator, Spaten Optimator, or Salvator from Paulaner.