Pairing menus are very popular in restaurants across the country, but often times they are for foodies who have very “mature” pallets. That’s super, but what about us simple folk that just like some beer and pizza? In honor of National Pizza Month, we’ve put together a quick list of pizzas and beers that are great on their own, but even better together.
Cheese Pizza + Pale Ale
A hoppy American pale ale is a great complement to the sweetness of the tomato sauce and the Italian spices. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a personal favorite.
Pepperoni or Sausage Pizza + Light Lager
A light lager, like Red Stripe, is going to go nicely with the cheese and tomato and it’s going to also calm down the spiciness of the pepperoni or sausage.
Veggie Pizza + Brown Ale
Since the vegetables caramelize in the oven, a brown ale (ahem Newcastle) has a malty flavor that works really well to bring all the tastes together.
Don’t worry about messing up and choosing the wrong beer – pizza and beer were meant to be enjoyed together, so there’s a good chance your taste buds will be happy no matter what.
PS. If you live anywhere near a Bertucci’s restaurant, they have a new menu called “The Art of Pairing: Pizza & Beer” which is right up our alley. They pair up their brick oven pizzas with Samuel Adams craft beer. You won’t find any basic cheese or pepperoni on this menu, though…
Absolutely love pizza and beer together! One of my favorite things to make homemade is pizza and nothing goes better with it than a cold beer to keep you company during the process.
This post put me in the mood to make a chicken pesto pizza with onions and lots of garlic! Love having any dark beer with this pizza but I’d probably lean towards a CDA (Cascadian Dark Ale). Widmer makes a decent one but if you really want to go all out try Stone’s Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale.
I now know what I am doing this weekend for football!