Tom’s Pairings for Pie and Ale (and other couplings).

Here’s some suggestions from Tom over at B & J for foods from Turner’s up the road. WoBy has a strict flash format and edits heavily but it’d have been a shame to lose out these suggestions from our interview. You’re welcome!

(And n.b. this is not a commercial site – we’re not advertising here. We simply love all things local and good – and thought the Pie & Ale pairing challenge would be a fun thing to do).

Over to Tom:

“Steak & Ale – Keep it traditional and go for a Sussex style best such as Cellar Head Session Bitter or the classic Harvey’s Best. If you are after something non-alcoholic, the Big Drop Stout would go well.

Steak & Kidney or Minced Beef & Onions – I’d go with something darker and more bitter, such as the Boundary Export Porter or The Kernel Export India Porter. Big Drop stout would still be the best non-alcohol beer pairing.

Steak & Stilton – there are two schools of thought with this pairing. One would be to go sweet and a Barley wine is great with the blue cheese. We have Ridgeside Getting Figgy with it, which I would recommend at the moment. Others say the bitterness of an IPA is a great pairing. We’ve a fantastic hoppy Non-Alcoholic IPA from Infinite Session which would fill this.

Sage, Sausage & Onion – Go to go with cider with sage: the Ascension cider Pilot would be perfect with this pie. We also have a low alcohol Ginger beer from Arundel which would be a great low abv option.

Chicken & Ham or Mushroom & Asparagus – the white sauces in these pies are key, so you want something with freshness to cut through the cream. A Brut IPA such as Burning Sky Sauvin Brut would be a great choice – or you could go with lagers. We have an alcohol free lager from Big Drop that would be perfect.

Quiche – The creamy and eggy nature of a quiche calls for some wines with acidity. Champagne or English Sparkling wine is perfect: that acidity cuts right through, especially a Blanc de Blancs. Crisp dry whites such as an Alsace Riesling or fresh reds such as Beaujolais or Gamay would be ideal for red drinkers.

Fruit Pies – Get some sherry or a sweet wine to go with desserts. We have a Moscatel Dorado sherry from Chipiona producer Caesar Florido that would be delicious with a slice of fruit pie”.

If you’ve got a match challenge for Tom, mail it in – or pop in to see him. Christmas is over and he’ll not be wearing the scary cat jumpers now.

https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/food-in-elizabethan-england

Published by Caroline

After 30 years as an academic anthropologist doing ethnography in India and the Gulf, Caroline now avoids airports and spends a lot of time walking, cycling or quad skating around for conversations and stories in their adopted home of Worthing. Caroline writes, coaches postgrads, and does public sector consultancy work and project evaluation, using creative research methods.

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