No trips coming up? These international beers and dishes might just tide you over.
Australia, we love you, but we feel the urge to leave you immediately. We could blame an inbox full of cheap flight emails (stop tempting us, budget airlines), but the truth is we just always seem to have one eye on exotic destinations and new experiences. There’s a big old world out there – and it’s calling. Very loudly.
It’s not always easy to cure the travel bug – especially considering how many holiday hot-spots there are to tick off the bucket list – but fortunately, we can still get a little taste of the world while staying put. For us, that means sipping a beer from where we’d rather be, ideally alongside a well-matched dish from the same country. That should satisfy that rampant wanderlust while we start furiously Googling hotels and checking our annual leave.
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1. Mexico: Corona with Baja fish tacos
If we’re talking about beers from where we’d rather be, we have to start with Corona. This is a ‘cerveza’, which simply means beer in Spanish, but these days, that word is more associated with those light-bodied, pale lagers that have become Mexico’s staple style. Corona is the beer that put cerveza on the map over here, and it’s still a firm favourite for its understated flavour profile, mild bitterness and food-friendliness.
Speaking of which, you could easily pair a cold Corona with any of your Mexican favourites but, for us, this beer is best with the signature tacos of Baja California. The Mexican state is known for its blue water and white-sand beaches, so it’s natural that the region’s specialty is a simple taco of battered, fried fish, a little crunchy cabbage and a squeeze of crema. A Corona on the side is all it needs.
2. Thailand: Singha Lager with a yellow curry
Thailand’s red and green curries might get most of the headlines, but it’s the yellow curry that has our heart. Known locally as kaeng kari, the dish is packed with aromatics like turmeric (giving it that signature golden hue), garlic, galangal, lemongrass and chilli, all slowly sizzled with coconut cream to develop a sweet, rich and intense flavour.
With a potent curry like this one, the best beer match is crisp, clean and light – something that will refresh the palate between bites, rather than compete with the curry. We reckon Singha, a classic Thai lager, is the way to go here. Grab yourself a bowl of curry, plenty of rice and a crispy-cold Singha, and start dreaming of those sunny Thai beaches.
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3. Singapore: Tiger Beer with laksa
Asian noodle soups might be the best food category of all. But while we’ve got endless love for ramen, pho, udon, pan mee, wonton noodle soup and all the rest, laksa might just come out on top. Plenty of countries in South East Asia have their own take on laksa, but Singapore and Malaysia favour the one-two punch of a soup made from spicy curry paste and a coconut milk-infused seafood stock. Add noodles, protein (in Singapore, usually clams and prawns), toppings like bean sprouts and herbs, and you’re in flavour town.
If you’ve been to Singapore, you’ll know the local lager is Tiger Beer and we reckon it’s the best partner for a bowl of laksa. There’s a touch of bitterness to balance the rich broth, but it’s really just a mild beer that will cool you down when both kinds of heat get you sweating.
4. The Philippines: San Miguel Pale Pilsen with lechon liempo
There are nearly 8000 islands in the Philippines, but one beer unites them all: San Miguel Pale Pilsen. It’s not exactly a proper pilsner, but it’s definitely a lighter-style lager, with just a little malty richness to balance the snappy bitterness. And when it comes to San Miguel, balance is the key to making it a perfect food-pairing beer.
Filipino food doesn’t get enough love in Australia, but it really should. One of the Philippines’ best-loved dishes is called lechon, which is essentially a whole roasted pig. An entire pig is probably a little too much for most of us, so we’d recommend partnering a bottle of San Miguel with the next best thing: lechon liempo. Lechon liempo takes a big cut of pork belly, loads it with lemongrass and garlic, rolls it up and roasts it until crispy and golden. And yes, it’s as good as it sounds.
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5. Japan: Asahi Super Dry with katsu curry
Japanese rice lagers are booming at the moment, and we couldn’t be more on board. And while new versions keep popping up to join the trend, we’ve always got time for the classics like Asahi Super Dry. Asahi is clean, dry and light, owing to the addition of rice in the malt (as opposed to 100% barley, which can add some sweetness), with a solid bitterness at the end.
Owing to that dry, light flavour profile, you can pair a Japanese lager with nearly anything you like, but we’ve got a soft spot for katsu curry. Japanese curry is a whole lot milder than South East or South Asian styles, getting its signature flavour from curry powder instead of whole spices. The katsu part of the dish is a panko crumbed, fried cutlet of pork or chicken. Together, you’ve got one of the best plates of food going around, and it’s a rich dish that’s begging for a rice lager on the side.
6. Germany: Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen with potato salad
Before you ask – yes, potato salad can be a main meal. German potato salad, in particular, has all the food groups covered: there are vegetables (it’s mostly potato), protein (German-style salads often include flecks of bacon), herbs (dill or chives, usually) and condiments (typically vinegar and mustard). German potato salad is also usually served warm, just like dinner, so don’t let anyone say you can’t eat a whole bowl of potato salad for a meal.
But regardless of when and how you’re eating German potato salad (we concede that it would also be a lovely side dish), a wheat beer like Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen is a serious match. Here, you’re getting a hefeweizen with some light citrus and clove notes (which match up very well) and a nice full body. This is a stunning duo for a sunny barbecue, if ever there was one.
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7. Italy: Birra Moretti with gnocco fritto
Pillowy soft balls of fried bread served with salty salumi and creamy cheese? That’s gnocco fritto, friends, and it’s a very strong contender for the best pre-dinner appetiser in Italy. Or afternoon snack, or complete meal – honestly, it doesn’t matter when you eat gnocco fritto. The only thing we’d recommend is having a cold glass of Birra Moretti on the side.
Birra Moretti is a staple Italian lager that flies the flag for food-friendly beer in a country awash with wine. With a bready, salty, fried snack like gnocco fritto, a light and easy drinking lager is perfect, so we’d recommend saving the Barolo for your main course.
