Good beer and good food translates to living the good life. In fact, the many brands of bottled beer in the market today are widely considered as food mainly because these beverages are based on grain! Beers also come in so many flavours, aromas and textures so much so that these beverages can be paired with virtually any kind of dish from home-made sausages to caviar.
The trick is in matching the right kind of beers with the right kind of foods so that a delicate and yet delicious balance between all flavours is achieved. After all, life is too short to waste the world's greatest drinks on the wrong pairings between beer and dish.

Principles of Pairing:
It should be emphasised that there are no hard rules in foods and beers pairings for the simple reason that each pairing is a matter of individual preferences. The best way to determine what works best for a certain brand of bottled beer is to experiment with the dishes, take down notes and then go with the pair that appeals best to your palate.

Nonetheless, gourmands of the many types of beers recommend certain principles that bring out the best in these beverages. First, match the strength of the alcoholic beverage with the strength of the food so that complementation is achieved instead of one overpowering the other. Delicate foods are best matched with delicate beers, while dishes with strong flavours demand strongly-flavoured beers.

Second, find a common ground between the beer and the food it is being paired with ostensibly to strike a harmonious combination. The easiest way to achieve such a food-beverage harmony is either through flavour or aroma. For example, an imperial stout with its deep flavours work well with the richness of chocolate truffles, while the caramel taste of lager work best with roasted pork, not to mention that you will feel like being in the centre of the world's greatest beer festival.

Third, take advantage of the predictable interactions that happen between food and beverage. This takes practice but when the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage is known - think of the beer's sweetness, bitterness, richness and carbonation, among others - it becomes easier to pair it with food.

For example, a beer with the characteristics of hop bitterness, roasted malt and carbonation balances out sweet foods as well as rich fat-filled foods. Or beers with sweetness and maltiness as their main attributes work well with acidic and spicy foods.
As previously mentioned, the main goals between foods and beers pairings is balance. Contrast and complement, yes, but balance underlines all good pairings.

Examples of Pairings:
With the above principles in mind, experts recommend pairings:
Blond ale - Light dishes made from salmon and chicken, cheeses with a nutty flavour and apricot cake
Pale ale - Meat pies, burgers, and pumpkin pie
Dry stout - Steaks, meat pie, Dubliner cheddar, tiramisu
Imperial stout - Foie-gras, smoked goose and dark chocolate truffles
Amber lager - Barbecue, chilli, hamburger, white cheddar cheese, and passion fruit bread pudding
Dark lager - Sausages, roasted meat and pomegranate tart with walnuts on top

Beer is the beverage of life. Pair it with almost any kind of food you want from the appetiser to the dessert and, in so doing, enjoy life to the fullest and keep your stomach full, too.