Why cask ale goes so well with food

With Cask Ale Week under way writer & beer sommelier Sophie Atherton looks at what food to pair with cask and why it’s a great match

According to market research, food pubs sell more cask ale.

Cask accounts for £1 in every £8 (or 12.5%) spent on beer in food pubs, compared to £1 in every £13 spent on beer in all pubs*. It doesn’t say why, but in any case it helpfully flags up the opportunity of pairing cask beer with food.

You will often hear how carbonation assists when matching beer and food. Cask beer’s gentle carbonation is ideal. Beers with higher carbonation can be more filling, which may detract from the pleasure of having them with food.

It’s quite easy to create cask ale and food pairings

I’ll admit that to make a truly good job of pairing you do need to invest time – and money too if you want expert help. But if you have the time then although there is a scientific aspect to pairing food and drink, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to do it.

It can be as simple as thinking about the flavours in the cask beers on your bar and finding foods that have similar flavours. Then taste them together and see how the flavours interact.

Another method is to think of sauces or other condiments that are served with particular foods. Do any of your cask ales have similar flavours? I’m not suggesting there’s a tomato ketchup best bitter or a salad cream IPA! More that beers with lemony hop flavours can work well with fish or chicken dishes.

Test your proposed pairings and take notes

Once you’ve got a list of ideas it’s simply a matter of sitting down and tasting them, ideally with a group of people. Be sure to make (and keep) notes of what tastes good and why and also anything that doesn’t taste nice.

Once you have a few tasty pairings you can start sharing them with customers. This could be informally and verbally when taking food orders or you could print up beer and food pairing suggestions and make them available with menus.

Even taste-testing bar snacks with your cask ales is worth investigating. Especially if you stock a wide range of crisp flavours. (I love bacon crisps with a porter and scampi fries with a citrussy beer is a guilty pleasure.)

Successful pairings according to brewers

Beer industry people, especially brewers, already have pairings up their sleeve. Here are their thoughts on matching cask beer and food and some suggestions to try.

Luke Raven of Ilkley Brewery and White Wells Pub Company says: “The soft and often delicate flavours found within cask ale lends itself to accompanying food perfectly.

“My go-to combination at The Ilkley Tap, is an Ilkley Brewery Mary Jane (session pale, 3.4%) with any of our Italian ‘pizzettes’ (small pizzas).

“The cheese, the dough and any toppings are full of flavour and texture, and the crisp, fruity and zesty nature of Mary Jane, along with its lightness and low ABV mean it just flows down alongside every bite.”

Karen Goody of Kent-based Goody Ales is also a fan of pairing pizza with cask ale and also has some other suggestions:

“I recommend a strong cheddar cheese with our Genesis (a 3.5% dark ruby coloured hoppy ale); an English brie style cheese with Good Life (a 3.9% citrussy pale ale) and a rich chocolate cake with our Good Lord porter (5%),” she says.

Paul Corbett, managing director of hop merchant Charles Faram says he enjoys cask ale ‘with all food’ – at least when it comes to main courses!

“My particular favourites are a pale ale – locally that’s often Wye Valley HPA – with a roast beef Sunday lunch, or a stronger hoppy IPA like St Austell’s Proper Job with a cheese board or fish and chips.”

Sara Barton founder and director of Grantham-based Brewster’s Brewery also mentions fish as a good match.

“I don’t think you can go wrong with fish and chips and a nice golden hoppy brew like our best selling Hophead or Decadence. The light hop really seems to enhance the fish and chips and vice versa it brings out the best in the beer.”

She adds: “Another classic match is a dark beer with a rich stew, especially in winter, Dancing Duck’s Dark Drake is always a favourite on that front.”

Beer sommelier suggestions

Some of those pairings are ones, as a beer sommelier, I’m confident many people would enjoy – making them a good starting point for experimenting.

My suggestions: I enjoy Woodforde’s Wherry (3.4% bitter/amber ale), with a ham or bacon sandwich on granary bread. The marmaladey hops work like a relish and the cereal flavours work with the wholemeal bread. It’s also very nice simply with a packet of plain crisps!

Gadds’ Dogbolter, a strong but very drinkable 5% porter is a great partner for chilli con carne or veggie chilli.

You may be told there are lots of rules to matching beer and food, but I think there’s only one: taste test your pairings and do so with a number of people because everyone’s taste buds are different.

You will never please everybody, but you will probably sell more beer.

*Source for food pubs selling more cask ale: CGA by NIQ OPM service P05 (16/05/26)