A professional chef takes on beer styles and fun food pairings.
The big, bold, boozy brother— Foreign Extra Stouts are like the Arnold Schwarzenegger to Irish Stout’s Danny DeVito.
I don’t typically jive with high ABV beers and spicier food profiles—it’s often just doubling down on the burn. But!! There are exceptional exceptions and Foreign Extra Stouts can take the heat.
What do I want to snack on while sipping Foreign Extra Stout? Zesty, fiery, crispy-crunchy things found in the chip aisle.
Let’s break it down…
Foreign Extra Stouts are quite literally the bolder, boozier version of Irish Stouts. We’re talking 1800’s beer export philosophy. If your beer has to travel for months before reaching it’s destination, you’re gonna have to beef it up (to account for any potency loss during the long journey). More hops, more body, more alcohol…MORE! (queue Tim Taylor and masculine grunting).
What’s cool about FES, is you’ll get that balanced drinkability you have with Irish Stouts (always surprises me, that drinkability). Not crushable, **sippable** (please drink these beers responsibly) with a choco-coffee creaminess that infiltrates the palate with it’s full-bodied capacity. But! (cool part incoming…) then…it is gone. Poof! Magically dry finish.
Don’t get me wrong, these are pretty bitter beers. But that malt to bitter to ABV balance of Foreign Extra Stout is really what makes beer brewing so freaking awesome (you’re a wizard, Mr. Guinness).
Why Spicy Crispity Crunchities?
Picture this… It’s Saturday night, you’re a happy-contented 10 year old, Nickelodeon’s lineup all ready to go (f-yea, SNICK!), and you’re nicely nestled onto the couch with a bowl of Cheetos and a tall glass of Nesquik (or Yoo-hoo, if that was your preferred poison).That’s the vibe, that’s the nosh-nostalgia this pairing provides. We be sophisticated grownups now, so we can expand and enhance our Nickelodeon-watching menu (I write, as I raise a Funyun to my eye monocle-like).
If you’re a dabbler in the spicy side of snack foods (welcome, welcome), then this pairing will rock dem socks.
The creamy essence of FES cools fiery mouths, while the bittering dryness cleanses. That same creamy element plays nicely with chips and crisps of a spicy-cheesy persuasion, kinda subduing the heat and enhancing the nacho/cheddar flavors. Yes, the warmth of the alcohol does flair a little in combo with the heat, but it is brief (briefer than eating Fuego Takis sans beverage, that’s for sure) and, frankly, enjoyable. The chocolate coffee notes and that subtle malty sweetness contrasts the salty heat like a well-tuned machine. I also dig the crispy balance partnered with the beer’s low carbonation levels, textural good times.
Featured Crispy-Crunchies
~Spicy Queso Funyuns (do not wear these Funyuns as a monocle, I learned that lesson hard).
~Takis Fuego
~Zapp’s New Orleans Kettle Chips Voodoo
~Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
~Herr’s Hot Cheese Popcorn .
FES FYI…
A little note about this pairing. I would not go so far as to recommend the OG Irish Stout with these spicy snacks. What works with this combo is Foreign Extra Stouts’ ‘extra-ness’. I did my due diligence and chef tested it (I had all these chips, lol–why not) and it fell flat. Not as exciting and bold and fun as FES. I have some Irish Stout pairings on deck, so don’t you worry. They won't get left out of the food pairing play.
About me—I am a professional chef working my way up the Cicerone certification ladder. I left the typical cheffy grind (after 15+ years) to focus on fun food play, independently working as a recipe/food content developer and restaurant consultant (freelance, full-time, kicking off in 2017). While studying all of these fabulous profiles and sipping my way through 80++ different beer styles. I created a project for myself…”what do I want to eat with these beers”. As a food obsessed professional, I reached into my memory rolodex of flavors and food profiles to find some worthy contenders (that may fly a little outside the box)…
Want to see what food I would like to eat with your beer? Let’s chat! Email me at contact@pattersonwatkins.com
Need some help pairing beer with your food menu? Or, would you like some help creating a food menu that pairs with your beer? I’m always hungry (and thirsty). Email me at contact@pattersonwatkins.com
Are you interested in food or beer related content development? Hit me up! contact@pattersonwatkins.com or check out my portfolio at www.pattersonwatkins.com