If you're really looking to enhance your weekend brunch experience, then it's time to stop lapping up mimosa and mixing Bloody Mary's and time to start pouring beer instead. Of course, we don't mean just any beer. We're talking about the right beer to pair with your favorite brunch fare.
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To lead you in the right direction, we gathered up our favorite brunch dishes and the best brew to go along with it so you can brunch Wide Open Eats style. Hit the bottle shop, call up your friends, and we'll see you this weekend.
1. Texas Eggs Benedict & Saison Americaine
Creamy Hollandaise sauce, spicy chorizo, and runny egg yolks need a beer that can stand up to its richness and a saison is the answer. But not just any saison will do. For a proper Texas dish, you need a proper Texas saison to pair and Jester King's Saison Americaine is it. With enough acid to cut through the richness and flavor to pair, you'll find this Texas duo is a match made in heaven.
2. Spicy Breakfast Tacos & Flesh and Blood IPA
A scrambled egg breakfast is often accompanied by a tall glass of orange juice - and rightfully so, it tastes great. But when you up the ante and throw those fluffy eggs into a spicy breakfast taco, you need more than just OJ, you need a hoppy, citrusy IPA. That's why we're pairing our breakfast tacos with Dogfish Head's Flesh and Blood. The hop bitterness accentuates the heat while the blood oranges take the pairing to a whole new level.
3. Homemade Biscuits and Gravy & Java Stout
A hearty dish such as this needs a breakfast beer with some oomph. A beer that has enough flavor and body to stand up to those flaky, buttery biscuits and pork gravy without overpowering it at the same time. For our comforting Homemade Biscuits and Gravy, we chose Bell's Java Stout. Packed with the taste of espresso and notes of dark chocolate, it adds a complex layer to this rich dish and lets you have your morning coffee too.
4. Fried Chicken Waffle Sandwich & Habanero Sculpin
There are many, many thirst quenching brews to accompany the duo of chicken and waffles. A Vienna lager will cut through the grease nicely while not overpowering the dish, while an American red ale will add complementing malty notes balanced by citrusy hops which the dish is in dire need off.
However, in your quest for the perfect pairing, this combo is best suited by spicing things up habanero style. That's why we went for Habanero Sculpin. Its citrusy, hoppy, spicy notes are like coating the chicken in spices and dousing hot sauce on your sandwich, only in the best form, beer. Take a sip, then take a bite. Taste that? That tastes like winning.
5. Cowboy Skillet Hash & Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Crispy potatoes, chopped ham, fried eggs, and a sprinkle of green onion make up this killer cowboy hash. With all that carb-filled, umami, fatty flavor, you need a beer to do the whole shebang justice. So in this case, we went for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It has the effervescence required to cut through the fat and the right amount of complexity to match.
6. Jalapeno Blue Cheese Venison Burger & Dirty Bastard
There are so many good beer pairings to go with venison, it's hard to choose. Should we pair this spicy burger with a nutty, earthy English brown ale? Or should we match the bold flavors of blue cheese, wild venison, and hot jalapenos with a full-bodied imperial stout? Well, we tried and tested and Founder's Dirty Bastard is the winner. The malty, caramel notes will help cool down the heat while the complexity of hops and smoky peat will impart a deep flavor to this hefty burger.
7. Cream Cheese Waffles & Old Rasputin
This isn't just about pairing a popular breakfast item with the right beer. It's also about pairing cheese with the right beer. So in honor of the classics, we recommend North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. This big, bold stout is packed with chocolatey, roasty flavors that go smashing with cream cheese. Pour a pint and see for yourself. Something tells me you may be in for a second round.
