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Beers work well with smoked fish, panel agrees

July 20, 2007: Smoked fish descended in shoals on Green’s Champagne and Oyster Bar in a concerted attempt to rewrite their drinking habits. Smoked salmon, smoked cod’s roe, smoked trout and smoked eel have often been the historic preserve of Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc and Champagne, but would they also provide happy seabed fellows for beer, and if so which styles?

Are Gastropubs and restaurants missing out in not offering smoked salmon with
our national drink? Rupert Ponsonby, co-founder of the Beer Academy, says: “Following our beer and curry matching session earlier in the year, we decided to select a range of fish that would complement the different flavours in a broad selection of beers. Our feedback from the 25 journalists, restaurant managers and sommeliers who attended the event was that:

l Delicately oak smoked salmon or trout needs a delicately flavoured beer, perhaps with a citric edge.
l Richly oak smoked salmon appears to need a blousier porter or stout, but will also work with hoppier lagers or ales.
l Creamy-flavoured smoked salmon, smoked trout or smoked eel needs to be matched with a beer that shows similar creamy flavours and textures.
l Whisky smoked salmon is best with a beer with the same honeyed whisky flavours and higher alcohol (over 5%). This was probably the biggest hit of the evening.
l Peat smoked salmon needed a very highly hopped lager or ale to match the intense flavours of the very peaty salmon.
l The cod’s roe, which was eaten by itself, presented the ultimate challenge and would perhaps have been a successful pairing with the dry Pilsner if rye bread and onions and coriander had been included. As it was, eaten by itself, it would have made a better partner for a sour brown ale or a lambic beer, perhaps with a raspberry inclusion.

The top 5 combinations

Palm Speciale (5.4% ABV) received universal approval for its pairing with
M&S's Kenmore Whisky Smoked Salmon. Why? Because both the beer
and the salmon exhibited the same whiskied notes, the salmon from its
whisky barrel smoking and the beer from the honeyed whisky notes
derived from its higher alcohol. "Sweet Palm Speciale was indeed special
with the whisky smoked salmon – brought out the best in both," said the tasters.
Worthington’s White Shield IPA (5.6%abv) with Hebridean peat smoked
salmon was likened to Homer Simpson’s donuts and Duff combination. “The razor-like hops in the beer sliced through the woodiness of the salmon and prepared the palate for the next bite. Fab combo – great for savouring.” This was one of the edgiest combinations, but there were a few dissenting voices.
Grolsch Weizen (5.3%), matched with M&S’s hot smoked salmon,
involving a double smoking process, also won praise. The low-hopped,
creamy, exotic sweetness of the beer brought in a clean match for the creamy
sweet flakes of the fish. For one restaurateur: “The best match. The yeast’s
nice banana flavour married very well with the salmon.”
Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer (6.6%) paired with Coln Valley Smokery’s
Smoked Trout also hit the right notes with the caramelised sweet flavours of
the beer working perfectly with the creamily smoked trout. “Sublime with the
trout," noted one guest. “Big beer, lovely full smoke on dry muscular fish,"
wrote another.
Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager (5%abv) with Coln Valley Smokery’s smoked eel was judged “an inspired
match. Predictably good together, the creamy, subtly smoked fish accentuates the beer’s aroma."

Paul Hegarty, of Coors Brewers, said: "This was one of the most surprising tastings we’ve done, coming after previous sessions matching beer with cheese, chocolate, oysters, curry and with top French cuisine. The challenge was to ask whether Chablis, Champagne and Sauvignon Blanc really were the only acceptable accompaniments to smoked fish, or could certain styles of beer really hit the spot?

" The feedback from this tasting suggests that beer and smoked fish can be very happy bed fellows and that the trick is to find combinations with the same intensity of flavour.”