The Mellow Mushroom bar has a variety of drinks for you to choose from, so it can be overwhelming to find the right one for your meal. You can significantly enhance the flavors and textures of each dish by matching it with the perfect beer, which will enrich your overall experience. Mastering the art of food and beer pairing allows you to transform any meal into a memorable occasion. This month we are gonna show off some of the amazing pairings that you yourself can try at your local Mellow.
Pale ales are great for pairings due to their range. This style of beer is a broad category of ales that are made with pale malts and ale yeast. Pale ales can be English, American, or Belgian, and can range in bitterness and maltiness. A great example of this range is Pseudo Sue from Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. This is a New England style double dry hopped pale ale made from Citra hop for a balanced beer that is delicate in body. The nose comes at you strong with grapefruit and mango, giving this ale its vibrance. New England IPAs are much more juicy and citrusy, without any of the pine notes you come to expect from most traditional IPAs. This comes from a late, dry-hopping technique that delivers a burst of tropical taste, not too much different than sipping on a glass of OJ. Try it alongside any of our signature salads for a refreshing dining experience. I personally go for the Enlightened Spinach with a red wine vinaigrette. Now, if you’re more of a pizza and beer type person, pair this one with a Pacific Rim. After one slice and one sip you will notice the citra hops cut right through the richness of the pork and cheese. Next, you feel it washing over the spice of the jalapenos, and finally taste the pineapple dancing along to the tropical notes of this brew.
One of our most popular items here at the Mellow Mushroom has to be the Cloud 9 Wings. Nine double-baked wings coated in a rich garlic Parmesan sauce. Then coated in even more aged parm. This famous dish needs something to cut through all that richness, so I suggest something sweet, toasty, fruited, mesoamerican. Mayan Sacrifice from Darkness Brewing is an Imperial Double White Golden Coffee Stout. Filled with ancho and pasilla chilis, cocoa nibs from Maverick Chocolate, coffee, and lactose, caramel is heading up the nose of this drink. The flavors hit it off with sweet roasted coffee dashed with mild spicy green chilies. The palette is peppered with cinnamon and sweet honey. The back end includes dark fruit and hickory. This kind of complex sweetness is perfect for pungent cheese, and the spices throughout play well with the poultry. This is a unique pairing, seeing a stout paired with something so savory, but the light golden body of this beer balances the wings perfectly.
Stouts are traditionally a dark, thick ale that are made with malt and smoked barley – this gives the stout its rich taste and a texture. Stouts can be Irish-style dry, foreign-style, sweet, imperial, or even Milk! Let me introduce you to the Bronze Medalist of the 2017 Great American Beer Fest. Smell the cocoa and sweet vanilla aroma as you crack open the can, this is McPoyle from Mile Wide Beer Company. This velvety sweet stout is full-bodied and easy to drink. A dark-colored brew equipped with a medium malt flavor, it has a slightly burnt character and a bit of roasty dryness on the finish. This award-winning Milk Stouts Chocolate flavors dominate this full-bodied, creamy stout making this perfect for something sweet. Upgrade your next Mary Jane Triple Chocolate Brownie with a cold glass of this Milk Stout, you can thank me later!
With the right beer, you can significantly enhance the overall dining experience, and pairing allows you to transform any meal into a memory. I recommend you give one of these a try. If you didn’t see one of your favorites on this month’s list, feel free to try asking one of our awesome servers or bartenders. They’ll be happy to help you find the perfect match for your meal.
-by Maeve Black
