It’s Heritage Month. A time to celebrate our country’s rich cultures. A time to show appreciation for your family roots. And a time to – you guessed it – feast, feast, feast. With Heritage Day coming up on 24 September, why not get experimenting with lekker beer and braai food combos? We’ve outlined four satisfying slap-up meals for your Braai Day celebration. So go on, start sampling! (Get acquainted with the brew crew.)
When savouring a prime piece of steak, the Foreign Exchange Student (FES) is a worthy drink partner. If you want to chow some lekker sirloin, ribeye or fillet this Heritage Day, crack one of these boys open to enjoy with your feast. The full-bodied Belgian Ale’s dark-malt profile, hints of sweet fruitiness, caramel undertones, and mild bitterness from Perle & Fuggles hops will balance the flavours of the steak perfectly. And if you want to add some extra flavour to your meat, you can also add it to your basting sauce for a sweet and savoury treat.
This one’s for the Pilsner fans out there! Pilsner is a dryer beer, helping cut through the buttery flavours of fish. So if you’re a fish-lover or pescetarian, you’ll find the Dean to be a refreshing and crisp accompaniment to your braaied fish meal. Prawns, line fish – you name it. And if you want to expand your Braai Day feast to include fried fish too, the Dean works a charm for beer-battered hake. Bonus!
A medium-heavy protein, pork is bold in flavour and high in fat. With hints of passion fruit and litchi and a kick of spice, the Graduate’s full floral flavour profile pairs well with pork, adding to its richness. The strong presence of hops also balances the fattiness of the meat. Pair the Graduate with pork ribs, sausages, and chops for a Heritage Day meal to remember.
When eating a light vegetable meal, no beer goes down as well as the Quarterback American Pale Ale. Fruity and bittered with Centennial hops, the Quarterback’s bright flavour notes cleanse the palate, making braai salads taste even more refreshing. Crack open a bottle during the starter course for a winning lead up to your Heritage Day feast. And if you’re a vegetarian, you can stick with it for your main course too. That’s a win-win in our books.
Want to celebrate your South African heritage with delicious braai food and complementary craft beers, brewed locally? Pick up your favourite brewskis from 1000 Hills Brewery or nearby stockists, and serve ice-cold for a memorable and (and mouthwatering) Braai Day feast.
Wine and cheese, burgers and fries, ice cream and bar-one sauce – could you imagine any of these without the other? Neither could we. The world is full of iconic food pairings that cause your taste buds to tingle at the mere thought. Our personal favourite is perhaps the greatest combination of all time, craft beer and pizza. Just picture it – a crisp artisanal base topped with oozy melted cheese (and let’s not forget the toppings), washed down with a velvety swig of brewed-to-perfection craft beer. Heaven. There’s no denying these two crowd-pleasers bring out the best in each other. And when you find the sweet spot, the perfect beer and pizza combo – euphoria. After all, some flavours are just meant to be. Lucky for you, we can point you in the right direction when it comes to picking the best match.
What’s the deal with beer and pizza? Why is it so good? First of all, the experience as a whole is pretty darn magical. Kicking back with your friends, sharing a slice while sipping a brew – is there any better way to spend an afternoon? No, we couldn’t think of one either. When it comes down to it, everyone is happier with a craft beer in hand and a pizza on the plate in front of them. It’s a fact.
The second reason particular beer and pizza combos fit like a glove lies in the delicate nuances of the flavours each brings to the table. Let’s take the cheese, for instance. No pizza is complete without a stringy layer of melted mozzarella. (Except our Deli’s Vegan Pizza, that’s cheese-free and seriously delicious.) While you might first think wine when someone mentions cheese, beer is a better bet when it comes to the cheese on a pizza. Why? Simple. During the cooking process, the cheesy topping bubbles and melts, releasing the fats. You could argue this is the best part of any pizza, but the oiliness can get a bit heavy. Thanks to its carbonated structure and acidic nature, beer is the perfect accompaniment to lift and lighten the fats in your favourite pizza.
If anyone tells you they don’t love this understated classic, don’t listen to them – they’re lying. A whole pizza dedicated to everyone’s favourite ingredient, the cheese – what’s not to love? Crisp, clean and subtle, you need a brew that enhances the flavours rather than overpowers. Whether you choose an easy drinking APA, like The Quarterback or a crisp pilsner, like The Dean, you want something refreshing to cut through the oily cheese without drowning it out completely.
You can’t deny the rich, bold flavours of a meaty pizza. When selecting the best beverage for the meat lover’s pizza, you want a brew that will hold its own against big flavours. Here, you can’t go wrong with a dark Belgium ale, like The FES. The complex notes in both beer and pizza create a perfect balance, neither one squashing the other.
Finding the right brew for a vegetarian pizza, on the other hand, depends on which vegetables are taking centre stage. If your pizza boasts robust flavours from the likes of olives or jalapenos, you might prefer a malty amber ale, like The Cheerleader. But, otherwise, a distinct IPA, like The Graduate is always your best bet.
Have we got your mouth watering? Visit us at the Deli and find your favourite beer and pizza pairing. We brew all our craft beers with food flavours in mind, and it’s no secret that our students make the best artisanal pizzas this side of the hill. Call 031 777 1566 to book a table for this weekend.
Food and beer can be paired to match in flavour according to the same principle as wine, or you can hit the palate with a delicious contrast. If you like to play by the rules, a general guideline is as follows: Ales can generally be paired with anything you would pair red wine with, while lagers can be paired as you would typically pair white wine.
Remember that taste varies from person to person, so be prepared to throw away the rule-book and try new combinations. One of the great qualities of beer is that it allows for a mischievous amount of experimenting, honestly, can you really ruin beer? No. Beer is always great. In order of events, supposing you are hosting guests or looking for a great beer to compliment your meal while dining out, let’s look at a few tried and tested winning relationships between our craft beers and eats.
A great sipping beer that goes perfectly with the famous Yes Chef Deli cheese platter is The Graduate. Serve this brewsky with the starters if you’re entertaining for a pairing that hits the palate like a cool breeze on a summer’s day. Salted nuts and fried foods are other optional camaraderies to this India Pale Ale. As they say, after a few of these, you will be graduating cum laude with a degree in Mandarin.
If you’re looking for the perfect braai accompaniment for a lean steak, a Pale Ale, like The Cheerleader, is your girl. A rich, fatty cut, on the other hand, would demand something darker like a stout or porter, allowing the stronger bitter flavours to cut through the richness of the food the same way the tannins of an oaky cabernet would.
The refreshing crisp, clear taste of a gold star pilsener is the perfect beer to enjoy with fish, so offer it to guests who prefer white meat on the grill. The Dean loves umami flavours, so include sushi, dishes that contain pesto and basil or a traditional ham and cheese toasted sandwich on your menu at meal time.
Having a casual dinner date with friends at home? The two all-American favourites come together for a classic meal. The Quarterback, an American Pale Ale, compliments pizza so beautifully you could serve the pairing at the dinner table in Buckingham Palace. The easy-drinking beer contains a fruity stance flavoured with Cascade and bittered with Centennial. A hit with the cheerleaders, this drink is sure to go down very well, so invite friends over, open a box of pizza, and throw in a few board games for a winning evening.
There is room to play with ideas here: Curry for dinner? Add a beer like The Cheerleader for the perfect fare.
Desserts are best paired with sweet or bitter beers, and a higher carbonation to help refresh the palate between bites. Once again, we highly recommend an experimental outlook and a playful attitude, so open a few beers and see what your palate tells you.
If you like the wine and dessert pairing mindset you can keep your beer slightly more crisp than your dessert. Which means a chocolate dessert with slightly bitter cocoa undertones would take a crisper beer than a custard dessert, which is rather milky and slightly sweeter. If you prefer a good contrast, try a bitter beer with a sweet dish, you might find the undertones to work just perfectly if you choose the right beer. The Fes loves chocolate, and chocolate loves him back, so add this ale to your chocolate dessert for a pairing that absolutely rocks.
For those who love chocolate, add beer and make the treat even more enjoyable. If you are having chocolate that is enriched with flavours like caramel, find a beer with those same undertones. This is precisely why The Fes is such a great ale to pair with chocolate, it boasts hints of caramel and toffee.
Looking for a beer to compliment your next meal at the deli? Visit us at the 1000 Hills Brewery and Yes Chef Deli, it might not be Buckingham Palace, but our food and premium craft beer is certainly fit for a king (we won’t be held liable for any Mandarin that results from drinking our beers). Take a look at our menu here to prepare your food and beer pairing!