I come from a mixed south asian/bavarian (only in america) household. I’d say I spent about half of my life over there, and beer was never popular. People prefer whiskey or homemade liquor, like moonshine but made with sugarcane. As a result of my family and time spent there I have a love for curry and other relatively spicy foods, but I haven’t found a really great beer to go with those dishes. To be honest, the best beer I’ve paired with curry has been coors light.
Do you all have any favorite beers for curry/ spicy fare?
Yeah, a drinkable adjunct lager is best for me with curries. A lot of pairing ‘experts’ suggest hoppy beers with spicy foods, and I often do that. But with curries, there is so much going on in terms of spices and flavors that a beer that’s too hoppy can cover up those flavors IMO. My $0.02.
+3 for lagers. Something clean and crisp. Personally I’d probably pair it with one of the Asian rice lagers, like Asahi, Sapparo, etc. I like those beers and they go great with food. Super clean and crisp.
Dry lagers are the normal choice. Light, doesn’t clash with the flavor and cuts the heat.
Hefeweizen might be an interesting choice. The banana and clove would work around a lot of the far south Asian cuisine like Malaysian and southern Thai. It might be too filling with a rich curry though. I like the idea of a lighter Belgian–either a tripel or a 4-6% blonde. Some of the same flavors but a lighter body.
There’s an Asian restaurant nearby that is mostly Thai and Vietnamese and has a small brewery in the back that is basically a very nice homebrew setup. They do a rice lager but otherwise produce most of the typical craft styles. No real reason why you can’t pair a fruity IPA with a red curry or a stout with a fish sauce marinaded steak. They are complimentary flavors.
Assuming the curry is good and fiery. The bitterness of the IPA and the heat of the chili peppers kinda counteract each other, and you’ll notice flavors in both that were buried under the bitterness/heat.
I usually get a kingfisher, a lager, when I go to Indian restaurants and it goes well. IMO IPA’s don’t go well with any food that you want to have normally functioning taste buds and aroma receptors for. Also, any beer 6%abv tends to be too filling for me with food.
I have heard this sentiment from lots of experienced tasters as well, unfortunately for me it hasn’t worked out that way. The more hoppy the beer the more it seems to intensify the heat for me, and if a food is too spicy then I start to find I can’t pick out the other flavors as well. That said, while I love spicy food I am not a “native spice” guy. Obviously it’s different from pallet to pallet.
I go the kingfisher route as well. I tend to go with same-nationality beers when eating ethnic food. It just makes it more authentic for me, even if there may be better beer options available. I drink Kirin Ichiban with sushi, Zywiec with kielbasa & pierogies, Negra Modelo with Mexican, Warsteiner Dunkel with schnitzel, etc.
That said, I also think a pale lager in general is a good choice for most spicier, full-flavored food. It is a good palate cleanser, and a light grain character is a nice complement without getting in the way.
FWIW, I was referring to Thai curries, or the 11+ on the heat scale Indian curries. (Our local Indian restaurant goes to “30 on a scale of 10”, if they deem you worthy)
For a more normal level of heat, I’d also recommend a good lager.
I really like Vienna/Marzen/Oktoberfest with spicy food. Irish Red, too.
A hoppy blonde (not bitter, but lots of hop flavor/aroma) is good, too.
I’m not a big fan of bitterness with heat. They tend to clash, IMO.
Oh, and a clean Baltic Porter or Schwarzbier can pair well, too.