5 Beer And Snack Pairings Perfect For Any Occasion

There are two staples at just about any get-together — cold beer and snacks. While you can always just stick with classic picks like wings and your favorite brew, you can get far more creative and really bring a fun twist to your event by creating well-crafted beer and snack pairings. To help you find the best beer and snack pairings for any occasion Daily Meal spoke with Rich Higgins, Master Cicerone, certified sommelier, and former brewmaster. 

Higgins provided five beer and snack pairings, and they work regardless of whether you'll be watching a sports showdown or hosting a different type of party. All of his picks create a balance of flavors and play on classic snacks such as chips and salsa or three-ingredient pigs in a blanket, meaning they don't use fancy ingredients you'll have to go hunting for, either.

Rich Higgins tells us, "It's classic to think light, easy-drinking lager when you're noshing on chips and salsa. But, imagine your lager is a black lager." Higgins explains that a black lager, or German schwarzbier, has a dark color but low bitterness and light body. However, these lagers have toasty flavors, thanks to the de-bittered dark malts used in the brews.

These brews achieve their light body and roasty flavor through the brewing method; like a traditional lager, they're made with long fermentation methods at low temperatures, creating that refreshing sip. However, the infusion of roasted malt into the drink gives it a unique sweetness and caramel flavor. When it comes to how those flavors work with your chips and salsa, Higgins explains, "The beer's roastiness will bring a perfect hint of grilled flavor to the salsa, as if you blister the tomatoes, chilies, and onions on the comal yourself."

If you're after something that works as a crowd-pleaser, Rich Higgins recommends reaching for a saison. He explains that these beers are known for being refreshing and effervescent with notes of lemon and light acidity. If you're after the perfect pick, check out Daily Meal's guide to 5 different American saisons to get a feel for the different flavor profiles.

When it comes to the perfect snack to eat with them, Higgins notes, "In food pairings, they work like Champagne, adding lift and bright aromas to enliven any food. Somms know how well a glass of bubbly goes with potato chips." While a handful of classic natural potato chips can work fine, Higgins also explains that you don't need to stick to the status quo. He recommends trying bougie truffle potato chips with your saison, creating a unique pairing where the saison balances out "salt, crunch, grease, and truffle-y funk all in one sip."

Another snack choice for fans of German beers that Rich Higgins suggests is to pair pigs-in-a-blanket, or sausages wrapped in buttery pastry, with a rauchbier. Higgins explains that rauchbier is German for smoke beer and that while they're not so easy to come by today, they used to be pretty standard. He explains, "A few centuries ago, most beers were tinged with smoke from barley malt that had been dried over open flames." With this type of brew, you get all those smoky, meaty flavors imbued into your beverage. You'll also find toasty malt notes.

Higgins explains that while there are various rauchbiers out there, he'd recommend a Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, which he notes "is one of the smokiest, and [features] delicious flavors of toast, dark caramel, herby bitterness, and bacon." (For those who aren't sure what a Märzen is, check out Daily Meal's guide to the difference between a Märzen beer and a lager.) Those tasting notes work well against the salty, meaty flavors of pigs in a blanket, and the addition of mustard also adds a burst of pungent acidity to create balance.

Another suggestion Rich Higgins offers is to pair tasty wings with a West Coast IPA. If you're not familiar, IPA stands for India Pale Ale and this beer is a hoppy brew that often has bitter and citrus notes, the perfect choice for pairing with rich, intense, and spicy wings.

Higgins advises, "Go classic with savory-sour buffalo sauce to tease out some malt sweetness from the beer, or go nouveau with sweet-spicy gochujang or teriyaki glaze and let the beer's bitterness keep the wing sauce from getting cloying." The fun part is that West Coast IPAs can be quite complex and cover a range of flavors, meaning you can experiment with your favorite wing sauces and go-to brews.

Higgins says of the bitterness of the beer matched with the spice of the wings, "Some folks think it's too intense, but I can't get enough of it." He does, however, caution that hazy IPAs are best left for another occasion as they're less bitter and have a smooth mouthfeel that won't stand up to the intense flavor of buffalo wings. If you're after the perfect IPA, check out Daily Meal's ranking of 12 different IPAs to help you find the perfect one for your pairing.

Last but not least, if you want something full of crunch and savory flavor, Rich Higgins suggests reaching for a bowl of chicharrones paired with a bitter pilsner (which is arguably the best craft beer thanks to its clean finish, effervescence, and light body and flavor). Chicharrones are made of deep-fried pork rinds and have a mix of sweet, spicy, salty, and porky flavors.

When choosing this pairing, Higgins explains that the key is not to avoid hoppy picks. "Some pilsners and pale lagers use hops sparingly, which leads to a one-dimensional pairing, only bringing carbonated spritz to cut through the porky crunch," he says. "But a more historic pilsner with hop bitterness, like Pilsner Urquell or Prost Brewing Co.'s Pilsner, offers a bit of herbaceous bite to balance any lingering grease and gelatin in the chicharrones, which in turn makes you hungry for the next crispy morsel of chicharron." 

Of course, while those might be Higgins' perfect pilsners, you could branch out and experiment with your own picks, like Aldi's Wernesgrüner Pilsner. Regardless of which of these beer and snack pairings you go for, there are plenty of tasty ways to enjoy a brew with some of your favorite munchies for any occasion.