Beer and Snacks Matching: The ultimate challenge
You shall go to the ball, Cinders. The word on the grapevine - or at least on the potato plant - is that pub snacks, those loyal workhorses of the on-trade, have been feeling a bit neglected by the beer and food matching movement.
Customers, who have been unwinding with a half of best and a bag of smokey bacon crisps for decades, suddenly find their path to the bar blocked by chefs and food writers overcome with emotion about the "discovery" that a well-made ploughman's goes quite nicely with a pint of bitter.
Until now, creating a vocabulary for beer and snacks matching has been a bit like Narnia - a mythical land which, although tantalisingly close, remains just out of reach. Only without all that guff about fauns and talking lions, obviously. So, it fell to Pub Food to throw open the wardrobe doors and shine the light of scientific reason into the shadowy recesses.
On a sunny summer day we laid out a tantalising buffet of 10 top bagged snacks and 10 great beers and assembled a team of 10 undoubted experts in the field. Between them, our panel members have notched up the best part of two centuries' service to the cause of drinking beer and eating snacks.
Their brief was simple. Grab a beer, pick up a snack, and give the resulting match a mark out of five. Clearly, with a potential 100 matches on the table, nobody could be expected to work their way right through the card - although some did their very best.
Personal preference also plays a part. One or two panel members gave the pork scratchings a wide berth, while others took some convincing to sample the beef jerky. The bright green colour of Japanese delicacy wasabi peas caused a few wobbles, but in fact the snack's spicy coating makes it an ideal overture to a symphony of cold beer on the throat and it proved to a big hit with the panel.
To make the final scores fair, we took the best seven matches for each beer and snack to work out which were the most popular.
The Panel
To gain an insight into the panel's snacking preferences, we asked each member about their favourite snacks before they tried any of the matches.
- Ryan Boydall: Publican general manager Ryan knows how much the ladies envy his cashew nuts
- Chris Brown: Theme's ace advertising executive is anyone's for a Nik Nak
- Tom Innes: Theme magazine's drinks editor Tom likes a bag of Burt's hand-fried ready-salted crisps
- Sue Leckie: The bars editor of Theme magazine admits to a secret craving for roast beef flavour Monster Munch
- Phil Mellows: The Publican's features editor still mourns the passing of the withdrawn Marks & Spencer pickled onion flavour crisp
- Caroline Nodder: Publican editor Caroline believes there are few experiences in life which can't be enhanced by adding Scampi Fries
- Dan Pearce: The normally hard-as-nails deputy editor of The Publican gets all misty-eyed at the memory of sausage and tomato crisps. Where are they now?
- Julie Roebuck: ThePublican.com's web supervisor is a party girl with a penchant for prawn cocktail flavour crisps.
- Nick Tesco: Former frontman with new wave rockers The Members, now directory database manager with The Publican's stablemate title Music Week. As far as Nick's concerned, the true "Sound of the Suburbs" is the crunch of salt and vinegar crisps.
- James Wilmore: Publican property editor James likes the feel of a bag of Mini Cheddars in his lunchbox.
The Snacks
Walkers Cheese & Onion Crisps: Very much the seasoned veteran, always relied on to put in a solid performance. But can it see off the challenge of newer, more exotically flavoured pretenders? Top beer match: Brahma
Tazaki Foods Wasabi & Rice Crackers: The wild card entry, but will the hot and spicy bar snacks from the Land of the Rising Sun appeal to the traditionalists on the panel? Top beer match: Asahi
Sun Valley Salted Peanuts: The taste that launched a thousand sips, but are simple salty nuts enough to sate the jaded palates of a sophisticated audience? Top beer match: Birra Moretti
Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli: Posh crisps with an oriental flavour. Can the mysterious East cope with the brewer's yeast? Top beer match: Carlsberg Elephant
McCoys Flame Grilled Steak: A real bloke's crisp, but can it still compete in our female-friendly age? Top beer matches: Brahma and Asahi
KP Mini Cheddars: It looks like a biscuit but acts like a crisp. Will this snack's identity crisis just leave the panel cheesed off? Top beer match: Deuchars IPA
Salty Dog Jalapeno & Coriander Crisps: Representing the new breed of gourmet crisps, but are its exotic flavours a flash in the pan? Top beer match: Peroni
Sun Valley Dry Roasted Peanuts: The crunchy bar snack is high in fibre, but can it see off its saltier rivals? Top beer match: Spitfire
Rocking JC Beef Jerky: It's mighty meaty, but is it a snack too far for UK pub-goers? Top beer match: Spitfire
Mr Porky's Pork Scratchings:The people's favourite, the snack with added oink. But will its classic pub snack status prove to be just sty in the sky? Top beer match: Spitfire
The BeersEver tried phoning the major brewers in the run-up to a major sporting tournament to convince them you need a case of their finest brews for a very serious beer and snacks matching event? Despite a few dubious noises, we managed to assemble a good cross-section of beer styles from around the world. The panel's top snack match for each is included, along with some of the choicer comments. All quotes are taken directly from the panel's notes, but have been left anonymous to spare their blushes.
- Asahi: Japanese joy-in-a-bottle brewed in the UK by Shepherd Neame. Best snack match: Tazaki Wasabi & Rice Crackers. This result ran very true to form, with Asahi's crisp, dry finish the perfect complement to the fiery snacks. "An emotional reunion for the Japanese brothers."
- Coor's Fine Light: The US brewer's taste of the Rocky Mountains. Best snack match: Mini Cheddars. The panel thought the cheesy hit of the snack was nicely countered by the cool flavour of classic US lager, although some found the match a little straight-laced. "Like an inoffensive maiden aunt."
- Birra Moretti: Italian classic from the Heineken stable. Best snack match: Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli. Birra Moretti has authentic food matching credentials, and the panel clearly made the link with the Sensations' real food flavours. "The best combo - a good lively mix."
- Brahma: InBev's Brazilian beauty. Best snack match: Walkers Cheese & Onion Crisps The panel was surprised at just how well South America's favourite beer went with the quintessential British crisp. "Neither would be my first choice on their own, but the match is good."
- Carlsberg Elephant: The Danish premium lager that never forgets. Best snack match: Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli. A powerful beer clearly needs a robust snack, giving the premium Walkers snack another victory under its belt. "A nice balance."
- Deuchars IPA: Caledonian Brewery's award-winning ale. Best snack match: McCoys Flame Grilled Steak. The citrus tang of the Scottish ale nicely balances the robust flavour of the crisps. "Like a choir in perfect harmony."
- Grolsch: The Dutch lager from Coors Brewers. Best