Charcuterie and Beer Matching

Something to Drink With That? Beer and Charcuterie Pairing

The search for perfect charcuterie experiences sees us travelling all over the place, but very often the answer is close to home. And why shouldn’t it be? Where the French use ‘terroir’, we can say ‘Stuff from Nearby Often Tastes Good Together’. It’s why we’re big believers in collaborations with neighbours. Working closely together using ingredients from the same soil, looking to bring out the best in each other’s products and to create new ones together, it’s a process we love.

Imagine, then, the excitement we felt at the chance to work with Rebellion Beer Co., the Marlow Brewery. No second invitation needed, we made the short journey to the brewery with a suitcase full of British charcuterie, ready for the arduous task of trying every meat with every beer in the pursuit of perfect pairings.

And a few hours later, mission accomplished. If you head over to our cured meat pages, you’ll now find a beer match for each of our styles that you can use to help you find the perfect partners for your charcuterie selections. While you’re able to acquire Rebellion beers right then and there, we’ll also signpost options from further afield for when our local favourites aren’t to hand.

And here are a few extracts from our tasting notes, which provide a general guide for pairing our British charcuterie with real beers.

Charcuterie	Rebellion Beer
Bresaolas	These leaner, deeply flavoured meats went well with darker beers. Rebellion’s IPA, Smuggler and Black all did well with the beef, hogget and venison bresaolas we tried. Smooth, rather than sharp, was the way to go with bresaola.
Pork Hams	Lots of variety in here, as the four different hams we tried all went in different beer directions. Colourwise, we travelled from the light side of the palette to the middle, moving from lager, through hazy, to IPA as we shifted from leaner ham to fattier coppa. Basically, the lighter and leaner the meat, the lighter and simpler the beer, and vice versa - until the beer stops being brown.
Hogget Salami	The gamey quality of hogget required a stronger sort of beer, with enough flavour to stand up to the oomph of the hogget. Meanwhile, the beer does a great job of cleaning any hogget fat from the palate, leaving a deliciously long finish. IPA types are excellent.
Pork Salami	Pork salamis did well with things around the middle of the flavour spectrum. Too citrusy and we lose some porkiness, too dark and they get overpowered. Bitters and IPAs went well.
Venison Salami	The richness of venison, and our preference for sticking fruit in the salamis, led us to hazy beer for this. Equally though, stout styles and session ales were great.
Chorizo	For spice and the relatively mild flavour of pork (compared to other meats), lighter beers went well. Session ales, hazy beers and lagers to the fore.

More so than with wine, where it’s hard to find a charcuterie and wine pairing that doesn’t work, beer and charcuterie matching needs a bit of thought. We found some meats and beers that were fantastic together, and some which clashed. So, when you’re putting your grazing boards alongside your real beers, have a look at our beer matching notes, and then make them your own.