Malt Squared

It’s time to take a break from all of that laborious pairing of wine and food, beer & cheese, hors d'oeuvres and cocktails… It’s time to get down to the serious business of pairing beverages with beverages!

Hedonistic? Perhaps, but I can’t resist the harmonious pairing of Malt Whisky with a pure malt Beer. It’s a pairing that just works. It’s a classic case of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Why Does it Work?
Simply put, both Beer and Malt Whisky have the same childhood. The first three days of life for both are nearly identical. They start by mashing grains in hot water in order to extract the sweet nectar that’s found within the malted barley. In the next phase yeast is introduced to convert the malt sugars to alcohol. Once this process is complete you have a young Beer. In the hands of the brewer, the Beer will soon be in our hands. In the hands of the distillery this Beer will soon become a young raw spirit that will then become a Whisky after years in oak casks.

Beer and Malt Whisky are siblings separated shortly after birth and lovingly reunited by you.

What Kind of Beer?
Ales work best. Ales are typically fuller bodied, slightly fruity, and wondrously raw in comparison with most Lager styles.

The best all-purpose Beer with Malt Whisky is the Dry Stout such as Guinness or Murphy’s to name just a couple. At the other end of the scale, crisp Pilsner style Lagers are the least attractive pairing but it still works. We have also found that aggressively hoppy Beers do not work (what do they work with?) as the hops tread all over the Whisky’s subtle notes and amplify the alcohol.

Classic Pairings

Of course these are just a few suggestions. My greatest reccomendation is for you to venture out and discover your own classic pairing of Malt Whisky and Pure Malt Beer.