It may not be the height of culinary excellence but hot, spicy, marinade laden chicken wings have always been a hardy companion of the malted ale. In this case, were pairing it with a crisp Vienna amber lager, courtesy of Meantime in London.
The beer firstly. Vienna lagers are slightly hoppy, residually sweet lagers from the city that they take their name from. Three
malts are generally present, Munich, Pilsner and Vienna along with a reasonable hop bill.
The wings. Heavily marinated in numerous types of hot sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika and malt vinegar. Grilled, tossed in the sauce served with home-made blue cheese dressing. A classic combination...
The pairing. The beer pours with a rich deep dark amber body. Puffy off white head with solid retention and a touch of lacing. Smokiness on the nose a whack of dextrin malt and a hint of fresh lavender infused hops. Taste is crisp. Biscuity malt and a touch of hop bitterness, little bit of sweetness on the finish and a touch of spicy dried fruit.
With the wings its a solid match. Lagers generally work well with heat, IPA's full of citric hops also match up well to the acid and fiery punch of chilli heat. The Meantime holds up very well, the sticky spicy fat from the wings was contrasted well by crisp fresh hops soaked in a sea of biscuit malt. The 4.9%abv gives it a reasonably light body without any noticeable booze. Cuts through the heat well, supports the sharp vinegar and creamy sour cream sauce and backs up the overall flavour.
A superbly competent bedfellow for hot and spicy chicken wings. Its not a delicately layered beer with epic flavour but it is a well balanced, fantastically drinkable little lager.
No comments:
Post a Comment