Beer and Music Pairings

People spend a lot of time and money (and not for waste) in the quest to determine which styles of beer pair well with various food types.  Be it cheese, chocolate, BBQ Ribs, Chicken, chili, etc. there are beers which will add a nice complement to the food selection.  Some beers pair nicely with desserts too. 

Beers pair with the weather as well, in the form of seasonal beers (and with a bit of tradition).  A nice wheat beer can be quite refreshing on a hot summer afternoon, while a dark malty high alcohol Dobblebock or Barleymalt may help make those cold winter nights seem a bit warmer.

Heck, beer even pairs well with sports.  Who wouldn't want a Bud Light (or insert any other mass market fizzy light lager brand) in their hand while watching NASCAR?  Or how about Rugby?  Nothing would suite so fine as a nice ESB while watching the scrums.  The advertisers will tell you that a trip to the beach isn't complete without a lime and Corona.

You see, beer seems to pair well with many of the finer things in life.  So what about music?

As with beer, I enjoy many types of music.  Different days and moods help determine what I listen too.  I try to drink a variety of beer styles as well throughout the year, and I often select the beer from the refrigerator depending on my mood at the time.  There could be something to this.  So, let's try it out. 

At the time of this writing I had the house to myself and put in a concert DVD of the post rock/metal band Isis.  It's not really thinking music, but adds a nice heavy backdrop to the writing of a blog post.  I can't effectively write a blog post without a beer, so from the refrigerator I selected Green Flash Double Stout Black Ale. And while listening to the heavy tones of the music and drinking to dark depths of the malty flavor with thick bitterness and a touch of alcohol warmth, I had an idea for this very post.  The Beer and music pairing.

Try it out.  Go find an Imperial Stout, sit back, relax, and listen to the following.



The dissonant tones and sometimes cacophonous interludes somehow elevate the rich malty complex flavors of this beer.  It makes for quite a nice pairing.  Just like you wouldn't listen to Justin Bieber while drinking an Oak Aged Yeti, a yellow fizzy light beer just won't pair well with this music.  Or maybe it's just me.

There is most likely a multitude of genres and groups that will pair well with various beer styles.  Perhaps we are onto something here.  What is your favorite beer/music pairing?