You don’t need German beer to enjoy German food. In fact, any well-made European beer — and some American craft brews — provide the perfect complement to German and other Eastern European cuisine.
“In fact, I really don’t like too many German beers with German food because I don’t think they stand up well,” says Steve Harriman of the Pogo Liquor Store at Lovers Lane and Inwood in the Inwood Shopping Center. “Some German beers can be a little soft, and they won’t cut through the fat in German food.”
Consider the following beers, served well-chilled with a plate of sausage, sauerkraut, strong mustard and crusty bread:
• Pilsner Urquell ($7/six-pack). This Czech beer is not especially heavy, but still crisp.
• Staro Praman 1997 ($7/six-pack). Another Czech brew, it has more of a hoppy flavor — hops are used to brew beer — than many German bottles.
• Samuel Smith Pale Ale ($8.50/four-pack). The English, who know a thing or two about sausages, brew this full-flavor beer that’s a little richer than the two from the Czech Republic.
