Pair f lavors of food, beer for recipes

This culinary beer guide suggested by “The Craft Beer Cookbook” author Jacquelyn Dodd will help kick-start your craft beer cooking.

Stout and porter: Stouts tend to use roasted barley. Porters do not. Porters also tend to have a hoppier taste. Many stouts and porters have chocolate and coffee undertones. Use these beers in recipes that feature chocolate and red meat.

Pale ales: Pale ales get their name from the pale malt used to brew them. With a more even ration of malt to hop, the flavor is better balanced than some stronger brews. Pale ales are a good choice for fruit, poultry and seafood recipes.

Brown ales: Brown ales have a rich, malty flavor. Look for the nationality associated with this beer. American brown ales tend to have more hops. English brown ales tend to be sweeter with a maltier flavor. Try brown ales in recipes that have roasted root vegetables and red meat as ingredients.

Wheat ales: Wheat beers are brewed with wheat and tend to have a yeast-forward taste with a lower hop undertone. Flavors of citrus, cloves and coriander are often present in wheat ales. One of the most popular wheat ales is Blue Moon, a Belgian-style white wheat ale.

Wheat ales work well in recipe with apples, pears and citrus as well as with seafood and white meats like chicken and pork.

Lagers: Lagers are known for their clean, crisp taste and longer fermentations, making the yeast settle to the bottom. Lagers and pilsners are another good choice for shellfish, fish, white meats and citrus-based recipes.