Perfect Pair #2

cracking open a cold one with the boys

Hi divas! Welcome back to Perfect Pair, the series where I’m chatting with some of my pals in food, beverage and nightlife on their hard hitting burger opinions and what they love to pair with their patties. Check out my first pairing profile focused on cocktails:

Perfect Pair #1

To get the hottest takes on the classic burger + beer pairing I knew I had to chat with Harry Manning. Harry and I became friends through Twitter first and shortly after I started popping my head into his occasional place of work, Bad Luck Bar.

If you want to hear the whole unedited conversation, I’ll dropping that for paid subscribers, but read on for our convo about pairings, profiles and blood pressure.

Burger Diva: Alright this is the second edition of Perfect Pair! I'm Christina, Burger Diva and this is –

Harry Manning: Hey diva! This is Harry Manning, professional regular, beer fan, Hudson Valley Brewery unnamed title employee, Harry’s Hot Sandwiches sandwich maker and occasional bartender.

BD: Multi-hyphenate!

HM: …burger fan.

BD: Burger fan.

HM: Happy International Women’s Day!

BD: Thank you so much! Really wanted to start that off on a good note! So, burger fan – before we took on today's endeavor, you did say that you were burger-fasting to make sure that this burger really hit, which made me wonder…how many burgers are you eating in a week?

HM: Well, how many days are in a week?

BD: Seven, I just crunched the numbers.

HM: I would say I probably eat four to five burgers a week, or 25 in a month, but don’t hold me to that. I eat burgers…if you asked my sweetheart, she’d say I eat a burger every day but I don't think I do.

BD: And your blood pressure is…good?

HM: It is and I have to check it twice a day!

BD: I did momentarily think that was a bit and then I remembered you do have a heart thing.

HM: I have a dilated aorta and I have to check my blood pressure…well I don't have to, I just do it because my dad asks me about it. And my cardiologist!

BD: And they're signed on to the the beer/burger diet?

HM: They’re not mad about it!

BD: Well luckily that makes you the perfect person to ask about what we want to drink and specifically what beer we want to drink with a burger! And right now we have two beers in front of us that I think would pair really well with the burger we’re about to have at The Anchored Inn in Bushwick.

HM: And you’re freakin’ right! The classic, in the bottle, the champagne of beers, Miller High Life. Holy cow, you know it you love it, what a great beer. And on draft I have a Daisy Cutter Pale Ale from Half Acre, which I believe is in Chicago. A classic craft beer choice!

BD: What makes these go well with a burger?

HM: I think that when you’re pairing a beer with any food, but especially a burger, beer is a very versatile beverage for that, more so than any other beverage of the alcoholic persuasion is. There’s just so much more you can work with as far as the flavors. You can have flavors that match, you can have flavors that complement, and you can have flavors that contrast, and I like ones that complement.

I’m not pairing a smokey beer with a smokey dish, I think it’s too much and you don’t taste anything. I think what works really well with the beers we have is that a High Life is a well-rounded, a little sweet but classic, crisp, light hop beer. I don’t think of myself as a beer snob and I think all beers work well but if you want to get real about what can really elevate your experience with a burger you want something slightly bitter, gonna cleanse your palate, complement the fat and umami flavors in a burger.

I think the Daisy Cutter works really well because it’s hoppy and bitter but it’s not overwhelming. It leaves your palate right away and a sip right after you take a bite is a really beautiful thing. I feel like you want to go with something that’s a little malty, a little bitter but not fruity. I would stay away from a hazy IPA in this scenario.

BD: Is there any specific burger that would pair with a hazy IPA or would it just be overpowering?

HM: I just think that it’s a contrasting profile. There are probably some that would work with certain burgers over others depending on what sauce you have on there, etcetera, but I’m looking for a clear beer in this situation to go with a burger, but nothing too light. That’s good for when you’re grilling but not for when you’re eating!

BD: You can still enjoy it but it won’t heighten the experience. You were telling me that you went to Smacking Burger and had…

HM: We had tall boys of Coors Banquet. I had a great experience but I wouldn’t say my burger was elevated by the Coors Banquet…but like a pale ale, an IPA from the Midwest or West Coast. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale always going to be a classic. A hoppy pilsner, from perhaps Hudson Valley Brewery! Our Feel No Way pilsner, really solid. That works really well with a burger, it’ll do the same thing, be really clean and crisp. That’s really what you want, hoppy but not going to linger too long.

BD: Say someone is eating a burger and there’s a twenty beer-deep draft list. What are some key words you’d want to look out for, other than hoppy.

HM: For people who don’t like hoppy beer, that’s okay!

BD: I thought you were going to say “grow up!”

HM: I think everyone has their preferences and people have been burned, but I think that having a drink with food can actually make you appreciate certain beers that you never thought you’d drink.

I would go for..if there’s a craft pilsner on the menu that’s always a good way to go. If you have a pale ale that’s not necessarily hazy by default or in description, I feel like that’s a good way to go. A single IPA, a pale ale. To go back to High Life, I really like it because it’s versatile, has sweetness but it’s overall a nice clean but still bitter beer that’s super crushable. I’m not necessarily going to drink a Narragansett or PBR with my burger as much as I love those beers.

BD: But there's a time and a place! I feel like those are actually hot dog beers.

HM: They are hot dog beers!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.