Five Great Fall Beer Pairings

By Rachel Wharton

Paul Kahan, the executive chef of Blackbird and Avec in Chicago, has just launched a new gastropub called The Publican. With more than 100 beers on tap and in bottle at his newest Chicago venture, we asked the F&W 1999 Best New Chef for his five favorite fall beers — and what to eat with them.

Boudin Blanc with Leeks and Mustard Sauce.

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1. Goose Island Beer Company Juliet (Chicago, IL)

A new “sour Belgian style” beer, says Kahan, from the Chicago craft-brewer Goose Island. Kahan suggests serving this tart, fruity beer flavored with Marion berries with French boudin blanc sausages that typically come topped with a creamy black truffle sauce.

2. De Proefbrouwerij La Grande Blanche (Belgium)

Kahan recommends serving this fruity, spicy and sweet Belgian white beer (also known as a wheat beer, which are brewed mainly with wheat rather than barley) with smoked fish, like smoked trout chowder or smoked salmon croque monsieurs

3. Boon Gueuze Mariage Parfait (Belgium)

Serve this spritzy, tart, citrusy lambic (a type of wheat beer, lambics are made with wild yeasts and known for their complex flavors) with a simple dish of mussels steamed in beer, says Kahan.

4. Three Floyds Brewing Co. Gumballhead (Munster, IN)

The Indiana-brewed Gumballhead is a spicy, hoppy wheat beer that Kahan recommends with “anything with hard-shell winter squash and sweet fall spices,” like butternut-squash couscous or mashed winter squash with fragrant Indian spices.

5. Einbecker Brauhaus AG Ur-Bock Dunkel (Germany)

This dark, smoky German bock beer (a type of strong lager) pairs well with “raw, fatty fish,” says Kahan. Try it with lightly seared chive-salmon fillets with apple-celery remoulade and rare tuna steaks wrapped in bacon.