Many diners put considerable thought into the best wines to pair with their meals. Hayley Jensen, beer sommelier at Taproom No. 307, a bar/restaurant in New York City, believes a carefully chosen beer can also enhance the flavor of a dish.

When picking beer for a meal, Ms. Jensen starts by examining the tastes and textures in the dish first. Stronger tastes often call for fuller-flavored beers, for example.

With spicy cuisines like Indian and Thai, she likes India pale ales and other 'hoppy' beers, whose flavor is somewhat bitter, herb-tinged and complex. 'You want a real hoppiness to combat that spice,' Ms. Jensen says. Such beers also work with burgers and steaks that have been touched up with jalapenos or tangy mustards. She cites Butternuts Porkslap, a pale ale with ginger that she says 'really complements zesty sauces.'

Also, Ms. Jensen sometimes pairs spicy food with beers that are 'citrusy' or have coriander or ginger scents. For example, Ms. Jensen likes to pair the Allagash White beer, a Belgian-style witbier from Allagash Brewing Co. in Portland, Maine, with Asian-inflected dishes, because the beer has tinges of orange and coriander that stand up well to sesame or ginger. 'A tasteless lager would just be washed away by the bolder flavors,' she notes.

With heavier meats or roasted foods that have a slight char, Ms. Jensen likes to choose beers that have a rich, 'roasted,' earthy flavor. Rye beers are her favorites for such dishes because they tend to be 'full-bodied and zesty,' says Ms. Jensen. For instance, she used to pair a Cane and Ebel Rye Ale from Two Brothers Brewing Co. in Warrenville, Ill., for a dish of pork sausage with mushrooms, onion, bacon and lentils at DBGB Kitchen and Bar, where she once worked, because the beer has 'a pepperiness that tasted like a quick grind of black pepper.'

Smoky grilled meats can be paired with a lager that has a subtly smoky finish, such as Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lager, a light lager from Germany.

The texture of the beer is important to consider as well. Oysters work well with creamy stouts, as the smooth feeling of the beer complements the buttery mouth feel of the oysters, Ms. Jensen says. At the same time, the velvety stout acts as a palate-cleanser, balancing the briny taste of the oyster.

While one might not think of drinking beer with dessert, Ms. Jensen says some roasted malt beers, which have an intense, almost chocolate-like taste, work well with hearty sweets such as a chocolate brownie topped with ice cream and caramel sauce.

The choice of glass is important for beers served with a meal, says Ms. Jensen, who favors Spiegelau glasses, which she says have a good heft to them without being too heavy.

Ms. Jensen makes sure that the glass is of the right temperature. It shouldn't be so hot that it warms your beer instantly, but it shouldn't be frosted. 'Ice crystals can take carbonation away from your beer,' she says.

And before she starts eating, Ms. Jensen always pauses to have a little taste of the beer first. 'You need to let it penetrate your palate,' she says. Only after savoring the taste of her beer for a few seconds does she take her first bite.

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

• considerable [kən´sidərəbəl] a.重要的；值得重视 (初中英语单词)
• flavor [´fleivə] n.滋味 vt.给....调味 (初中英语单词)
• indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)
• complex [´kɔmpleks] a.复杂的 n.综合企业 (初中英语单词)
• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
• instantly [´instəntli] ad.立即，立刻 (初中英语单词)
• combat [´kɔmbæt] v.&n.斗争；战斗；争斗 (高中英语单词)
• ginger [´dʒindʒə] n.姜；精神，元气 (高中英语单词)
• sausage [´sɔsidʒ] n.香肠 (高中英语单词)
• dessert [di´zə:t] n.(餐后)甜食 (高中英语单词)
• intense [in´tens] a.强烈的；紧张的 (高中英语单词)
• hearty [´hɑ:ti] a.热忱的；强健的 (高中英语单词)
• penetrate [´penitreit] v.贯穿；穿透；渗透 (高中英语单词)
• texture [´tekstʃə] n.(织物等的)质地 (英语四级单词)
• brownie [´brauni] n.小精灵 (英语四级单词)
• enhance [in´hɑ:ns] vt.提高，增加；增进 (英语六级单词)
• creamy [´kri:mi] a.含奶油的；米色的 (英语六级单词)