The Best Craft Beers to Pair with Your Meal

In Singapore, you can never go wrong by quenching your thirst with a pint of the quintessential Tiger beer. But there is more to our local beer scene – the little red dot is also home to a thriving craft beer scene, with many independent breweries and taprooms creating their own small batch brews.

It all began when Brewerkz launched their first brewpub at popular dining district Clark Quay in 1997. Widely acknowledged as the big brother of the industry, Brewerkz introduced Singaporeans to the concept of craft beer with its in-house brews and inventive flavours. Today, the brand operates multiple restaurants, runs a 9,000 sq ft standalone brewery and offers an inventive line-up of craft beverages featuring adventurous flavours such as sours, intensely hoppy beers, hazy ales and hard seltzers.

As Singapore’s longest running craft brewery experience, Brewerkz continues to tantalise drinker’s palates with innovative custom beers. The brewery is known for beers that commemorate special events, like the Afterburner Pacific Pale Ale, a collaboration project with the Singapore Air Show 2020. The recent circuit breaker period also inspired the Circuit Breaker Hazy Pale Ale, a juicy and smooth brew to soothe away feelings of ale-loneness.

Each brew has its own set of unique bitter, sweet, roasty and floral flavours, all the better to complement local cuisine. From fish head curry to chicken rice and carrot cake, there is sure to be a Brewerkz craft beer that goes well with your dish. To get you started on your local craft beer tasting adventure, the Brewerkz experts explain the difference between four of the most popular beer styles – and suggest what food you might want to pair with your pint.

Pilsners, which are a type of pale lager, have a bright golden colour and a crisp taste. This refreshing beer is balanced out with bitter, hoppy and malt notes for a long finish.

Try: Bohemian Pilsner is a light brew with a flowery and fruity aroma and a clean malty flavour, making it an ideal thirst quencher in hot weather.

Pair with: Chicken rice, Caesar salad, salmon, creamy risotto, buffalo wings

Rounded and smooth in taste, pale ale (sometimes called golden or blonde ale) is an easy-drinking beer with a visually appealing light golden hue. This well balanced beer has no particularly dominant malt or hop characteristics and is beloved for its simple, straightforward flavour. Pale ales are sometimes brewed with honey, spices and fruit for added dimension.

Try: Golden Ale, a medium bodied beer with a lightly toasted malt flavour and biscuit overtones and a rounded bitter hop aftertaste.

Pair with: Roast chicken or pork

Take a typical pale ale and crank up the alcohol content, bitterness and hop flavour, and you’ve got an India pale ale (or IPA for short). According to legend, this style was created when the British began using extra hops to extend the shelf-life of beer for their soldiers stationed in India. Whatever the reason, IPAs today are known to be flavourful and hoppy – and massively popular among beer lovers.

Try: Brewerkz India Pale Ale, which has a complex malt aroma with caramel and nutty tones, fruity hop and perfumy yeast. Its lingering bitter hop flavour is supported with an intricate malt backbone with notes of toffee and biscuits.

Pair with: BBQ ribs, carrot cake, curry, steak, Mozzarella sticks

Thick, opaque black and rich, stouts draw their robust flavour and colour from roasted barley. They often taste of malt and caramel, with little to no hop aroma or flavour.

Try: The full-bodied Oatmeal stout tastes of dark chocolate, freshly roasted coffee and a touch of sweet rum and raisin before finishing with some hop bitterness.

Pair with: Spicy food, Sichuan-style cuisine, BBQ meats and chocolate fudge