There is nothing better than getting to enjoy sun, great music, great food and a refreshing pint. However, picking the right beer can completely change the taste experience and enhance key flavours and ingredients in food, so it’s important to know what goes with what. But you don’t have to be a beer sommelier to know your stuff at Pub in the Park this year, Greene King has pulled together a guide on the dishes to try and which beers will help to take them to the next level.
At the Hand and Flowers, Kerridge’s Fried Chicken will be a definite win with the accompaniment of the Nashville Glaze and Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing. It just makes you hungry picturing it. To really bring out the creamy ranch dressing and pickled onion, a refreshing pint of Greene King’s new Flint Eye lager will really hit the spot. Beers with citrus notes bring out those fried flavours, so Ale Fresco or Fresh Legs*, the brewer’s limited edition cask beers, also make great pairings.
Ginger Wings will be offering its delicious Bone Marrow Buffalo Wings, with cowboy ranch, crispy onions & chives with blue cheese. With something so tasty, you’ll need a light and tropical drink, that captures the tastes of summer, with Level Head, a Sessions IPA, or Ice Breaker, a Pale Ale, you can’t go wrong.
For those looking for something a little fiery, Hoppers will have their Jackfruit, Chickpea Curry String Hoppers, a silky jackfruit and chickpea curry cooked in coconut milk and accompanied with spicy pineapple. Perfect with a little spice, Greene King IPA’s dry hop and herbal characters will work a treat and Flint Eye, a dry-hopped lager, offers that the same great balance.
If you are looking for The Dog’s Pollock, a crisp pollock hot dog, with seaweed, pickles, triple mustard and parmesan, you’ll find it at The Mariners by Paul Ainsworth. A pint of Ice Breaker, Ale Fresco or Fresh Legs will really compliment the fish dish, as lighter ale.
Purnells’ Pork Collar Steak with carrot and cabbage slaw, honey and mustard dressing will be calling out for the mix of classic copper hops that is found in Greene King IPA. For those looking for a low/no alcohol option, Old Speckled Hen 0.0% will be available in bottle and its distinctive rich malty flavour shines through on more traditional British recipes like this one.
For a legendary dish, Bar 44 will have its Sherry & Quince Pork Belly, cured overnight roast pork belly with sherry & quince glaze. It’s not just the story behind Flint Eye that means it is a great pairing (although you’ll hear more about that soon), but the clean crisp finish of the beer cuts through the richness of pork belly. A bottle of Estrella Galicia 0.0% is the low/no option that can bring the same great experience.
The beer that will complement the chef’s classic Vietnamese Chicken Curry, at Noya’s Kitchen is, Level Head. The chicken marinated in lemongrass and coriander will merge well with the citrus hops in the Session IPA and leave you wanting more. For an ale alternative, Old Golden Hen will offer that pleasing mouthfeel too.
And you won’t want to miss the Salt and Vinegar Crispy Beef Ribs at Hicce Hart. Dry aged, brined and fried with aged malt vinegar, the ribs are made to enjoyed with a pint of Greene King IPA, leaving you both full and refreshed. Again, with something so hearty a bottle of Old Speckled Hen 0.0% is a great contender.
With so much to choose from and get you teeth sunk into, we hope you’re excited, if not also slightly hungry, for what’s to come at Pub in the Park this year and we can’t wait to welcome you for a pint.
*Some of our golden ales will only be available at the below locations:
- Wimbledon, Marlow, Dulwich, Bath, Reigate and Leamington Spa – Old Golden Hen
- Tunbridge Wells and Brighton - Ale Fresco
- Chiswick & St Albans - Fresh Legs
For those looking for a great deal, those that sign up and register on the Cheddar app will receive 25% cash back on all drinks purchased at Greene King bars at Pub in the Park 2023.
