It's summertime, which means it's the season for outdoor cooking and backyard barbecues. While protein often rules the day with summer food, and it's certainly important to know , you can't ignore side dishes. And while you've got a lot of side dish options, one of the best is a good old-fashioned .
Pairing drinks with cookout food is just as important as pairing side dishes, and if you're looking to get your drink on at the same time as your meal, what's the best beer you can pair with potato salad? The answer varies greatly based on how your potato salad is seasoned; there's not simply a one-size-fits-all solution. In particular, which herbs you choose will determine your best choices, and different herbs will each have their own beers that bring out their notes in the best possible way. If you're talking about dill, one of the most common potato salad herbs, Felipe Diaz, bar manager and sommelier at in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has a suggestion: Go for Mexican-style lagers.
Dill marries well with crisper, more bitter flavors like those in Mexican lager Felipe Diaz is careful to note that pairing herbs with the right beer is important, saying, "Potato salad calls for something that will highlight the herbs that are featured in the dish" — you want a drink pairing that will make the herbs even herbier. When it comes to herbs in potato salad recipes, dill comes up quite often, and luckily, Diaz is ready with an answer for that pairing: Look for Mexican-style lagers. Diaz notes, .
