Pizza! A tasty dish that is quick to prepare and can be cooked in a thousand different ways. Here are the combinations of pizza and beer that are most appreciated by Italians and that we recommend you try!
Pizza and beer: here are the most popular combinations among Italians
It's Friday or Saturday, evening falls and in every corner of Italy the start of the weekend is announced, a "movida" of people will surely go to restaurants in search of the tastiest and most famous dish in the world: obviously, we are talking about pizza!
A simple disc of flour which, once baked in a wood-fired oven, becomes the jewel in the crown of Italian culinary art. It is clear that people in the Bel Paese too are crazy about it, especially because it is a tasty dish that is quick to prepare, always new, contemporary, and can be cooked in a thousand different ways. Perhaps this is one of the secrets of its popularity, and it is also easy to pair with beer for a quick, inexpensive, convivial, and super-tasty dinner.
Here, then, are the pizza-beer combinations that are most popular with Italians and that we recommend you try!
International Pizza and Beer Day
Celebrated each year on October 9th, International Beer and Pizza Day pays homage to one of the most iconic food and drink combinations on the planet Earth. Both beer and pizza come in a countless number of varieties and both are enjoyed by many different cultures all over the world. From small town breweries to huge beer corporations, from local mom & pop shop pizzerias to world-wide pizza chains, International Beer and Pizza Day can be enjoyed be all (over the legal drinking age)!
From: https://beerandpizzaday.com/
"An Oscar, sex, an ice cream and a pizza... If I had this every day for the rest of my life I would be happy"
Pizza and beer pairings: 10 - Her Majesty the Margherita
For the most famous pizza in the world, one of the symbols of Italian cuisine, which also bears the colors of its flag, Italians often choose a low-fermentation lager, preferably clear and even better if on tap.
Ice cold, of course - we wouldn't want to offend the queen of Italian pizzas, would we?
9 - Marinara
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A good Marinara is made with simple and highly fragrant ingredients such as oregano, garlic, oil, and tomato and is very popular in Naples and throughout southern Italy. Its flavor is perfectly matched by a medieval beer such as bock, which with its medium alcohol content and creamy taste helps to dilute the savory and strong flavors of one of the most popular pizzas in Naples, of course after Her Majesty Margherita.
8 - Four Cheese Pizza
For a four-cheese pizza, a double-malt beer is recommended to achieve a balance between the acidulousness of the pizza and the robustness of the beer. Better if it is dark and fruity to give additional contrast to your palate.
Give it a try and let us know!
7 - Meat-based or charcuterie pizzas
As with cheese pizzas, the intense flavor of charcuterie can easily be balanced with a full-bodied double-malt beer, preferably amber.
Ham, salami, mortadella are increasingly used in pizzerias, with dishes aiming to seduce our palate also thanks to the many high-quality Italian PGI products. A bitter beer with a fruity aftertaste can make your evening even more appetizing.
6 - Spicy pizzas
An exceptional pizza is the Diavola which is tipically made with spicy sausages. As we said before for this kind of dish, a double malt with a good alcohol content can also be good.
The best accompaniment to a spicy pizza is an old ale, a highly fermented beer of English origin where the full-bodied and structured taste provides a pleasant balance of flavors.
5 - White pizza
A white pizza is made only with oil and has a crust scented with oregano, which goes perfectly with a wheat beer such as Weizer, preferably with a sweetish taste or a sour aftertaste.
4 - Stuffed calzone
The baked stuffed calzone is an authentic masterpiece of Italian cuisine and is one of the most popular products in pizzerias from north to south. Its savory taste due to the combination of cooked ham, mozzarella, ricotta, and other cold cuts can also be enhanced by a lager with low alcohol content, clear and with a bitter aftertaste.
3 - Fish-based pizzas
Pizza made with fish or crustaceans is very popular in northern Italy and should be accompanied by a lightly fermented beer, preferably a hopped lager with a medium-low alcohol content so as not to obstruct the delicacy of the fish and the smell of the sea.
2 - Fried Pizza
Very popular in Naples and other cities in southern Italy, fried pizza is cooked in different variations, including one with pork crackling and ricotta cheese, a high-calorie dish that is sure to leave you satisfied.
To accompany this dish, we recommend a Belgian beer with a medium to high alcohol content, such as a dark strong ale, preferably with a spicy aftertaste that will make your taste and smell even more energetic.
1 - Vegetable pizzas
For vegetable-laden pizzas such as "ortolana", or even mushroom pizzas, Belgian abbey beer is an excellent accompaniment due to its nutritional qualities; it is best to choose one that is particularly spicy or has a hint of cinnamon.
