🍺 Beer and Morten's evening: Tasty pairings for duck, red cabbage and browned potatoes
Morten's evening is one of the most traditional dinners in Denmark, where roast duck with red cabbage, browned potatoes and rich gravy form the heart of the meal. But what to drink with it? Although wine often dominates the table, beer is an equally exciting and versatile choice – especially when you focus on flavor combinations.
🦆 Main course: Roast duck with classic side dishes
Duck meat is fatty, juicy and flavorful – and requires a beer with both body and character.
If we take some of the beers we have in stock as a starting point, a beer suggestion for St. Morten's Eve could be:
The more traditional way
An Altbier/Amber Ale like Valkyrie from Enegren Brewing has notes of caramel, bread and biscuits, which match the sweetness and depth found in both gravy and browned potatoes. The light bitterness, the spicy feel and the malty body balance the fatness in the other and create a harmonious whole.
Bock - is a strong lager beer of German origin. It goes well with the Christmas table, and therefore also here for the second. Embla from Salikatt is a Doppelbock , so it is even stronger. It is also aged in bourbon barrels. So here you get, in addition to the notes that bock is known for, such as a strong malt flavor, dark sweet cherries, nuts and toasted bread, also notes from the bourbon barrel such as vanilla, caramel and more sweetness. It is a bit on the daring side, but where nothing dares... as they say.
A perfectly normal German Bock is also a great choice for second.
The daring path
A Barleywine like Husk & Feather from Goose Island is a powerful and flavorful affair. Again barrel-aged on Bourbon and shares some of the same flavor notes as the Bock, but here with even more of a hit of caramel, alcohol, and fruit sweetness. With an alcohol percentage of 15.4%, it is naturally a slow-sipper.
Fou' Foune from Belgian Cantillon is one of the world's best beers in its style, namely Lambic. This wild-fermented beer is the diametric opposite of the aforementioned beers and instead of interacting with the duck, as the dark beers did, it provides real counterplay. The acidity and freshness give a nice feeling of having cleansed the palate after each bite. The fruit in the beer provides a suitable sweetness that plays well with the duck, especially the accompaniments. The fatness requires counterplay and you really get that here.
Taste principles behind beer and food pairing
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Obesity requires countermeasures
Beer with bitterness, acidity, or carbonation can cleanse the palate and balance fatty foods like duck. -
Sweetness matches sweetness
Caramel notes in beer harmonize with browned potatoes and fruit-based accompaniments. -
Acidity highlights freshness
Fruity and acidic beers such as lambic or fruit beer can enhance both red cabbage and dessert. -
Spice and complexity
Beers with spice and yeast character – like Belgian ales, or bocks – provide depth and play off the many flavor elements in Morten's evening menu.
Conclusion
Beer is not just an alternative to wine – it is a flavourful partner that can highlight and balance the many nuances of Morten's evening menu. From the rich duck to the tart red cabbage and the sweet dessert, there are types of beer that can lift each dish.
Cheers and have a good evening Morten!