National Curry Week: From Jalfrezi to Katsu, Goat to Thai Green, the guide to beer and curry

Reach a little further than a classic Cobra

(Rex Features)

We all love curry and beer, right? For National Curry Week, here are some classic world curries and the beers you should open to make that simple match way more than just a go-to clichéd combo.

Thai Green Curry with Beavertown Quelle Saison (4.1% ABV, £2.65)

With creamy coconut curry and aromatic, citrusy ingredients, you want a beer that’s zesty and light to lift those lively spices. The tropical hop aromas in Beavertown’s Quelle Saison is like an extra squeeze of lime on the curry, while the Saison yeast used in the beer kicks an extra peppery spiciness into it.

Chicken Tandoori with Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout (6.0% ABV, £3)

This is one of my favourite ever food and beer combinations. The smoky singe of a hot tandoor oven loves the roasted flavours of a dark beer. Try Left Hand’s Nitro Milk Stout which is full-bodied and smooth with mocha sweetness which all wraps around the spice and char.

Katsu Curry with Lagunitas IPA (6.2% ABV, £2.70)

With breaded pork or chicken and a thick, salty and sweet sauce, I like this Japanese curry with the citrusy hop flavour and balanced malt sweetness of an American IPA. Lagunitas IPA is a quintessential example and those grapefruity and herbal herb hops give a great lift to the rich flavours in the dish.

Jalfrezi with Pilsner Urquell (4.4% ABV, £2)

It’s hard to deny how well lager works with curry. Make that match better by pouring a Pilsner Urquell with a Jalfrezi. The beer has a caramelised sweetness which handles the tomato depth, while the fragrantly spicy Czech hops give a refreshing, quenching finish and also loves the flavours of onion and garlic.

Curry Goat with Hoegaarden (4.9% ABV, £2.15)

The savoury, herbal depth of curry goat wants a beer which has some sweetness and smoothness it. Hoegaarden is the classic Belgian wheat beer that’s brewed with orange peel and coriander seeds, so you get sweetness and spice which pulls the pairing together.

Tikka Masala with Thornbridge Jaipur IPA (5.9% ABV, £2.39)

Thornbridge Jaipur IPA, a beer named after the place the brewery owners went on their honeymoon, is terrific with Tikka Masala. The beer is both elegant and powerful with a toasty body of pale malt and a citrusy and floral hop flavour which mirrors the curry’s spices in a great way.

Rendang with Weihenstephaner Hefeweissebier Dunkel (5.3% ABV, £2.19)

With the chilli heat and fragrant spices in Rendang, I like to open a German wheat beer. The best is a dark Hefeweizen which has a rich, smooth texture, some cocoa, cinnamon and clove, and all of this plays well with the salty, sweet, savoury and sour mix of the curry.

Mark Dredge is an award winning beer and food writer and Pilsner Urquell Beer Correspondent