Ham & Beer Pairing Guide

Hams have three distinct flavors.
Salty, sweet and spicy. Some hams might taste salty and sweet while others sweet and spicy or have a combination of all three.

Dry-cured hams are salty and the level of the saltiness depends on the style. Country hams are very salty and require you to rinse and soak them in water before eating. Some dry-cured hams have a sugar mixture added in to balance the salt out.

Wet-cured hams are hams that have been soaked in a brine mixture. Sometimes brine and spices have been injected inside to help the curing process. The flavor of a wet-cured ham really depends on the style. Most wet-cured hams are salty and sweet.

Smoke-cured hams are hams that have been cured using hardwood smoke such as pecan, hickory, apple and mesquite. Hickory is the most common type of wood used for smoke-cured hams. The smoke imparts a spicy sweet flavor.

Below is a simple guide to help you pick the right beer for the style of ham(s) you love. While there is no real right or wrong way, the different styles of beers I picked for you will enable you to make a good choice.

Dry-cured Country Ham. Cooper's Lager goes nice with a Country Ham. The lager, with it's nice barley flare and hops finish helps bring out the ham's natural flavors. Another good one was Miller High Life.

Virginia Hickory Smoked Ham We instinctively went for a dark roasted malt ale with this one. We wanted to compliment the rich flavors with a dark ale. Ales usually taste sweet and have a floral scent to them. I tired the Paulaner Salvator Double Bock with this one. The rich fully body malted beer went very well with this heavy smoked ham. The spicy of the smoke and the sweetness of the malt made every bite rich and creamy.

Wet-cured Honey Baked Ham The flavor of the honey, with the saltiness really makes this type of ham my all time favorite. Pairing a beer to this was a little more complicated. I wanted a beer that wasn't too sweet or bitter, something in between. I went with a Shiner Bohemian Black Lager. The flavor of the ham really went well with this dark lager and really enhanced the beer as well as the ham.

The rules are simple:
For;
Dry-cured hams we recommend a pale roasted barley lager style beer.
Wet-cured hams we recommend a dark roasted malt lager style beer.
Smoked-cured hams we recommend a dark roasted malt ale.