National Sandwich Day is Nov. 3! We particularly love this food holiday, since it is so easy and delicious to celebrate! But in case you are used to shoving a sandwich down your gullet and slurping soda, may we make the case for the perfect wine and beer sandwich pairings?
What's that, you say? Wine and sandwiches? What tomfoolery is this? What's next, going out to dinner in sweatpants? Buying pre-sliced bread?
To you we say: just try it. You might be surprised at how well you love delectable, creamy Nutella spread between two slices of crunchy French bread, paired with a Madeira.
Check out some of our favorite, if unexpected, combos:
Egg salad
Pair with Champagne/sparkling white wine. Keep your beers on the light side with this one. We recommend a pilsner or a wheaty Belgian Wit with hints of orange and coriander.
Peanut Butter
If you're looking to chow down on any kind of peanut butter sandwich, we recommend sticking with the savory light nuttiness of beer. Pair a crisp pilsner with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on rye for the perfect flavor explosion medley. We don't recommend pairing jam with wine, though. It's just a little too sugary and fruity. But we're open to be proven wrong on this!!
Pastrami
Go for a bitter lager or a dry Riesling. Or, even better, grab the hoppiest IPA you can find, particularly something on the citrussy side to really refresh you with all those pungent salty flavors in your sandwich.
Banh Mi
Wine-wise, pour yourself a glass of dry Riesling, a bright pinot noir, a just-a-touch acidic frappato rippling or a light, refreshing pale red wine. For beer, keep it on the lighter, crisper side. A Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen or something similar would be great. Maybe even a crisp Oktoberfest if you want to party?
BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato)
You might expect that hefeweizen and witbier go great with bacon and acidic tomato, but a BLT with wine? You bet! A dry rose or white wine would be perfect here, particularly with their fruity notes and brisk acidity.
Sausage and Pepper Sandwich
Pair with Chianti, Lambrusco, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, or even a barley wine, which we also recommend with any strong-flavored super beefy sandwich.
Philly Cheesesteak
Wit or witout, this classic sandwich goes perfectly with the slight hoppiness of a pale ale, whether American, Belgian or other.
Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwich
Go with a smoked porter if you can find one. Otherwise, pretty much any porter or smoked beer will be delicious.
Oh, and if you want to finish off your meal with a delicious and generous helping of leftover Halloween candy, keep it classy and make sure you pair it with the right beer! Check out this graphic below, courtesy of the Kitchn, for some excellent guidelines:
