It’s difficult to think of something quite as delicious as crab cakes made with fresh lump meat — unless you pair it with a cold, boozy beverage to wash every bite down. Some like wine with seafood fare, but if beer is more of your go-to beverage, you should know the best option to match the flavors of those freshly made crab cakes. To find the answer, we turned to Chris Cusack, owner of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, a cocktail bar in Houston, Texas.
“Lagers or Pilsners are a natural pairing for crab cakes, but for an exciting change of pace, I would recommend a gose or a Berliner Weisse,” Cusack notes. “These tart beers pair very well with crab cakes, especially if you’re enjoying them with a remoulade sauce.” Because there are plenty of different fruited gose or Berliner Weisse varieties out there, Cusack was sure to clarify. “I would particularly recommend the more traditional styles to the fruited options,” he adds.
To back up Cusack’s expertise, the tart and sour notes found in beers like a gose will help balance out the salty, rich flavors of seafood, including the crab meat in discussion. Additionally, both remoulade and tartar sauce are also creamy and tangy, so each beer will match and cut through those flavors for a balanced meal.
Types of gose and Berliner Weisse to wash down your crab cakes
If you aren’t familiar with gose or Berliner Weisse beers, there are many options to choose from — but don’t worry, we’ve dug around to help you make your decision. To match Chris Cusack’s suggestion, a traditional-style Berliner Weisse that wouldn’t be so fruit-forward is Techno Viking by the Drekker Brewing Company. Produced in Fargo, North Dakota, this brand contains 4.5% alcohol. To pair your crab cakes with a gose, try the Leipziger Gose from Gasthaus & Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof, a top-rated option that’s made in Germany. It’s a traditional take on gose-style beers with 4.5% alcohol by volume.
After grabbing your beer, all you need is a recipe for the main attraction. Consider our classic Maryland crab cakes recipe that keeps it simple with just a handful of ingredients like Dijon mustard mixed with jumbo lump crab meat. If you plan on serving the seafood and beer combo at an event, cook our crab cake sliders as a starter, which can be ready in just about 30 minutes. No matter which recipe you opt for, don’t overmix the batter so as to keep the lumps of the decadent crab intact. This way, you can wash them down with one of these refreshing beers.
