Match of the week

Spiced parsnip soup with Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on April 28 2014 at 08:52

Although I’ve tasted some good wines this week it’s beer that has provided the highlights. The Magic Rock Rapture amber ale I drank at The Pint Shop in Cambridge with their awesome beer brined chicken was pretty good but it’s pipped into the ‘drink of the week’ slot by this pairing at The Hole in the Wall in Little Wilbraham

It was the first course of a tasting menu: a spiced parsnip soup with warm pork rillettes and some julienne strips of apple, a perfect contrast to Harviestoun’s Bitter and Twisted a smooth, slightly sweet 4.2% blonde ale which picked up perfectly on the sweetness of the parsnip and savouriness of the rillettes.

Soups are quite difficult to match with drinks - one liquid with another never seems entirely appropriate - but with some ingredients like root vegetables beer does a better job than wine.

The pairing was one of a number of immensely clever pairings by the restaurant’s sommelier Joel Servy who (unusually for a Frenchman!) turns out to be quite a beer aficionado, albeit the other matches were wines.

You can read more about the Hole in the Wall - a strong recommendation if you’re staying in Cambridge or want a day out of London - in my latest restaurant review here.

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