I've seen this discussed a bit in threads on pairing beer with food, but thought it deserved its own thread. Why is beer so difficult to pair with red sauce pasta so that the beer is enhanced and the pasta sauce is enhanced? What about tomatoes makes it so challenging to marry the flavors? Are there beers that pair well? If so, why? If not, any thoughts on designing one that could? What could the characteristics be that would work?
Was a bit confused by your title and then your question since I thought this was just about beer with raw tomato as an ingredient. In the end you're talking about pasta... which of course... isn't always red sauce or tomato derived either sometimes. I really don't picture beer with Italian pasta dishes, although one person who is a chef wrote that he swears Schwarzbier with pasta (which I would have a bit of time wondering about). Raw tomatoes, on a slice of cracker and cheese, some oil drizzled and spiced stuff... sure the odd beer perhaps... also you have to realize tomatoes are extremely varied in flavor and tastes, especially heirlooms. I love Brandywines, and their soft acidity and moderate sweetness are good for lighter styles (Pils, Kolsch, etc..) Pasta dishes are so big and heavy and with beer it's to me two big meals at once. There is no question though that you can do it... but with a big pasta dish I would probably gravitate to something light..
I've worked for a farm for the past couple of years after finishing school and have (no joke) probably eaten my weight in tomatoes. I think the biggest challenge with pairing cooked tomatoes is the concentration of the acid and the brightness of the flavor. I admit that I usually stick to wine with red sauces, but my best experience was pairing Delirium Red with a fresh, quick sauce. The cherries in the beer brought a little acid of their own and some fruitiness that matched the sauce. It's perhaps no coincidence that it worked well, as the beer has some similar characteristics with, say, a Chianti. Could maybe go a little heavier still with a hearty, stewed sauce. Maybe it's the paler, breadier, or toastier malts that tend to clash with red sauce (which is perhaps counter-intuitive given the presence of grain in its various forms on many Italian tables, including the pasta itself). That said, I think you have more leeway with raw, sliced tomatoes whose flavors are not so concentrated. I'd probably have a blast sitting down in August and pairing each of our varieties of tomato (about two dozen) with a different beer. Afterthought: Alcohol! Tomatoes have a lot of alcohol-soluble flavors and (compared with wine) beer often has relatively little alcohol. It seems plausible that the relative lack of ability for beer to "pull out" flavors in the sauce keeps them separate. Maybe the best results lie in high-alcohol beers.
Cold tomato: red ale, brown ale, porter, pale ale... it doesn't matter. Hot tomato: pilsner, helles, kellerbier, kolsch, golden ale, saison... This is just me, though.
Pairing beer with a tomato based pasta sauce isn't hard but "red pasta sauce" is pretty vague. This could include anything from the most basic "spaghetti" sauce to marinara, red clam sauce, vodka sauce, a game ragu, something with spicy sausage, a meat sauce, con sarde, etc. Not all would be best with the same beer. Or if you like Big Bang Theory, spaghetti with ketchup
I deliberately left it a bit vague on the type of tomato-based sauce to get a broader response. I guess, my thinking is that there are broad wine varietals that pair well with tomato-based red sauces and was looking for more of the same with beer. The idea of alcohol levels playing a role is interesting. Maybe have to pull out some different barleywines or imperial stouts or DIPAs or big Brown ales to give a try...
I think that BSDA/quads, dubbels, saisons, and Flemish reds will get you most of the way there. Some Belgian pales also work (e.g. Orval, Duvel, Omer), but I think those depend more on the qualities of the sauce and the rest of the dish.
Raw tomatoes and cooked tomatoes are two different ball games. Raw tomatoes pair with blonde sour ales very nicely. For example, the other day I had the Bruery’s Rueuze. The acidity and sweetness of the tomato pairs nicely with the crisp sourness of the Gueuze. The flavors complement each other. On the cooked tomato side, the beer needs to match a red wine. DFH’s sixty-one matches that category nicely. Not a great beer, but it’s the right pairing for the sauce. Tomato-based meat sauces (i.e. ragu’s) need a richer beer that contains elements that are congruent to the ingredients in a dish. For example, if the sauce is braised short-rib ragu, a porter’s smokiness would enhance the flavors of the short-rib, while providing enough richness to match the fattiness of the meat itself. Basically, if the sauce is rich, start with a rich beer. If the sauce is more light and fresh, think lighter in terms of beer style. Then match the major flavor components to the beer. Is there a briny element to the dish (i.e. olives), where a sweeter beer would work well? This is the simplest way to pair things together.
