Beer expert Stephen Beaumont, author of Premium Beer Drinker's Guide: The World's Strongest, Boldest and Most Unusual Beers, offers four hints for general beer and food matching. While they won't guarantee results, they will minimize risk.
Think of ale as red wine and lager as white wine. In other words, when red meat or any dish that you would normally pair with red wine is on the menu, select an ale to serve with it. Conversely, if the main course is fish or poultry, try a lager.
Hoppiness in beer = acidity in wine. Anytime you would seek a wine with high acidity, such as with spicy or oily food, choose a beer with significant hoppiness or bitterness. The more acidic you would want the wine, the hoppier you will want the beer.
Complement or contrast. Try to match foods to beers with complementary characters, such as a robust stew with a full-bodied ale. Or try a contrasting flavor, such as a crisp, refreshing lager with a heavy cream soup.
Keep the beer sweeter than the dessert. Nothing kills the flavor of a beer like the overpowering sweetness of a dessert, so try to keep the sugar contents of both beer and dessert balanced. (An exception to this rule can be made for chocolate, which pairs well even with dry stout.)
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