Ultimate Beer Snack?

Not a wine post. I am a bit hungover. Had to work yesterday and we felt bitter about this and so drank too much to compensate. Also it was the (extremely dull) FA Cup final.

I was thinking about beer snacks this morning. And........

What is it? The ultimate beer snack?
I reckon it has to be salty, moreish and not too filling. It is the kind of thing you have to compulsively push into your gaping maw.

Contenders?
1: Crisps(chips for our American friends). Salt and Vinegar walkers.......
Korea doesn't do Salt and Vinegar and God I miss it. They work as a beer snack. Salty, crispy and the vinegar gives enough of a hit to not be overpowered by the beer. Other flavours can work, not ready salted I reckon though(too simple), spicy ones work. Haitai Habanero would work. They are spicy as and have a bit of sweetness make them double moreish.

2: Pork scratchings. Even the name is good eh? Scratchings of pig. Salty, check. Crunchy, check. Macho, check. Pork scratchings are pretty powerful and can ruin a set of teeth but the crunchy, soft, salty and I think, unamic(I think I invented this word) snack is a genius partner to a pint of lager. I love scratchings(sorry Mam and Dad) but you can't eat a lot. One bag will do you for a session really.

3: Nuts.
Couldn't find a picture of dry roasted. It has to be dry roasted in the pub I think. The flavouring is pretty false but it has a good hit of flavour and works well with beer. 1 bag isn't enough which is a good sign as well. All nuts work well though. If you are in a better boozer you could maybe get smoked almonds and that is always going to work well.

That's the British boozer standards out of the way.

Others.....

4: Popcorn!
You pretty much get a bowl of popcorn with every beer in Korea. This is a good thing. Popcorn works. Salted popcorn. It is salty, crunchy and moreish. You can push endless piles of it into your face without really noticing it. It requires a slug of beer to remove the bits of husk stuck in your teeth. Popcorn is good. The Oriental Brewery in Jamsil has the best popcorn I have had in a pub here so far.

5: Seaweed.
Yep. Seaweed. It works. The small salty sheets are a treat. What you get is an extremely delicate, crispy vehicle for getting the all important salt in your mouth. It isn't something you get that often but when you do it is a real treat. Pretty healthy in comparison to the above as well.

6:Edamame
Ahhhh edamame. Who would have thought a soy bean could give so much pleasure? I love these. They are my ultimate beer snack. Why? Well, they come loaded with salt(when I make them), you put the pod in your mouth, tooth the bean out and get the salt with a nutty bean with bite. Then you have another. And another. I honestly think I could just keep putting these away. You don't get full. You don't grow tired. Each and every one is pleasure. Amazing. The first time I had them was in a bar in Clerkenwell and they cost £4 for about 10 pods. Stupid money. It was worth it though. If you haven't had edamame yet then go and get some.
In Seoul you can get them from the foreigners market at Hannam-dong.

So what have I missed? What is the greatest beer snack? Get stuck in!


This post was brought courtesy of Prime Max. Delicious idea.



I have been drinking wine..... We had a pretty amazing Pouilly Fume, Sauvignon Blanc at its most smoky and mineral. Very much like sucking wet stones but with alcohol. Also, we had a 2005 Haut Bages Averous. A Pauillac Bordeaux that I knew wouldn't be ready to drink and indeed wasn't. Give it a few years and it will be an impressive Pauillac though I reckon.
7-11 are now doing some dry whites also. I spotted a Chardonnay and also a Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay blend from Chile. The latter costs 13,000 and is a bit meh.