Now, this is where we seemingly might get into a dodgy territory – drinking at breakfast is considered a little taboo on account of it being bad for your health and your career prospects!
However, we must caution that the title ‘Drinking Beers for Breakfast’ suggest not that you purely drink beer for breakfast, but rather that you might – on a special occasion, wash down your Full English with a half pint or two of your favourite brew. After all, the high end wine drinkers have been at it all along with their ‘Champagne Breakfast’, so why let them have all the fun?
The Ideal Breakfast Beer Scenario
Now, beer for breakfast is something you can’t very well do every day – if it is to be enjoyed at all without turning into some kind of bad habit it is best reserved for holidays, stag/hen holidays, get-togethers with much missed siblings and weddings – though not if you are the bride, the groom, the best man, or the matron of honour – and honeymoons. Any other huge celebration like a graduation or a major career heist (landing that dream job) might also necessitate this kind breakfast fry up debauchery!
So, you’ve had your party, or you are about to, and you’re just warming up and you’ve cooked a mega big fry up (or you’ve grilled it if you’re going for a ‘healthy’ beer breakfast). Now to choose a beer that might go down well with your meal.
Given the robust flavours common to a full English breakfast you may well wish to go for a Stout or other dark ale such as a porter: In fact Stout or Porter has been a favourite with a full English breakfast at Smithfield’s Meat Market for centuries, with local pubs having had special dispensation to serve beer with breakfast from early in the morning way before ’24 hour’ drinking laws came into being.
If you are feeling a little adventurous at breakfast and not too queasy you may wish to try a sharp white beer to cut through the heavy meats and starches of that full English breakfast on your plate. This will set you up well for a lazy day, but may not be the best thing if have a busy day ahead as white beer is so heavy – on top of a full English you could feel like a bloated whale!
On that note if you want to go for something delicate and are enjoying a continental breakfast with croissants and jam in stead of a fry up, or bread, cheeses and meats, you may wish to go for a fruit beer, such as a lambic fruit beer, possibly the closest match to a pink champagne and ideal for a distinguished occasion, perhaps Valentine’s day, or just for an early picnic on a Summer’s morning.
Finally, if you want to get really classy, without diverging too far from the norm, try Meantime’s coffee flavoured ale with breakfast. At 6% volume and with as much caffeine as the average cup of coffee, it’s the ideal start to a day in which you please do nothing but please yourself, and perhaps your guests.
