Beer and Brewer Magazine

We offered TV game show host Andrew O'Keefe a briefcase bulging with untold riches (well,12 beers) and asked him to match them to food. His reply: "Deal!"

Little Creatures Bright Ale

The Deal: True to style and with a pleasantly intriguing acidity, this good drop from Freo might best be enjoyed sitting in a crowded pub watching the Waratahs get mauled on a winter's night.

The Meal: Marinated BBQ prawns or chicken sausages.

Little Creatures Pale Ale

The Deal: A classic cloudy pale ale with a nice strong hoppy aftertaste. In fact, it's so good I'm thinking of making it the O'Keefe house beer instead of Coopers, for a change.

The Meal: This would go down well with a beef burgundy pie picked up at the local.

Coopers Lager

The Deal: A superb crisp, bitter lager, this beer is like a Victoria Bitter that's actually got something to say!

The Meal: Perfect accompaniment to a Four'n'Twenty pie while watching the footy.

Blackwattle Superior

The Deal: Tastes like a honeyed stout, with a nose of freshly-laid gravel or tobacconated sap. Recommended for roadworkers trying to kick the habit. A highly robust beer. Superior indeed sir!

The Meal: A crumbly cheddar or one of those stinky toe-jam cheeses.

James Squires Hops Thief

The Deal: If five years for theft made this, lock Mr Squires up for life! Everything's so beautifully balanced here, so even if you don't like "fancy beers" this'll please your palate.

The Meal: Well matched to a tuna steak or, freshly baked bread with butter.

Alpha Pale Ale

The Deal: This'll put a bustle in your hedgerow! With aromas of bramble and lemon verbena, and a spritzig ciderish taste, Alpha PA is a great beer to whet your whistle or cleanse your palate at the end of a meal.

The Meal: Cold cuts, cheese and bread with Wind in the Willows.

Rogers

The Deal: Packaged for the Hilfiger set, this is good alternative to a light beer or to honey-on-toast. Surprisingly tasty, it smells like bark and has a good bitter aftertaste.

The Meal: Best enjoyed with ham and pickle sandwiche and the company of a Hilfiger model one afternoon.

Baron's Special Bitter

The Deal: The kind of bitter you want when you've just shot down three Poms in a bi-plane for old Kaiser Bill. Subtle hops and malts, but not so powerfuas to befuddle your joystick or make you vote for a bigot with half a mo.

The Meal: Kranskies, eel sushi, accordion..music.

Mildura Desert Premium Lager

The Deal: One of those English-style lagers that's flat and watery... not that there's anything wrong with that. It's a quiet, companionable lager with a taste that lasts.

The Meal: Slow-roasted goanna while playing cards by the fire under the stars.

Mildura Brewery Storm

The Deal: A top drop. It has lively orange peel flavours and satisfying cloudy hops. Save a fortune on breadcrumbs, dates and zest, and force-feed your turkey this instead. There are worse ways to die.

The Meal: A well-seasoned chicken or stuffed turkey.

Mildura Mallee Bull Heavy

The Deal: If you like the smell of wet bovine hide and grassy dung, this is the beer for you. A weighty, full-bodied amber ale, not so heavy you feel like Best in Show at the Poll Hereford sale at Gympie.

The Meal: Great with steak, but at 5.6%, beware a wounded bull.