Best beer to pair with waffles?

[ParkerOhno]

Having a beer and waffle night. What would you view as some good pairings?

[Josh]

I'd skip the sours and go for maltiness. Even fruit lambics strike me as too acidic to pair well.

I'd go with a doppelbock like Ayinger's Celebrator or Weihenstephan's Korbinian.

[Chinon00]

Why would acidity be a problem?

[ted]

To me it depends on which lambic you chose. I'm strictly going off a mental picture, but I think too much sour would really clash with waffles, assuming you're having them breakfast style (i.e. with syrup). One of the sweeter lambics (Lindeman's, e.g.) might do well, but a Cantillon would be tough. The Flander's brown is a good idea, but I'd go with Rodenbach Grand Cru over the regular. Duchesse or the Monk's Cafe sour are other good ones.

I like the idea of malty/sweet. The only downside of a doppelbock is that I'd drink enough with my waffles that I'd just want to go to bed afterward. Maybe a tripel for some fruitiness, not quite as filling, and enough alcohol that you'd enjoy it rather than just get weighted down.

[Josh]

Usually I like pairing like with like, though in the case of sours I think, as is the case w/ acidic wines, they go well with salty/fatty foods. I don't know that I'd classify acidity as a problem per se - I just think something richer and maltier would play more nicely with the browned, caramelized flavors of the waffle crust.

[Chinon00]

I hear ya. For me foods lacking in fat (e.g. roasted turkey breast) are best suited for malty low acidity low hop beers. Waffles are essentially fried batter w/ butter and syrup added. Therefore I'd want acidity to cut the fat and sweetness to register over the syrup.

[Josh]

I can see your point. I bet berliner weisse would actually work pretty well, too.

[Tripeler]

Depends on if the waffles will be served plain, or with sweet syrup. If plain, I would suggest an ordinary brown ale. If with sweet syrup, try with Rochefort 10, which I call the "liquid chocolate brownie" of beers.

Still, beer and waffles just don't sound appealing together.

[chuckl]

Flanders reds like rodenbach grand cru or duchesse de borgogne or a fruit lambic like hanssens oude kriek or cantillon rose de gambrinus would be my first choices

[Kenji]

I've never tried that pairing, but my instinct would be to go with a stout.

[Chinon00]

Fruit Lambics, beer "mimosas" like witbier w/ orange juice or Berliner Weiss served w/ several good dollops of wooddruff syrup. You'll need a sweeter beverage w/ some sharpness to compete w/ the sweetness of the waffle syrup.