When it comes to pairing food with beverages, most people might think of wine, but in fact, beer is also a wonderful accompaniment to many meals. Beer comes in so many different varieties and flavours, from deep, black stouts to clear crisp pilsners, that it would be a shame not to explore their gastronomic potential. Below are a few suggestions, but one thing to note: if you are pairing beer with food, we recommend trying some of the more specialty beers. Most are well under $5 a bottle, making them an economic indulgence.

Let's start from the light end of things. If you're serving up a crisp summer salad, a light, Pale Ale is the perfect accompaniment. These fruitier beers lend themselves well to any salad, particularly Barons Pale Ale, Cascade Pale Ale, the delectable Little Creatures Bright Ale, and Coopers Pale Ale. James Squire's Golden Ale is a fruity sensation from the time the bottle top is removed, making it the perfect accompaniment to salads that have some fruit added, such as a pear, rocket and prosciutto salad with a fruity balsamic dressing. But we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking these ales are only for salads - they're also perfect for many Asian dishes, particularly the cleaner but spicier flavours of Thai cooking.

Lagers are crisper in body and flavor than most ales, and there is a huge variety available in Australia today. With their origins in Europe, lagers lend themselves well to European-style food, which in Australia today has seen the influence of modern Australian cuisine doing all kinds of weird and wonderful things to it. It stands to reason then, that companioning a European-style dish with a good Australian lager is called for. Try Blue Tongue's Premium Lager with a Spanish seafood platter, or grilled Quail dish with beautifully well-rounded Knappstein Reserve Lager.

Beers that are darker in colour range from the more reddish ales to the blackness of a good stout. Amber Ales, such as the Mountain Goat Hightail Ale or Pepperjack Ale, work particularly well with red meat dishes, chiefly steak or a good, hearty beef stew in the winter. A beautifully done kangaroo sirloin, served with crispy fried turnip and mash, should just go ahead and marry the White Rabbit Dark Ale or Coopers Vintage Ale. Even darker ales, such as James Squire's Porter, are perfect for more gamey meat, such as venison or emu.

Darker beers are also fantastic partners to dessert. A deep, rich Belgian chocolate mousse is perfectly matched with Matilda Bay's seasonal, coffee-infused Long Shot. The 4 Pines Stout also lends itself to more chocolaty treats, but is also equally at home with a good fruit platter.

Of course, it wouldn't be right to forget cheese in all of this, and what better way to enjoy Australia's fine range of cheese than to also sip on a Baron's Black Wattle Original Ale, a tip of the hat to the creativity and skill of Australia's food and beer producers.

While the suggestions above have been focused more on Australia's craft beers, there's a whole world of beer out there to explore and match with foods. The rule of thumb is to choose lighter, crisper beers with lighter foods, and save the deeper hues for more robust meals. Of course, rules were meant to be broken.