Southern Tier 2XRye + Bleu Cheese Burgers + Sauteed Mushrooms w/ Herbs

---

As the fall weather creeps in, I take every opportunity to enjoy the weather outdoors by letting my macho side out & using the grill (insert *whipping out spatula* sound here). Burger night: commence.
In this corner, you have a medium-rare beef slider garnished with crisp green lettuce, a home grown juicy tomato, & dank bleu cheese crumbles! In the other corner, weighing in at 8.1% abv & brewed with 3 types of hops, 5 types of malts is.....Southern Tier Double Rye Ale!
Looking at the color, I can tell this is going to be a lovely pairing to my dish.

Let's see how it went, shall we?

Hello, you beautiful burger, you! Come to daddy! 
You could really prepare your burger any way you'd like it and this beer would be a fine companion. I prefer medium rare. The malts of the beer have a gamey/herbal essence to them so that complements my preferred way of cooking it. This allows the caramel malt sweetness of the beverage to shine & really get to the sweetness of the meat. That char on the outside of the beef has a lot of concentrated sweetness and the beer just really gives that char a high five while embracing the grill marks. The bitterness & rye work together to cut thru the fat of the burger & also the bleu cheese, lifting it up that fat and letting those juicy & savory meat flavors to come thru. The mushrooms were sauteed to achieve a golden brown crust on one side, so that adds another element of flavor and texture to the dish. 
I love the versatility of burgers. You can pair them with a number of different beers & get a number of different flavors & experiences with each. I also enjoy these beers with burgers: amber ale, IPA, DIPA, brown ale, porter, schwarzbier, etc. So, my friends, fire up that grill while you still can! See you at the dinner table.