When pairing beer with food, there are no hard-and-fast rules; it's mostly a matter of experimentation and personal preference. Beverage and food expert David Rosengarten says that generally a light, crisp beer goes well with light, crisp food; sweet beers, like sweet wines, complement sweet foods. It's also a good idea to match the body of the beer to the weight of the food, and bitter beers tend to cut through fat nicely. Mild beers, such as Corona or Tecate, go well with spicy food. "It just refreshes the palate," Rosengarten says.

And what about matching ethnic beers with ethnic food? While certain ethnic beers--Asian, in particular, which are mildly sweet and complement the sweetness of Asian dishes--pair with their native cuisines easily, "it's not really a rule of thumb," says Rosengarten. "If you're eating Tuscan olive oil on something, you can imagine there's some kind of connection to a Tuscan wine." With beer, however, the product is not as closely related to the soil.

Beer should be stored in a cool, dark place; the refrigerator is fine. "Beer definitely has freshness, and it definitely goes downhill after a while," says Rosengarten. It's best to drink beer soon after purchase. When drinking beer for refreshment, icy cold is ideal; if, however, you're drinking a more serious beer, serve a bit warmer to bring out the flavor. For glassware, pretty much anything goes--most beers work in all kinds of glasses and mugs.