Best Beer to Cook With

Not only is beer a great beverage to sip on a hot summer day, but it can also add excellent flavor and depth to your cooking.  If you want to flavor up your sauces or tenderize your meats, beer can be great ingredient in your kitchen. 

Stout – a dark beer that is rich in flavor, this helps offset savory dishes.  It’s bold and robust flavor stand up to beef, pork or lamb.  You can use stouts in stews, chili and makes for a great marinade.  The bitterness in stouts also pair well with coffee and chocolate flavors – making it a great choice for desserts.

IPA – this type of beer usually has a bold hop flavor and aroma.  It’s a great choice to use with seafood as the bitterness can cut through the richness of the fish.  IPA can also be used to add flavors to sauces, dressings and a great choice for beer-battered fried foods.

Belgian Saison – known for its fruity and spicy flavors.  This is a great beer to cook with because it adds complex and unique flavors, especially to savory dishes like stews and marinades.  Also can be used to add a touch of sweetness to desserts.

Pilsner – Pilsners are usually light and crisp.  They’re a great beer to cook with, adding a great flavor to any deep fry batter, season up those wings or fresh fish.

Porter – these are darker beers similar to stouts but can have a sweeter taste.  Caramel and chocolate notes make it a great ingredient for brownies, cakes and even some ice cream!  Also a great choice for BBQ sauces and chili.

Beers can add a unique flavor and nose note to many dishes – just remember how it smells and tastes and how it would align with your dish of choice.  Check out Food that goes with beer. Cheers!