Summer Grilling & Chilling
Beer and barbecue go together like eggs and bacon, peanut butter and jelly, or coffee and donuts. Pairing your beer with items from the grill is an artform in-and-of itself. Taking it one step further with the addition of beer in meat marinade, mixing beer into a picnic side, or topping off a dish with a beer-infused condiment, is sure to kick your beer and food pairing up a notch!
To start, here’s the short list of pairing your beverage to your grilled foods! 
Beef: Steak, Burgers, Brisket, Short-Ribs
- Schwarzbier, Smoked/Roasted Porters and Stouts, Brown Ales. The dark and roasted malts in these beers help to intensify the charred flavors found in grilled and smoked beef while bringing balance to the richness of the fatty juices.
Pork: Ribs, Roasts, Bacon, Pulled, Sausages
- Smoked Porters, Dubbels, Tripels, Quads, Dunkelweizen, Marzen. Smoked porters will impart an added layer of complexity that allows for different flavors to build upon and compliment the richness of the pork meat itself, while the rest of the aforementioned brews will harmoniously dance cheek-to-cheek with the various sauces and spices utilized during grilling.
Chicken: BBQ, Jerk, Wings, Marinated
- Saison, Gose, Farmhouse Ales, Amber Ale, Helles Lager. All of these will pair beautifully with spicier sauces and jerk seasonings by keeping the heat in check without overpowering the mildness of the chicken meat itself. Additionally, they’ll also enhance the delicate flavors present in herbed/citrus marinades. Ambers, with their maltiness, will compliment any barbeque sauces used with grilled chicken.
Seafood: Shrimp, Clams, Mussels, Oysters, Fish, Lobster
- Pilsner, Kölsch, Helles Lager, Witbier, Hefeweizen, Sours. Each of these brews tend to be on the lighter side and not overly hoppy and some add a little citrusy acidity to your sweet seafood meats. Just as we finish-off many fish and seafood dishes with the spritz of a lemon wedge, think of your accompanying beer as achieving the same result.
Veggies & Veggie Burgers
- Pilsner, Helles Lager, Witbier, Belgians, American Pale Ale, Hefeweizen. All these options compliment the mildness of vegetables. If you are grilling stronger-flavored veggies such as mushrooms and onions, or a veggie burger with all the fixins,’ American Pale Ales are an even better accompaniment with their more prominent hop notes.
Utilizing beer in recipes may impart depth and flavors that are otherwise difficult to obtain with other ingredients. Depending on the beer used, this may include giving a dish an earthiness, adding a malty sweetness, or even provide lightness with the carbonation.
Here are a few recipes to try out this summer during your next backyard barbecue!
Chris Perrine, Executive Chef of the Fort Collins Marriott, in Fort Collins, CO has created a sauce with an IPA base that can be used in a variety of ways – it can be utilized as a marinade, glaze, dipping sauce, or finishing sauce. The IPA is up to the discretion of the cook.
IPA Pineapple Teriyaki Skewers – Prep Time: 10 minutes | Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 6 oz. pineapple juice
- 1 tsp. finely grated ginger root
- 3-4 tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 4 tbsp. soy sauce
- 6 oz. IPA
- 2 tbsp. cold water combined with 1 tbsp. cornstarch for a thickening slurry
- 2 lbs. uncooked shrimp, tail on, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, core removed, flesh cut into 2-inch cubes
Directions
- To prepare the IPA pineapple teriyaki start by bringing the pineapple juice to simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the grated ginger and continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Next stir in the dark brown sugar, soy sauce and the IPA of your choice.
- Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the slurry to thicken the teriyaki. Set the saucepan aside to cool off the sauce. Transfer to a suitable storage container with an airtight lid once completely cooled off. (The sauce can be stored safely in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.)
- Meanwhile, make the skewers (alternate shrimp and pineapple pieces) and heat the grill.
- Brush the IPA pineapple teriyaki over the skewers and grill for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the shrimp are cooked through, transfer the skewers to a platter and brush one more time with the sauce.
https://www.craftbeer.com/recipes/ipa-pineapple-teriyaki-skewers
Bacon, Blue Cheese and Beer Potato Salad – Prep Time: 30 | Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lbs. red potatoes
- 6 slices bacon or turkey bacon
- 4 scallions or green onions
- 1/2 cup Pale Ale
- 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- hot sauce
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup blue cheese
Directions
- Wash potatoes and chop into bite size pieces. Place in a pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
- While waiting for the potatoes to come to a boil, cook the bacon and let cool.
- Chop your scallions/onions (use both white and green parts) and bacon.
- In the bottom of your serving bowl, combine pale ale, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic powder and add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
- When the potatoes are done, drain and add to the beer mixture. Add onions, bacon and blue cheese. Combine and serve.
https://www.craftbeer.com/recipes/bacon-blue-cheese-and-beer-potato-salad
And truly, what would a summer be without s’mores?! Here’s a unique, sweet, and savory beer-related s’mores recipe created by Ashley Routson, author and craft-beer advocate and educator who is best known as The Beer Wench across the craft beer community.
Stout-Infused Marshmallow & Bacon S’mores
Ingredients
Stout-Infused Marshmallows
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 packets unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup cold, flat stout, divided in half
- 2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp. vanilla
Bacon S’mores
- graham crackers
- chocolate bars
- cooked bacon
- marshmallow roasting stick
Directions
Stout-Infused Marshmallows
- To make the stout flat, whisk it in a bowl for a minute, then refrigerate for an hour. Pour half a cup of the beer in a mixing bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it, set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and other half cup of beer over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and bring to a boil until the liquid reaches 245°F.
- Remove pot from heat and pour liquid over the gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Beat mixture with an electric mixer on high speed until it has nearly tripled in volume, roughly 10-12 minutes.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they hold stiff peaks. Add egg whites and vanilla to sugar mixture and beat until just combined.
- Lightly grease bottom and sides of a square cake pan, dust bottom and sides with powdered sugar. Pour mixture into loaf pan and sift some powdered sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm (at least four hours), then cut into squares.
Bacon S’mores
- Skewer the marshmallows on a stick and cook over a fire until brown on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.
- Layer the s’more: graham cracker first, then chocolate, then beer marshmallow, then bacon, and cap it off with another graham cracker.
https://www.craftbeer.com/recipes/stout-infused-marshmallow-bacon-smores
Cheers to a fun-filled and tasty summer ahead!
