Beer for the grill - how to match the style to what is on the rack
Grilling and beer are a perfect pair, but you can get far more out of it than a cold lager with everything. Smoke, charred crust and fat from the rack play beautifully with specific beer styles - you just need to match them to whatever is on the grill right now. Here is a simple cheat sheet for the season.
Two universal rules first
Before the details, two rules that handle most cases:
- Match the intensity. Delicate fish disappears under a strong, bitter beer. Fatty pork buries a light lager. Light with light, strong with strong.
- Bitterness and bubbles clean the palate. A dry, fizzy, lightly bitter beer cuts the fat from the grill and refreshes before the next bite. That is why pilsners and pale ales suit grilling so well.
What goes with what
- Pork neck, sausage, ribs - fatty, robust meat likes beer with character and a bitterness that cuts the fat: pilsner, pale ale, märzen, amber. For heavily spiced ribs a porter works too.
- Beef, steak, burgers - stronger, lightly caramel beers: amber, brown ale, märzen, and for a smoky steak even a porter or stout.
- Chicken and poultry - lighter: pilsner, lager, wheat beer, pale pale ales.
- Fish and seafood - delicate and refreshing: wheat beer (weizen), witbier, pilsner, a light saison. A big IPA will dominate them.
- Grilled vegetables, cheese, corn - wheat beer, saison, witbier, a bock for more caramel flavours.
- Spicy sauces and marinades (chilli, BBQ) - here an IPA can let you down, as the bitterness amplifies the heat. Better is a slightly sweeter, fruity beer that cools the fire: wheat beer, NEIPA, fruited sour, a light bock.
IPA at the grill - yes, but wisely
An IPA is a summer favourite, and its citrus-resin hops play beautifully with charred meat and herby marinades. But watch two traps: with very spicy dishes the bitterness and alcohol crank up the peppery fire, and with delicate fish an IPA is simply too strong. Where that citrus-grapefruit character comes from we explain in why IPA tastes like grapefruit.
Serve it cold, but not ice cold
In summer you crave beer straight from the ice, but too cold and it loses flavour and aroma - leaving only bitterness and fizz. Light lagers and wheat beers are best around 6-8 degrees, while fuller ales and porters a touch warmer, 8-10. Take it out of the fridge a few minutes before pouring. If styles are new to you, start with lager vs ale.
Note what worked with the grill
You only remember the best grill pairings if you write them down - otherwise next year you will be guessing again what went with the ribs. In GustoNote you note the style, the hops and what you drank it with for every beer, and the aroma wheel suggests words for what you sense. After a few barbecues you have your own list of proven pairings. More on matching beer to food in pairing beer with food.