5 Beer Barbecue Sauce Recipes for Your Craft Beer & BBQ Pairings
The rich flavours of BBQ need something to cut through them, and nothing works better than a fizzy, hoppy, malty brew. Here are the best craft beer and barbecue meat pairings to amp up your summer bbq party. Plus, 5 delicious beer barbeque sauce recipes you can make at home.
By Mairyn Chorney on May. 16, 2019
Let’s face it, barbecuing is the best way to cook meat any time of the year (if the weather allows for it), and beer is the perfect side to any barbecued meal. The bold and basic flavours of bbq’d meats make pairing beers super easy.
How to Pair BBQ’d Meats with Beer
Barbecued Chicken and Craft Beer Pairings:
What beer styles pair best with chicken meals?
Lighter beers pair better with the mild flavours of chicken. If your chicken meal calls for a light and citrusy marinade, reach for a pale ale or a saison. If you’re more into spicer flavours, like jerk chicken, India Pale Ales will pair great. If you’re barbecuing your chicken with a sweet and crispy skin, opt for something lighter, like a vienna or helles lager.
JustBeer’s favourite beers to pair with chicken:
West Coast Pale Ale – Postmark Brewing
Chinook Saison – Banded Peak Brewing Company
Lazy Mutt So Cal IPA – Minhas Micro Brewery
Stumblebee Lager – Proper Brewing Company
BBQ’d Fish and Beer Pairings:
Beers that pair great with grilled salmon, shrimp, trout, etc.?
India pale ales, and other beer styles that fall under the hoppy & bitter profile, pair very nicely with meaty fish. The bitterness of your beer will cut through the oiliness of your barbecued fish.
JustBeer’s favourite beers to pair with grilled fish:
Citradelic Single Hop Citra IPA – Big Rock Brewery
Untouchable – Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Bengal Lancer – Fuller’s Brewery
Rogue’s Roost IPA – Prince Edward Island Brewing Co.
Burger and Beer Pairings:
Which styles of beer pair best with beef burgers?
Because burgers are usually a medley of a ton of great flavours, they pair well with many beer styles. Crisp and clean beers go great with any juicy burgers as their crispness and refreshing factors cut through the fattiness in the beef. Next burger night, reach for a pilsner, kölsch, or a bitter lager.
JustBeer’s favourite beers to pair with a burger:
Noble Pilsner – Stanley Park Brewing
The Thrill Is Gone – Parallel 49 Brewing
Nooner Pilsner – Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Golden Goddess – Goose Island Beer Co.
Pork and Beer Pairings:
How to pair beer with a pork meal?
Belgian brews, like a bière de garde or a saison / farmhouse ale, that have herbal and “peppery” flavours pair great with pork that has been grilled but is not drenched in a bbq sauce. Fruity and spicy brews, like a fruit beer or a hefeweizen with strong banana notes, will pair perfectly with any pork tenderloin or pork chop.
JustBeer’s favourite beers to pair with pork:
The Keeper – Carter’s Brewing
Yellowhead Mango Tango – Yellowhead Brewing Company
Red Dawn Saison – Cannery Brewing
Entangled Hopfenweisse – Driftwood Brewery
Ribs and Craft Beer Pairings:
What beers should you pair with your bbq ribs?
Crack open a malty and sweet brew when you’re eating saucy barbecue ribs. Beers with caramel notes and characteristics of dark fruits are great for complimenting the meat and sauce on your ribs. Beer styles like doppelbocks, tripels and dunkels will complete your bbq rib dinner. Are you more of a dry-rub person? Try a witbier, hefeweizen or a märzen. These beers are sweet but they won’t overpower the pork flavours.
JustBeer’s favourite beers to pair with ribs:
Kiss The Goat – Gigantic Brewing
Transmutation – Category 12 Brewing
Gore’d – Barely and Hops Grill
Merry Marzen – Big Island Brewhaus
Steak and Beer Pairings:
How to highlight your steak’s flavour with beer?
When choosing a beer to be the perfect pairing for your steak, look for beers that will add to the richness of your meal without getting overshadowed. Dry, dark and roasty brews, like stouts, porters and brown ales, can offset the fat in your steak nicely.
JustBeer’s favourite beers to pair with a steak:
Nut Brown Ale – AleSmith Brewing Co.
Leffe Brun – Anheuser-Busch InBev
Milk Stout – Black Bridge Brewery
Apex Predator Porter – Apex Predator Brewing
Side dishes to pair with a barbecue meal and your beer:
How pair vegetables with your beer?
Avocados & beer:
Avocados and other rich vegetables pair well with refreshing beers with slight hop notes. A lighter India Pale Ale will taste great with any dish that features avocado.
Mushrooms & Beer:
Mushrooms and bbq’d steak go together like peanut butter and jelly. A malty stout will compliment your mushrooms and steak any time of the year. But, if you’re looking for something a little different, try an American strong ale.
Onion Rings & Beer:
Onion rings are a greasy, tasty side that pairs well with any barbecued meal. Try pairing your onion rings with a slightly bitter pale ale.
Tomatoes & Beer:
Acidic vegetables, like tomatoes, pair well with beers that have rich flavours, but a smooth finish. If you’re a tomato lover, pair your meal with a nice amber ale.
5 Beer Barbecue Sauce Recipes Perfect for Your Next Backyard Bash
Making your own barbecue sauce is easier than you think. Homemade sauces usually taste way better than anything purchased in a grocery store. Here are 5 recipes you can follow, or inspire you to come up with your own recipe.
Corona & Lime BBQ Sauce Recipe
Is Corona your go-to beer? Then you will love this barbecue sauce! This recipe makes the perfect sauce, glaze or dip. Tastes great on chicken or steak.
Lager Barbecue Sauce Recipe
This BBQ sauce is full of bold flavours. This is not your typical sweet and sticky sauce. This recipe is perfect for marinating meat and basting. Full of salty and savoury ingredients, this spicy sauce will surprise you.
Simple Malty Beer BBQ Sauce
You can make this malty beer bbq sauce at home using your favourite bock beer. Bocks are great beers to use in barbecue sauces because of their high malt character, with toasty and nutty aromas.
Spicy Beer BBQ Sauce Recipe
This recipe allows you to use any beer you like, along with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, molasses, and more classic flavours.
Stout & Sriracha Barbeque Sauce
Use your favourite stout to make this spicy, garlic-y bbq sauce. This recipe is perfect to slather all over your homemade barbecue ribs.
Interested in more food and beer pairings? Check out these other great posts:
Delicious Food & Beer Pairings for Hanukkah
Southern Louisiana Cooking & Beer Pairings for Mardi Gras
Beer & French Fry Pairings
The Best Beer Pairings for Your Thanksgiving Dinner