Salt. Pepper. Beer. That’s right, beer can sit right beside your favorite spices in the kitchen, and not just to keep the chef happy. Beer’s ingredients and versatility in flavor profile makes it an excellent tool to take your culinary adventures to the next level. Let’s look at what makes our crafted brews the perfect complement to cooking and enjoying your next meal.

Malt makes beer, and it also gives beer its best asset in the culinary toolbox. As a grain, malt naturally contains a host of bread-like flavors, and depending on how it's processed, it can also include a range of roasted, sugary-sweet, or dark fruit flavors as well. Underlying all forms of malt flavor is a certain level of Maillard reactions, the browning reaction that occurs when barley is heat-dried during the malting process. As it turns out, these are the very same reactions that occur when cooking food! Those crisp lines on a grilled steak and caramelly shell of crème brulée are Maillard reactions as well.

This core linking of browning flavors is foundational for making beer such a great cooking ingredient. Consequently, malt-forward beers tend to be ideal candidates for incorporation into a dish. When heated during the cooking process, liquid from the beer evaporates, intensifying the beer’s bready, sweet, Maillard-rich contribution. This makes the lightly toasted, smooth and malty Eliot Ness Amber Lager (or, when in season, our critically acclaimed Oktoberfest) an excellent partner in the kitchen, whether it’s in a savory mushroom gravy or a zippy balsamic vinaigrette.

Of course, the intensification of flavors that occurs during cooking isn’t just relegated to malt. Bitterness intensifies as well, making higher IBU beers a bit trickier to work with (though less bitter IPAs such as Juicy Vibacious Double IPA can work, even in a spicy cornbread!) That bitterness, while pleasant in the beer, will become unpalatable at a higher intensity in the dish. The key here is to avoid applying heat, so tossing some IPA in a salad dressing (try Commodore Perry IPA in blue cheese, trust us) or a creamy chip dip will work just fine. Roast character and astringency will intensify as well, so have a lighter touch while tossing Edmund Fitzgerald Porter into shepherd’s pie (though go wild with a chocolate mousse, and smoky barbecue will play nice too). Note that the application of heat can drive off more volatile aromatic compounds as well, so if you’re hoping to have Midwest IPA’s nicely hop-forward aromas translate, add it later in the cooking process.

Keeping these key flavor interactions in mind, beer can be used in countless ways when making dinner. Any time liquid is called for in a recipe, beer can be substituted! Swap in some beer for stock when making soups, like our chefs do with our infamous Stilton Cheddar Soup made with Dortmunder Gold Lager (it’s a great way to use low fill bottles, too – zero waste!) Marinating chicken breast or pork chops in beer will add moisture and help tenderize the meat in addition to infusing it with the beer’s flavor. Adding beer to a pot of chili or beef stew while browning the beef will add an extra layer of richness and a flavor contribution that sits perfectly alongside beans and spices. Beer lightens up batter for fried chicken or fish, can deglaze a pan after sautéing vegetables or steaming mussels, and more (three words: Beer Can Chicken). You can even substitute in beer for classic dishes where wine is called for, like cioppino or beef bourguignon. And of course, beer gives a wonderful finishing touch to desserts. Our Christmas Ale Pumpkin Pie recipe is a fan favorite, but try out our Boozy Bundt Cake Series for a fun twist.

Next time you find that not-so-fresh beer hiding in the back of the fridge, put it to good use in your next meal! And make sure to have some fresh beer on hand to enjoy as well. Use our Beer Finder to locate all our crafted brews near you.

Words by Advanced Cicerone® Michael Williams 

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Questions? Email GLBCinfo@greatlakesbrewing.com for more information.