Here's everything worth knowing about beer and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 431 recipes to cook tonight.
Key Points
Beer cooks down to malt sweetness and hop bitterness; most of the alcohol boils off.
Carbonation makes beer batter fry up light and crisp; keep the beer cold.
Use light lagers for batter and bread, dark porters and stouts for braises and stews.
Avoid hoppy IPAs in long-cooked dishes; the bitterness concentrates and turns harsh.
Cook with a beer you would drink; non-alcoholic beer is the most faithful swap.
What is beer?
Beer is one of the most underused things in a home cook's fridge. Past being a drink, it is a flavoring liquid whose malt sweetness and hoppy bitterness, plus its lively carbonation, go to work in bread, batter, and braises.
The alcohol is not the point, since most of it cooks off. What you are after is the toasted-grain flavor from the malt, the gentle bitterness from the hops, and the bubbles that lighten a batter.
Cooking With Beer
The simplest move is to swap beer for some or all of the water or stock in a recipe that wants depth. It shows up in beer bread and frying batter, and in braised meat or a pot of chili.
Beer batter is the classic. The carbonation whips air into the flour so the crust fries up light and crisp, which is why a pale ale or lager makes better fish and chips than plain water ever could. Keep the beer cold and the batter barely mixed.
Braising is where dark beer earns its keep. A long, gentle simmer in brown ale or porter softens a tough brisket or pork shoulder while the malt adds a roasty sweetness that balances the fat. A splash also rounds out a chili, as in this Texas Beef Chili.
The style you pour changes everything, so match its weight to the food.
Light lagers and pilsners are clean and mild, the safe pick for batter and beer bread where you do not want to bury the main ingredient. Amber and brown ales carry more malt and a faint caramel note, which suits stews and chili, and a deep onion soup.
Porters and stouts go dark and roasty, at home with beef and braised greens, and even chocolate desserts.
The real mistake to avoid is a big hoppy IPA in anything cooked long. Hop bitterness concentrates and turns harsh as the liquid reduces, so a dish that started balanced ends up unpleasantly bitter. Reach for IPAs only in quick batters or sauces that barely cook.
Taste any beer before it goes in. If it is flat or skunky in the glass, it will only get worse in the pot.
Substitutes
If you would rather not cook with beer, the closest stand-in depends on what the beer was doing. For lift in a batter, plain soda water or club soda gives you the carbonation without the flavor.
For depth in a braise or soup, beef or chicken stock fills in, though you lose the malt character and the bubbles. Apple cider works in braises and breads, trading malt for a fruity sweetness.
A non-alcoholic beer is the most faithful swap of all and behaves just like the real thing in cooking.
Buying and Storing
The rule is simple: cook with a beer you would actually drink. A two-dollar can of decent lager is plenty for most dishes, and you do not need a pricey craft bottle to make good beer bread.
Store unopened beer in a cool, dark spot, since heat and light are what turn it skunky. Stand the bottles upright.
Once a bottle or can is open it goes flat within a day or two, so use the rest soon. If you only need a splash, the leftover is best poured into your glass rather than saved, because it loses its carbonation fast no matter how you cap it.
Types of beer
Specific kinds of beer and the recipes that use them.
Dark beer is the catch-all kitchen name for the deeper, maltier styles: stouts, porters, dunkels, brown ales, and Irish dry stout like Guinness. What makes them dark is roasted malt, kiln-darkened grain that lends the same cocoa and espresso notes you taste in coffee and bittersweet chocolate.
In cooking it behaves less like an alcohol and more like a savory liquid with built-in roast flavor. You reach for it when a dish wants depth.
One thing is worth knowing up front. Bitterness and alcohol largely cook off, but the roasted-malt character concentrates as the liquid reduces. So a beer that tastes aggressively bitter from the glass usually mellows into something rounder on the plate.
Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer brewed with roasted malt or roasted barley. That roasting turns it almost black under a tan head and pushes flavors toward coffee and dark chocolate, with a burnt-toast edge underneath.
It runs from dry Irish stouts like the famous pint poured in Dublin pubs to sweeter milk and oatmeal versions, all the way up to big, boozy imperial stouts.
In cooking, stout earns its place for that roasted bitterness and malt depth. A splash does for a braise or a chocolate dessert what strong coffee does: it deepens color and adds a savory, faintly burnt backbone you cannot get from wine or water.
Beer-marinated grilled pork with lemon pepper seasoning. A two-ingredient marinade that works for ribs, chops, or roasts with an overnight beer soak for tender, flavorful meat.
Chili con cervesa simmers ground beef and kidney beans in a beer-spiked tomato base with chili powder, garlic, and oregano. A pantry-friendly chili with deep malty flavor from a full bottle of beer.
Mexican restaurant-style fried ice cream with rock-hard ice cream balls coated in crushed cornflakes, dipped in beer batter, and flash-fried at 375°F until golden. Crisp shell, frozen center, the showstopper dessert.
Czech beer-braised chicken with caraway and onions, roasted until golden. Dark beer creates rich gravy in this Central European comfort dish. Serve with red cabbage and dumplings.
Two-ingredient beer muffins with biscuit baking mix and a cup of beer. The fastest, laziest from-scratch [muffin](/recipes/muffins) recipe ever, ready in 30 minutes.
Caraway burgers marinate seasoned beef patties in beer for 3 hours before grilling. A German-leaning burger with the licorice-pepper note of caraway and a malty tenderized bite.
Hearty country whole wheat bread enriched with beer, wheat germ, honey, and molasses. Two dense, malty-sweet loaves with a tender crumb. Slice thick for sandwiches or toast with butter.
Chernobyl Chili: a big-batch ground beef and red kidney bean chili with 4 tablespoons of chili powder and serious heat. Cooked in the microwave then served from the crockpot. Built for a crowd.
To make the kebabs, you’ll need eight 10-inch wooden or bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes. Metal skewers may overcook the lamb, so use only metal if you like your meat well done.
Arcadian eight bean chili packs six bean varieties, ground beef, bacon, and dried poblanos into a smoky simmered crowd-feeder. Cinnamon and coriander give this chili an unexpected depth.
Autumn rarebit soup blends pureed pumpkin with beer, sharp aged cheddar, and a base of garlic and onion butter into a Welsh-style cheesy fall pottage. Topped with toasted pepitas for crunch. Cozy bowl for crisp-evening dinners.
German-style pork chops braised in beer and beef broth with sliced onions, thickened into a rich gravy. Served with Brussels sprouts and boiled potatoes.
The recipe blends equal amounts of gueuze and Chardonnay to make these mussels fragrant, and adds Cajun spices for heat. We suggest a farmhouse ale in the Flemish tradition to pair with the mussels.
Texas Bandera chili with ground chuck, tomato sauce, lite beer, and jalapeño pinto beans. Bold chili powder and a long simmer build the kind of deep, beefy stew that gets better the next day.
Broccoli cheddar beer soup builds a thick roux-based pot with two pounds of melted cheddar, beef stock, and a splash of beer stirred in just before serving. Pub-style soup at home.
Irish pumpkin pie made with stout or Guinness beer in place of evaporated milk, cinnamon, fresh ginger, and pumpkin puree. A boozy holiday twist on the Thanksgiving classic.
Bacon, beer, and cheese soup blends Cheez Whiz with a cornstarch-thickened milk base, finished with smoky bacon and a splash of beer. A 1980s ski-lodge favorite.
True Texas chili with ground beef, beer, jalapeños, whole tomatoes, and a heavy chili powder hit. No beans, no fillers, classic Lone Star style chili con carne.
Juicy baked beer burgers seasoned with chili sauce, garlic, hot pepper sauce, and onion soup mix, then basted with beer in the oven. No grill needed. Ready in 45 minutes, serves 6.
Beer cheese soup blends sharp cheddar with a full bottle of beer, chicken broth, paprika, and Tabasco for a Wisconsin-style pub bowl. Finished with heavy cream and topped with buttered popcorn. The bar-snack take on cream soup.
About half of the beans I used were chili beans. And I used a Guinness beer. I (roughly) seeded the jalapenos and this was surprisingly still spicy. A cheap cut of beef works quite well; the beef chunks get so tender and this is an overall delicious dish. I froze half of it.
Vegan black bean and cashew chili with jalapeño, Anaheim chiles, and a splash of beer. Cashews lend hearty body to this meatless chili. Top with avocado, cilantro, and crisp tortilla chips.
Strong flavors from both beer and cheddar cheese, if you love both beer and cheddar cheese, you will absolutely love this bread. It's also so easy to make, needless to say it disappears very fast, so make sure to bake enough loaves.
Batter-dipped fondue meatballs flash-fried tableside in a fondue pot, served with mustard and horseradish dipping sauces. A retro fondue party throwback that still earns its keep.
Beer biscuits with just five ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, shortening, and beer. The carbonation gives extra rise, and the hops add a faint malty note that pairs beautifully with butter.
Robust beer chili with ground beef, fire-roasted peppers, and kidney beans. The beer adds malty depth while three-hour simmer creates complex, layered flavor.
Traditional British whole wheat Christmas cake with rum-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, almonds, stout and citrus zest. Aged dark fruit cake for the holiday season.
German rye beer bread made in a bread machine with rye flour, caraway seeds, and a full bottle of beer. A dense, malty loaf with old-world flavor and almost no effort.
Black bean and chicken chili simmers tender chicken breast, black beans and sweet red peppers in a spiced tomato base splashed with beer for depth. A lighter, quicker chili ready in about 45 minutes.
Original chile con queso contains lots of fat, try this low-fat chile con queso, and cut at least half of the fat, but it tastes delicious, even better. Superbowl day, eat some homemade pita chips with this delicious dip, enjoy! The flavor is boosted by adding your favorite beer!
Austin chili is a Texas-style ground beef chili built on stewed tomatoes, a full bottle of beer, and a heavy hand with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Slow-simmered for two hours and finished with Ranch Style beans.
Award-winning chili with ground chuck, three kinds of tomato, pure chili powder, and a splash of beer simmered low for hours. The kind of contest-grade beef chili that tastes even better on day two.
For all of the trouble that this cake is to make the RAVE reviews are more than sufficient reward. The recipe I had years ago called for a dollop of sour cream as a garnish. That worked for me.
Pete and Shannon's chili simmers ground beef and hot breakfast sausage with kidney beans, beer, barbecue sauce, jalapenos, and chili powder for 4 hours into a smoky, meaty bowl. A football-watching weekend pot.
Crockpot corned beef and cabbage braised low in beer with brown sugar and mustard, then the cabbage wedges go in at the end so they stay crisp-tender. The easy St. Patrick's Day classic.
