Would you eat some chocolate with your stout? Savor fresh fruit while sipping saison? Quench the fire of hot peppers with a cool, crisp lager?
Of course you would. The increasing popularity of craft beer in the United States has led to a sharper focus on how beer is such a versatile beverage for pairing with food. A porter or stout, for instance, can be paired with the most decadent chocolate or the smokiest barbecue. The beer brings out hidden flavors in the food, and the food does the same for the beer.
But how about putting chocolate, fruit, or even hot peppers in your beer? That’s the most basic beer and food pairing, after all: beer styles brewed with food. Here are seven excellent American craft beer styles made with everyday foods you’ll find in your kitchen:
Fruit
Aprihop | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton, DE
Like all good IPAs, this beer is loaded with hops. On their own, hops can produce a citrus fruit taste and aroma, which is pumped up even further by the addition of apricots. Hops also add a biting bitterness to the taste, which prevents some people from enjoying IPAs. But here, the apricots provide a nice balance to the bitterness, making Aprihop easy for all to enjoy. Brewers have many seasonal options when brewing fruit and field beers, so be on the lookout for new offerings as the seasons change.
Try these other great craft beers brewed with fruit:
- Peche ‘n Brett (peach) | Logsdon Farmhouse Ales | Hood River, OR
- Purple Haze (raspberry) | Abita Brewing Co. | Abita Springs, LA
- Orange Cream (orange) | Defiant Brewing Co. | Pearl River, NY
- Monkey Chased the Weasel (mulberry) | Carton Brewing | Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Coffee
Breakfast Stout | Founders Brewing Co. | Grand Rapids, MI
Depending on the malts used, coffee beers can have a rich coffee aroma and smell without any actual coffee added. So when coffee is actually part of the brewing process, the smells and tastes are turbocharged. Using Kona (Hawaii) and Sumatra (Indonesia) coffee, this beer is a roasty, milky, alcoholic espresso shot. The strong coffee taste is accompanied by chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts, and brown sugar.
Skip Starbucks with these beers brewed with coffee:
- Wake ‘N Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout | Terrapin Beer Co. | Athens, GA
- Java Stout | Bell’s Brewery, Inc. | Kalamazoo, MI
- Cappuccino Stout | Lagunitas Brewing Co. | Petaluma, CA & Chicago, IL
- Speedway Stout | AleSmith Brewing Co. | San Diego, CA
Pumpkin
Pumking | Southern Tier Brewing Co. | Lakewood, NY
Pumpkin beer is like pumpkin pie in a glass. Take a whiff and you won’t be sure if you should eat it or drink it—but do drink it. Take a sip and you’ll get allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, clove, and of course, lots of pumpkin. You’ll often even get tastes of pie crust in there depending on a particular beer’s malt bill. But unlike most pumpkin-flavored beverages and foods, you won’t find any artificial or chemical flavors, as this beer is made from actual pumpkin puree. Released every August, it’s a great beer for crisp fall nights, and of course it goes perfectly with Thanksgiving dinner and dessert.
Want more pie? Try these:
- Night Owl Pumpkin Ale | Elysian Brewing Co. | Seattle, WA
- Imperial Pumpkin Ale | Weyerbacher Brewing Co. | Easton, PA
- Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale | Cigar City Brewing | Tampa, FL
- Pumpkin Ale | Schlafly Beer | St. Louis, MO
Honey
Bees In The Trappe | Grimm Artisanal Ales | Brooklyn, NY
The eighth one-off beer made by these gypsy brewers features 360 pounds of honey from Gunter’s Honey in Berryville, Va., imparting a strong yet delicate sweetness. Malts and yeasts lend complementary flavors to the tripel style brew, like toasted bread, apricot, banana and cloves. Tea and crumpets has been replaced by beer and crumpets.
Get your honey fix with these other beers:
- Honey Basil Ale | Bison Brewing | Berkeley, CA
- Honey Porter | Samuel Adams/Boston Beer Co. | Boston, MA
- Summer Honey Ale | Big Sky Brewing Co. | Missoula, MT
- Fairmont Honey Saison | Almanac Beer Co. | San Francisco, CA
Chocolate
Double Chocolate Stout | Rogue Ales | Newport, OR
A beer brewed with Dutch bittersweet chocolate should satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth, but Rogue Ales adds a strain of chocolate malt to put this beer into chocoholic territory. It’s a creamy, roasty, silky smooth chocolate milkshake in a glass, with a bit of espresso and burnt grains at the end. Chocolate beers are surprisingly drinkable, and are a perfect dessert accompaniment—or substitute.
Craving more dessert? Try:
- Chocolate Indulgence | Brewery Ommegang | Cooperstown, NY
- Chocolate Ale | Boulevard Brewing Co. | Kansas City, MO
- Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout | Great Divide Brewing Co. | Denver, CO
- Bourbon Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout | Foothills Brewing | Winston Salem, NC
Salt and Coriander
Gose | Westbrook Brewing Co. | Mount Pleasant, SC
Salt and coriander are probably the last two ingredients you’d expect in beer, but they’re the main focus in a gose, a traditional German wheat beer. The style was developed 1,000 years ago near Leipzig, Germany, and became a nearly extinct brewing process after World War II. Luckily, it’s recently made a comeback in Germany, and American craft brewers are following suit.
Be warned: this beer is sour. If you don’t like it, you’ll think it tastes like ocean water. If you do like it, you’ll scour all the beer stores in your neighborhood for more. It’s just that good, and perfectly refreshing for summer.
Other great goses by U.S. craft brewers include:
- The Kimmie, The Yink & The Holy Gose | Anderson Valley Brewing Co. | Boonville, CA
- Summer Gose | Cascade Brewing Co. | Portland, OR
- Gose | Upright Brewing | Portland, OR
- Gose | Rapp Brewing Co. | Seminole, FL
Peppers
Bomb! | Prairie Artisan Ales | Tulsa, OK
The most adventurous beer on the list, Bomb! is an imperial stout with a long list of edible ingredients: espresso beans, vanilla beans, chocolate and ancho chili pepper. Make no mistake; this is a big beer with intense flavors and an alcoholic punch of 13 percent ABV. But if it seems overwhelming, don’t worry. The coffee, vanilla, and chocolate flavors, while strong, are balanced and absolutely delicious.
The most controversial ingredient, the ancho chili pepper, is actually my favorite, and I’m not usually a fan of spiciness. It’s perfectly subtle, leaving a slight burn on the roof of your mouth after each sip. Take your time with this beer, sipping instead of drinking, to get the most out of the complexity. Also worth noting: as it warms up, the flavors change.
Test your tolerance with these spicy beers:
- Habenero Sculpin IPA | Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits | San Diego, CA
- Serrano Pepper Ale | Saugatuck Brewing Co. | Douglas, MI
- Hot Box Imperial Smoked Pepper Porter (poblano & jalapeño) | Indeed Brewing Co. | Minneapolis, MN
- Ghost Face Killah (Anaheim, Fresno, jalapeño, serrano, habanero, ghost chilies) | Twisted Pine Brewing Co. | Boulder, CO
What are your favorite beer styles that feature food?
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