Daily Star beer knowledgeable reveals excellent pints to get your barbecue scorching this summer season
The sun is shining and so it’s time to break out the BBQ and get some serious grilling done. Obviously, a beer or two is needed, but there is more to BBQ beers than the usual cold can of mass-produced lager as A Pub For All Seasons author and our Beer of the Week expert Adrian Tierney-Jones discovers…
Baby-faced Assassin
ABV: 6.1%
Rooster’s Brewing Co
Available: www.roosters.co.uk/collections/cans
This is a juicy, boldly flavoured IPA from Harrogate that has got plenty of tropical fruit and citrus leaping out of the glass. There is more mango, passionfruit, grapefruit and orange on the palate, all of which is balanced by a lingering bitterness and a crackle of dryness in the finish. Why not marinate turkey steaks for a couple of hours and then introduce them to the thrill of the grill?
Best Bitter
ABV: 4.5%
Lakes Brew Co
Available: lakesbrewco.com/product/best-bitter-4-5/
Lakes craft their award-winning beers in the Cumbrian town of Kendal and this is a robust best bitter. Amber in colour, there is a rich biscuitiness and light citrus on the nose, both of which reappear on the full-bodied palate before a lingering and bracing bitterness in the finish. Just the job for barbecued pork ribs that have been vigorously coated with a barbecue rub of your choice and then slow-cooked.
Black Lager
ABV: 5%
Moonwake Beer Co
Available: moonwakebeer.com/products/black-lager-440ml
A BBQ can’t really call itself one unless there are some burgers ready to be flipped over the coals. If you want to go to town then add cheese, bacon, jalapeño chillies and dill pickles with this luscious dark lager from Scotland’s Moonwake being the ideal companion. Pouring a very dark mahogany, it is toasty, lightly roasty, crisp in its mouthfeel and blessed with a delicate fruitiness from the hops used. A marriage made in (lager) heaven.
Black Mass
ABV: 6.6%
Abbeydale Brewery
Available: www.abbeydalebrewery.co.uk/product-category/beer
If you really consider yourself a master or mistress of the BBQ fire-pit then a slow-grilled Texas-style beef brisket with barbecue sauce is the one to show off your skills. For a beer to match it we turn to Sheffield for this devilishly delicious Black IPA with its hints of chocolate, mocha coffee, roast espresso beans, light citrus and toffee on both nose and palate.
Good Times
ABV: 4.2%
Duration Brewing
Available: shop.durationbeer.com
This is an American-style light lager, the kind of beer that is almost obligatory at BBQs held over in the USA. However, unlike some of the light lagers produced by much larger breweries across the Atlantic this has character, a cleanness of flavour, a slight undertow of sweetness and a delicate bitterness in the finish. Try it with grilled squid brushed with hoisin sauce with a side helping of coleslaw.
Gwilym Ddu
ABV: 4.2%
Wild Horse Brewing
Available: wildhorsebrewing.co.uk/collections/beer-cans
The name of this luscious stout from Llandudno is Welsh for the black guillemot, which can be often spotted on the cliffs of the North Wales coast. It’s as dark as the same bird’s plumage and has a rich roastiness, hints of mocha coffee and chocolate before a dry finish. Step forward jerk chicken and grilled banana for the ideal accompaniment.
Oregon Trail
ABV: 5.8%
Elusive Brewing
Available: www.elusivebrewing.com/
You can go to town with this well hopped West Coast IPA from Berkshire and serve it alongside pulled pork and a spicy barbecue sauce. The beer resonates with hints of fresh pine and citrus on the nose, while each swig reveals more pine, citrus plus caramel in the background before an all embracing bitter finish. Oh and a classic side of mac and cheese will really make your BBQ go with a bang.
Premium Lager
ABV: 4.7%
Utopian Brewing
Available: www.utopianbrewing.com/shop/british-lager
Another lager that is a bit different from the usual crowd. The team at Devon-based Utopian are expert brewers of various lagers and this is their riff on a Bavarian-style Helles, which just happens to use all-British ingredients. The result is a crisp, bittersweet and thirst-quenching beer which has hints of citrus and breakfast cereal swirling about on the nose and palate. Try it with grilled marinated halloumi cheese and asparagus and wait for the magic to start!
Red Grapefruit
ABV: 2.5%
Lofi Productions
Available: www.lofiproductions.co.uk
Sometimes you need to go low if you are going to spend a fair amount of time grilling and this mix of wheat beer and red grapefruit soda is a genial, tangy and refreshing companion that will quench your thirst as you sweat over the hot coals. A fruity little number that you will find delicious served with a helping of grilled tiger prawns and a squeeze of lemon on top.
Vienna Lager
ABV: 4%
Orbit
Available: orbitbeers.com
South London brewery Orbit is known for its riffs on classic European beer styles and this is one on the timeless Austrian lager. Amber in colour, there is a hint of mandarin and caramel biscuit on the nose, while there is more caramel, light citrus and a biscuity crispness on the palate before it finishes dry and bittersweet. What to put on the grill? Wrap some bratwurst with rashers of bacon for Viennese-style pigs in blankets.
