As the weather warms up, so do outdoor grills. Best to be prepared with beers that really make your burger experience special.
The classic American burger is now enjoyed by billions around the world and the best beers to pair with them, all happen to be American.
“Food intensity” is measured by weight, richness, and pungency of flavors.
Burgers start at “medium intensity”, and with the right toppings, easily can claim “high”.
This means that while light beer styles may taste great, and have less alcohol (allowing more to be consumed) they aren’t the best pairing for a burger.
What Are The 5 Best Beer Styles To Pair With Burgers?
- American Pale Ale
- American Steam Beer
- American IPA
- American Amber
- American Brown Ale
American beer styles all have a more robust and hoppy flavor profile than the styles they relate to in Europe. This allows them to match the intensity of various burger styles.
An American Pale ale will usually be more hoppy than a British Pale ale, and an American Brown ale more robust than a British Brown ale.
American Pale Ale And The Classic Burger
It’s best to start with the first truly American beer style, the American Pale ale.
Cultivation of indigenous hops in the Pacific Northwest led to highly aromatic, fruity, piney varietals that would take the British Pale ale to another level.
Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing, utilized the newly introduced “Cascade” hops in their now famous pale ale in 1980.
An American Pale Ale’s bold citrus and bitter character are perfect with the Classic burger made with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and a slice of cheese.
American Steam Beer And The Classic Burger
There really is only one Steam beer to consider and it’s Anchor Brewing’s Steam Beer from San Francisco.
First brewed in 1971 by Fritz Maytag, Anchor’s “Steam” is said by many to mark the beginning of the craft beer movement.
Up until this date, Americans had become both bored and fed up with the watered down, mass produced, corn adjunct lagers, and were ready for beer made with care.
Maytag’s beer was the first answer to the call. The style was born before prohibition and was called “Steam beer” because beer was cooled on San Francisco rooftops producing steam.
Anchor’s Steam beer has a beautiful balance between light bitterness and caramel malts, making it ideal for the Classic Burger.
American Ambers Paired With Classic, Mushroom And Swiss, And Spicy Burgers
American Ambers are robust and hoppy with a moderate caramel malt backbone. The malt is reminiscent of the browned, grill areas of a burger patty.
When beef hits the right temperature on a grill, the proteins create sugars and you have a “maillard reaction”.
The caramel sweetness on the grilled beef resonates with the caramel malt of the barley in the amber ale. Beautiful.
American Ambers have the ability to bring out the sweet umami in mushrooms and the dank earthy notes of swiss cheese.
If you encounter a chili or pepper, American Ambers have the right malt and bitterness to balance it.
American Brown Ale Paired With All Burgers
If there’s a beer for all burgers it’s the American Brown ale. The low to moderate hop bitterness breaks up any fat and balances any acidic topping, while the caramel and roasted malts resonate with the caramelized grill marks on the burger’s patty.
Brown ales are like perfectly toasted bread and are made for meats.
The roast and malt levels of a Brown ale are also wonderful with grilled mushrooms or bacon.
If your burger gets spicy, American Brown ales (like Ambers) have the right hop bitterness and malt to balance the capsaicin found in spicy ingredients.
American IPAs Paired With Intense Burgers
American IPAs are intense enough in hop bitterness and malt backbone to meet bacon, blue cheese, and jalapeño on burgers.
The carbonation, structure, and bitterness of an American IPA help it cut fat, lift sweetness in all ingredients, and clean the palate.
The hops in American IPAs can be piney, citrusy, earthy, or tropical. They’re all wonderful when paired with a nice, heavy, complex burger..
Spicy burgers and IPAs are popular amongst a group that believe that they accentuate one another in spice and bitterness to enhance and make bearable the spice.. It may work but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
There are some international beer styles that are great pairings with burgers but for the most part the European styles are great with chicken, pork, or vegetarian sandwiches.
Notable Beer And Burger Pairing Mentions:
- Doppelbocks paired with bacon and blue cheese burgers
- Porters with smoked ingredient based burgers
- Oatmeal stouts and blue cheese topped burgers
Enjoy your spring grill season and some delicious beers!
Cheers!
