Deep down we’re natural born grillers, but thankfully Barbecues have come an awfully long way since early man cooked animals using fire… check out the Cinders range of high quality, versatile barbecues. And nowadays, it’s essential that the choice of alcohol on offer to accompany the great British barbecue has moved on too!
Like fish and chips, like a horse and carriage, and like Torville and Dean, in the UK beer and barbecues are inextricably linked. But don’t assume that going together is the same as being thrown together. With the ever rising trend in craft beer and growing sophistication in taste, there is a great opportunity, when hosting your next barbecue to truly market your beers and make selecting the right ale a focal part of your event.
The thinking drinker matches intensity with intensity and makes sure that whatever is consumed from the BBQ is not overpowered by the beer.
Drink Saisons with your fancy sausages
Saisons were originally made by farmers in southern Belgium to refresh agricultural workers who laboured in the hot sun. Often brewed with herbs and spices, they were deliberately designed to quench thirsts. Flowing with flavour, spice and herbs, and often quite yeasty, saisons can be perfectly paired with a tasty pork sausage containing everything from apple to pepper, sage, chilli and ginger.
A beer with your burger?
When it comes to choosing a beer to go with your plain burger and bun, there’s no beef! It’s finding something that will complement the array of toppings, relishes, and marinades that needs to be thought about carefully. From gherkins to cheese and jalapenos, an all-round, versatile beer is required. Choose a beer with bright fruit aromatics, a touch of sweetness and a hint of bitterness.
Stoke up your steak
Conversely, steaks don’t pair with a delicate beer. Porters and stouts have a dry roast character to complement the charred flavours created on the grill.
Pour a beer on the Barbie!
And not only does it make sense to present the perfect ale with your food offering, it can make quite the impact to marinade your food with just the right beer. Why not brush king prawns with garlic butter, coriander and an Abbey-style Belgian beer. Pour an elegant, crisp, clean Pilsner lager, with a squirt of lemon, over salmon on the grill. For chicken, reach for a British summer ale or a Belgian wheat beer. Lamb chops love red ale.
And don’t forget to try something a little adventurous to dress your steaks, like this bock beer marinade:
Ingredients (8 persons):
- 1 litre of dark bock beer
- 8 large tablespoons of sweet mustard
- 200 g of dark chocolate
- 8 tablespoons of oil
- spices of your choice (salt, pepper, chilli, garlic)
Preparation:
Grate the dark chocolate, then add mustard and oil and the chocolate to the beer, and flavour to taste with the spices. Place the meat in the beer-based marinade for a few hours so that it can absorb the flavours properly.
Feast, drink and be merry, from Cinders Barbecues.