Developing a beer for a BBQ sauce

[tonkota]

Has anyone developed a beer just for BBQ sauce and cooking? I've tried to make a few sauces with my beer that I like and none of them have turned out.

 

[weirdboy]

This may be blasphemy, but I don't put beer in my BBQ sauce. Vinegar, brown sugar, tomato sauce, spices. If I were going to add a beer I might use a sour.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I made a very approximate version of an RIS with stuff I had lying around for the specific purpose of cooking meat pies. That worked out very well. I reckon for a BBQ sauce you want something with a very sweet taste.

Just my 2c

Edit: I just saw the previous post. Sweet and sour! mmmmmmm!

 

[cheezydemon3]

.....I hate to say it, but to me it is worth just getting some miller for most cooking....

Too much hops in cooking is not good.

Hop monster that I am, IPA gravy is just nasty.

I guess you could just brew a sweet blond and then not bother to carb it, but why not just get some miller?

Stouts have their place in some dishes, but then you want a GOOD stout, so why not brew it to drink and then just set aside a few for cooking?

I would like to experiment more, but mild pilsners and strong stouts seem to be the only ones I cook with.

 

[inspector13]

.....I hate to say it, but to me it is worth just getting some miller for most cooking....

Too much hops in cooking is not good.

Hop monster that I am, IPA gravy is just nasty.

I guess you could just brew a sweet blond and then not bother to carb it, but why not just get some miller?

I agree. I have used a mix of my BBQ sauce and Bud Lite for a chicken marinade and place very well in several BBQ contests. I would stay with that type beer if I were you. Good Luck

 

[weirdboy]

FWIW I think Orion produces some excellent flavors when cooking with it, although I haven't used it in a BBQ sauce.

 

[jrfuda]

I've thought of this recently too.. What I would do it make a high gravity, low volume mash, with a target of around 1 gallon, then boil this to an even higher gravity. Result will be a thick, malty sweet base for your bbq sauce, without hops (unless you want to add 'em). Basically, you'll be using homemade LME in place of the brown sugar, molasses and/or honey in many sauces ... or you could just buy some LME and use that as a base. If doing it from scracth, you would not need to pull all your gear out, just a decent size stock pot (8 quarts, maybe) and do a "brew in a bag" kind of mash.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Stouts have their place in some dishes, but then you want a GOOD stout, so why not brew it to drink and then just set aside a few for cooking?
.

Well, in my case, I don't brew stouts. That is the reason I brewed an approximation on the stove with some left over grains from other brews.

But yeah, I wouldn't really sweat over anything other than a stout for cooking purposes.

 

[david_42]

Red ales work well, but as people have pointed out LOW-end bittering.

Stout is good in chili.

 

[BendBrewer]

I am a former Chef of the Deschutes Brewery in Bend.

If I were you, since you have access to it, I would use WORT for my BBQ sauce. A rich Stout or Strong Porter. It's yet another benefit to brewing your own if you don't work at a brewery.

Nothing is worse than adding beer to a dish that isn't going to be served immediatley. Those bittering agents keep on working when you cook with beer.

Wort also works great to flavor Homemade Icecream!!!!

For Ale Cheddar Soups, don't add the beer until you are just about to serve it and don't over do it. If it sits in the soup for very long, it's going to get bitter on you.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Well...if this isn't just the most civil and pleasant discussion.

Lme or wort, Fantastic suggestions.

Sorry, anyone who cooks should be here.

PROST!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Well...if this isn't just the most civil and pleasant discussion.

Prick!

 

[cheezydemon3]

Oh that really chaps my ass........of all the.......



Stupid...invisible....laughing....whatever!!!!!!

 

[Sedge]

I'm a big fan of Lagunitas Brown Shugga for cooking.....glazed carrots, bbq sauce....anywhere you might like brown sugar. Alter your recipe slightly on the pepper front to account for the spicy hops. You might also use a smoked porter in place of liquid smoke or in addition to any actual meat smoking you might do as a marinade. Finally, I like a good bourbon porter or oatmeal stout for dark, heavy sauces for the mouthfeel and flavor.

I love cooking with ginger beer also. Makes a great glaze.

 

[OMJ]

A brew pub that is near me used to make a stout BBQ Sauce that was amazing. Unfortunately they changed the recipe or even took it off the menu (I forget cause I stopped ordering it). So I would suggest a sweet stout