Varieties

Four common beer styles side by side: pale lager, amber ale, stout, and wheat beer.

Shows readers the color range across beer styles so they can identify and distinguish them visually.

Beverages

Beer

Refreshing brew for drinking, batters, and braises

From crisp lager to malty ale, beer refreshes a meal, lightens a frying batter, and braises meat to tenderness. Cook with a style you enjoy drinking. Keep it cold.

Beer is the world's oldest brewed alcoholic drink — fermented from malted grain (usually barley), hops, water, and yeast — spanning a huge range from pale, crisp lagers to dark, roasty stouts. Its flavors come from malt (bread, caramel, toffee, roast) and hops (bitter, citrusy, piney, floral), with a yeasty depth and natural carbonation. In cooking, beer is a versatile flavor liquid: malty ales braise meats and onions, crisp lager makes the lightest batter, dark stout deepens stews, chili, and chocolate cake, and the carbonation tenderizes and lifts. Match the beer's intensity to the dish. As an alcoholic ingredient, some alcohol cooks off but not all — worth keeping in mind for dishes served to anyone avoiding alcohol.

Measured in: ml
Storage: Refrigerate

Allergens

Gluten

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Lager/pilsner

Crisp, light — batter, steaming

Pale/brown ale

Malty, bready — braises

Stout/porter

Dark, roasty — stews, chili, desserts

Wheat beer

Light, citrusy — mussels, light dishes

How to use in cooking

Beer's carbonation and proteins make exceptionally light, crisp batter (cold lager is classic for fish and onion rings). Malty ales braise beef and onions (carbonnade flamande) into deep sweetness; dark stout enriches beef-and-Guinness stew, chili, gravies, and even chocolate cake with roasty notes. Beer steams mussels and bratwurst, and its sugars help glazes caramelize. Beware over-reducing very hoppy beers — concentrated hop bitterness can turn harsh.

How to choose

Match weight and bitterness to the dish. Crisp lager or pilsner for batter and steaming; malty brown ale or dubbel for braises; dark stout or porter for stews, chili, and chocolate desserts. Avoid very bitter, hop-forward IPAs in long reductions, where the bitterness concentrates unpleasantly.

Common uses

Make crisp beer-batter for fish or onion ringsBraise beef and onions (carbonnade)Enrich beef stew with stoutDeepen chiliSteam mussels or bratwurstBake quick beer breadGlaze a ham or ribsAdd to a cheese sauce or fondue

Tips & pitfalls

Use cold lager for the crispest batter.
Don't over-reduce hoppy beers — bitterness concentrates.
Match the beer to the dish: light to light, dark to rich.
Stout adds roasty depth to chocolate cake and chili.

Nutrition

43kcal

Energy

180 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 11%Carbs 89%Fat 0%

Protein

0.5g

1% DV

Carbs

3.6g

1% DV

Fat

0% DV

Fiber

0% DV

Sugars

of which

Sodium

4mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Niacin (B3)3% DV

Vitamin B63% DV

Riboflavin (B2)2% DV

Folate2% DV

Vitamin B121% DV

Magnesium1% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · approx. Alcoholic beverage, beer, regular, all

View on FDC →

In the shops

Matched grocery products

Corona Beer
Corona · 0.33 L · Mercadona
€1.39
Corona Beer
Corona · 1.98 L · Mercadona
€7.32
Heineken Beer
Heineken · 0.25 L · Mercadona
€0.70
Heineken Beer
Heineken · 0.33 L · Mercadona
€0.79
Heineken Beer
Heineken · 1.5 L · Mercadona
€3.72
Heineken Beer
Heineken · 2.64 L · Mercadona
€5.60

Good to know

Flavor: Malty/bready to roasty-bitter; hoppy; yeasty
Use in cooking: Batter, braises, stews, breads, chili, marinades
Alcohol?: Yes — ~4–8% ABV (mostly cooks off)
Substitute base: Stock, or non-alcoholic beer / sparkling water
How to store: Cool and dark; refrigerate; goes flat once opened

Substitutes

Non-alcoholic beer — Closest flavor without the alcohol
Stock (beef or chicken) — For braises — adds savory body, not malt
Sparkling water + a little soy/molasses — Non-alcoholic: fizz plus a hint of malt depth

Pairs with

Beef Onion Cheddar SausageChocolateMustard Bacon Caramel

Also called

beer · lager · ale · cerveza · cervesa