Beer and barbecue is not just hot sauce and suds anymore. There’s a brew for every type of grilling, smoking or pit-barbecue. What was once a ritual of charring beef and swigging beer out of a can has evolved into a multi-dimensional celebration of flavors that is almost limit less. The range of beers now available can be almost overwhelming. Over the last few months, I have had a chance to chat with a number of professional chefs who spe cialize in grilling and barbecue. Every one of them was fascinated with the range of beers now available, not only to use in their recipes, but to serve with their spe cialties.

I chose to illustrate how beer and barbecue go so well togeth er using the following examples of North Carolina sauces to show how beer can be used in the sauce and why it is a more than adequate beverage to enjoy with that sauce. (My mother lives in Asheville, North Carolina, so I also have a family bias toward the unique flavors that waft from the smoky mountains into the rich aromas of Piedmont smokers to the spe cial flavors that make Eastern Carolina barbecue as brisk as a March morning on the outer banks.)

The most important thing to remember is to keep it fresh. Local beer is the best. Either a satisfying ale, brewed and bottled in a few weeks, or a long lagered pilsner freshly bottled at a brewery a few miles away, can make a bar becue shine.

There are just a few things to remember when picking the best style of beer for your particular style of barbecue. The following illustrates the flavors that are incorporated in the sauce, and a brief comment on the particular style of beer that would go best with this particular style of barbecue.

Eastern North Carolina Style

What is important to remember here is that Eastern North Carolina barbecue sauce has a vinegar base-with no toma to. The basic sauce has cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, cayenne powder and black pepper. When you want to thin the sauce you can use a fairly dark brew-this will not change the color of the sauce and it will bring a layer of richness to the sauce.

The Beer:

When you serve food cooked with this type of “vinegar” sauce, a sharp pilsner style lager or a dry stout are perfect foils to duel with the sharp flavor of the vinegar.

Piedmont (Smoked Pork Sauce)

With the addition of a touch of toma to, North Carolina Piedmont style sauce still has a vinegar base with a small amount of sweet/acidic flavor. In this particular sauce, you will find vinegar, ketchup, water, sugar, and cayenne, a pinch of red pepper, salt and black pepper. This mixture is brought to a simmer and cooked, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. If you would like to add some stout to this sauce, it should be added just at the end to get the consistency you want. Added too early, the hop bittering may not combine too well with the balance of the rest of the flavors.

The Beer:

The most logical beer to serve with this hot and sweet sauce would be an amber brew similar to a British Bitter or India Pale Ale to balance the “heat.”

Western (Smoked Pork Sauce)

Once you are in the mountains of western North Carolina, the sauces there have a strong tomato base with just a touch of vinegar, tomato sauce, as well as tomato paste, chilies, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, vinegar, Tabasco, pepper, onion, garlic, bay leaf, butter and a slight touch of mustard.

This is simmered for about half-an-hour, strained and cooled.

The Beer:

Lagers are the per fect match for this sweeter sauce. The refreshing, crisp flavor and the zing of the hops refresh the pallet and get the senses ready for the next forkful of barbe cue heaven.

Originally published in Restaurant Industry Magazine, July 2008