Many of our customers like to cook with wine. But people have been cooking with beer for ages. I’ve picked some recipes that are easy and paired them with some beers that will go great in and with the dish!

Featured Beer:

Yuengling Golden Pilsner

This is a great game day dip that is an easy crowd pleaser. Yuengling Golden Pilsner is light and has a great hop and malt balance, and it won’t overpower any of the flavors. The dip and the beer go nicely with pretzels as your dipping medium.

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Yuengling Golden Pilsner
• 1½ cups half & half
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• Scant ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 oz. (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 4 oz. (1 cup) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives, for serving (optional)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until flour and butter combine. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute.

Slowly pour in the beer and half & half, whisking continually. Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. While whisking, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking, whisking frequently, until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and add the cheeses a handful at a time, whisking until the cheese is melted before adding more. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired. Transfer the dip to a bowl and serve.

Featured Beer:

Deschutes Brewing Mirror Pond Pale Ale

This is a classic beer-food mashup whose recipe calls for either a lager or a pale ale. The yeast and carbonation are the key to making your batter nice and fluffy. With a nice hop profile and dry finish, I think Mirror Pond pale ale is the right beer for crispy fried fish.

• 1 ½ lbs. skinless, boneless white fish fillets (flathead, snapper, whiting, cod, tilapia work well)
• ¼ cup rice flour
• ¾ cup plain/all purpose flour
• ¼ cup rice flour
• 1¼ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup very cold Mirror Pond Pale Ale
• 4 - 5 cups peanut oil (or vegetable, canola or cottonseed oil)
• tartar sauce
• lemon wedges

Dry & cut fish—pat fish dry using paper towels. Cut into 3 x 1¼" strips, or larger fillets if you prefer. If you have thick fillets, cut them in half horizontally.

Put ¼ cup rice flour in a shallow bowl.

Heat 2" – 3" oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat to 375°.

While the oil is heating, sprinkle 3 or 4 pieces of fish with a little salt, then coat in the rice flour and shake off excess. Hint: for maximum crispiness, don’t leave the rice flour coated fish uncooked for more than 10 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, rice flour, baking powder and salt. Add Mirror Pond pale ale into the batter and whisk just until mixed evenly into the flour. Don’t over mix and don’t worry about flour lumps. You should have a thin batter that coats the back of a spoon. Dilute with beer 1 tsp. at a time if the batter is too thick.

Dunk a piece of rice floured fish in the batter, letting excess drip off briefly.

Lower the battered fish into oil one piece at a time. Don’t put too many pieces into the pot, fry them in batches. Fry for 3 minutes, flipping after about 2 minutes, until deep golden. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining fish. Serve hot—your fish is best enjoyed soon after frying, but will stay crispy for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with Tartar sauce, lemon wedges and a leafy green salad; crispy baked fries or crispy oven baked wedges work too.

Featured Beer:

Rogue Ales Honey Kolsch

This might be one of my favorite beer recipes: my dad used to make it all the time for big gatherings. The beer makes this chicken incredibly tender and delicious. For this, I chose Rogue honey Kolsch. Honey and chicken go hand in hand, and this Kolsch has a nice hint of honey. It’s light and easy to drink while you wait for the chicken to finish on the grill!

• 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or other vegetable oil
• 1 can Rogue Honey Kolsch – room temperature, opened and half-full
• 1 Tbsp. kosher salt or sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper

If you’re using charcoal, put the coals on one side of the grill; if you’re using a gas grill, use only half of the burners.

If the chicken came with giblets and/or the neck in its cavity, remove them. Mix salt, pepper, and thyme in a small bowl, and rub it all over the chicken. Then rub the chicken with olive oil.

Place the beer can, open end up, onto the grill and lower the chicken on it so that the chicken is “sitting” upright with the can up its cavity. Now, put the chicken/beer can combo on the cool side of the grill; use the chicken’s legs and beer can as a tripod to keep it stable.

Cover the grill and don’t open it again for at least an hour. After an hour, check the chicken and refresh the coals if you’re using a charcoal grill. Keep checking it every 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken thigh reads at least 165°F. A 4-pound chicken will usually take around 1 1/2 hours to cook fully.

Because the beer can and the beer will be very hot, CAREFULLY move the chicken to a tray or pan.

PRO TIP: one way to do this is to slide a metal spatula under the bottom of the beer can, using tongs to hold the top of the chicken. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, then carefully lift the chicken off of the can. If the chicken gets stuck, lay it sideways and pull out the can with tongs.

Featured Beer:

Founder’s Brewing Porter

There are nearly as many chili recipes in Arkansas as there are people. Most of them use stock, but replacing that with beer will take your chili to the next level! A porter is a great beer to use for this, and Founder’s makes one of the best. Porters have a low hop profile that won’t interfere with the flavor of the chili.

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 green bell peppers, diced 
• 1 lb. ground meat (beef, venison, turkey, elk)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper 
• 1 ½ Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (for wild game meat ONLY)
• 12 oz. Founder’s Porter
• 2 x 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 15 oz. can pinto beans
• 15 oz. can black beans
• 15 oz. can kidney beans 

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook about 8 minutes or until brown. Then add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. 

Add the beer and deglaze the pan while you scrape up the bits off the bottom of the pan. Heat until the alcohol cooks out of the beer. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook for at least 20 minutes, but longer cooking time is better! Remove it from the heat and serve.

Featured Beer:

Samuel Smith Chocolate Stout

This chocolate stout brownie recipe is simple—the hardest part may be waiting for the brownies to cool! Sam Smith chocolate stout is a chocolate bomb, so it’s the perfect beer to use in this recipe.

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• ¹⁄₂ cup butter, melted
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ³⁄₄ tsp. salt
• ¹⁄₂ cup white chocolate, chopped
• ¹⁄₂ cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 12 oz. Samuel Smith Chocolate Stout

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13x9x2 baking pan with aluminum foil, letting the foil extend 2 inches beyond the short sides of the pan.

Whisk together the beer and cocoa powder in a large bowl until blended and smooth. One at a time, whisk in the sugar, butter, vanilla extract and eggs; blend well. Add flour and salt and whisk until the batter is smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the mixture into your prepared pan, leveling the surface with a spatula. Bake at 42 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean and the surface is dry. Remove from the oven and let completely cool. Lift the brownie from the pan by its foil ends and put it on a cutting board. Cut into your desired number of pieces.