Wings and beer make a great combination. It is only the refreshing, energizing taste of a nice cold beer that can balance out the salty, flavorful sauce of a wing.
Whether it is chicken wings or buffalo wings, wings are the most popular American food, whether you choose the spicy variety or the mild one (aside from burgers and brats, of course). But beer always seems to be supplied with all of these patriotic dishes. Why is that the case? We’ve covered your next wing night if you’ve always wanted to enjoy a beer with your wings like us.
Why Do Wings and Beer Go Together?
Beer pairs well with wings since carbonation tones down the fiery flavors in whatever wing sauce has been used. The malt in the beer goes well with the sweet wings. You may choose to make the wings spicier or less spicy. The beer you choose depends on your tolerance level.
Wing and Beer Pairings
Wing pairings are more about the sauce’s spiciness than the meat’s flavor. According to conventional thinking in the beer industry, bitter brews clean the palate, brushing away the oils that ignite in your mouth, while malty drinks temper the heat, while hoppy brews intensify it.
Tips for Pairing
An equally daring beer is required to complement the huge, bold flavors. Pale ales and IPAs in the American style will work and will play offense and defense. An IPA will have a sweet malt backbone to balance the saltiness of the underlying wing. IPA pairs well with bleu cheese.
You might manage with a zingy German or Bohemian Pilsner if you prefer your wings on the milder end of the Scoville Scale. This drink is light and palatable, has a sharp flavor, and finishes dry. Crisp hop flavors will sing with the side of celery, and snappy bitterness will stop the heat at the 30-yard line.
The Bohemian Pilsner has a heavier malt foundation to counteract the sharpness of the hops. The German variant, which is more bitter and has a dryer finish, is all about the hops.
Try an all-malt, handcrafted American lager if you want to choose something that even your bud light drinking friends will enjoy. It is similar to the macro products but has a little more flavor and substance.
Our beer specialists have chosen beer pairings to go with our popular wings baskets, just like a restaurant’s sommelier chooses the perfect wine to go with your meal. The brews are carefully weighed, taking into account the flavorings in the wings and how they would compare to a certain brand of beer based on the beverage’s smoothness, finish flavor, and other elements that complement or contrast with the meal.
Consider one of our ideal matches the next time you stop by and see if we can’t satisfy your palate.
What Beer Goes With Spicy Wings?
This depends on whether you want to make the wings spicier or less spicy. Which beer you should have with it depends on whether you can withstand the heat or not.
Hot and Wanting It Hotter
The hops in beer make things taste hotter. IPAs are best if you can tolerate the heat. The hoppier your beer, the more it will highlight the spiciness of the wings, so here is a selection of beers to choose from, going from medium to most-hoppy.
- Hoppy Lager
- American Amber Ale
- American Pale Ale
- India Pale Ale
- Double IPA
Cool Off Hot Wings
If you enjoy testing your palate with spicy buffalo and atomic wings, choose a basic lager or malt-forward ale. The malt will likely take precedence over hops in the beer profile if hops aren’t present, which will allow you to cool off by reducing the heat from the wings. These are the go-to beers for spicy wings because you’ll enjoy the heat of the spice, followed by the cooling effect of the beer.
In essence, malt (the grains used to make beer) contributes to the sweetness, which is countered by the inclusion of hops. Therefore, a beer with less hop content will be maltier, toning down the heat in spicy wings.
You can drink one of those mass-produced American lagers with your wings without worrying. Below are beers to chill your wings:
- Oktoberfest/Marzen
- English Brown Ale
- Pilsner
- Hefeweizen/Wheat Ale
- Kolsch
Takeout or wing night will be much more enjoyable if you have a beer on hand. At White Horse Tavern pub in NYC, you can have a culinary experience induced by beer, and no matter how you like your wings sauced, there’ll be a beer to go with it!