The Best Style Of Beer To Give Brownies An Epic Flavor Upgrade

Brownies are as tried-and-true a dessert as any you can find at your favorite bakery, but getting a bit experimental with them is the key to the most delicious treat possible. While this experimentation can be done in small ways like adding some authentic Mexican vanilla extract to brownies to give them a bolder taste, it can also be done by adding beer to the mix; one of the most underutilized baking ingredients in existence. When it comes to brownies, dark beers reign supreme, with malt beers and dark stouts in particular proving beneficial to the taste and texture.

We discussed adding beer to the chocolatey dessert with Kat Buckley of The Baking Explorer, who explained why these kinds of beer, in particular, work best for brownies. "Adding beer, particularly dark stouts, to chocolate brownies gives them a richness in flavor and makes them moist and gooey," Buckley revealed. "As dark chocolate and dark stouts/malt beers have similar flavor notes, they pair perfectly together." This is a big reason why Buckley herself has a dedicated recipe for Guinness Chocolate Brownies, a treat she loves to serve for St. Patrick's Day.

To many, the sheer idea of adding beer to a dessert like brownies may seem unnatural, but the pairing is a match made in heaven — especially if you're using darker chocolate. Nevertheless, as is always the case when cooking with beer, prior knowledge of how to make brownies without the ingredient is recommended for optimal results. Beyond that, it's actually quite easy to incorporate beer into any of your favorite brownie recipes. "You can simply replace the water with beer," Buckley revealed.

Some recipes will suggest that swapping beer one-for-one with water isn't the best course of action, and instead advise that you boil the beer before incorporating it into the recipe. This turns the beer into a concentrate and results in a more syrup-like texture that arguably lends itself even better to brownies. Plus, adding sugar to boiled-down beer is the recipe for beer syrup, which is known to be a great addition to cocktails. This means that, even if you cook too much beer for the brownies, there's no need to let the concentrate go to waste.

As for things to add to your brownies, the world is your oyster, but there are obviously a few ingredients that will mesh well with the enhanced chocolatey, coffee-like flavor dark beer grants the dessert. "Delicious mix-ins for beer-boosted brownies would be caramel sauce; roasted nuts like pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts; and nut butters like peanut butter," Buckley added.