The Best Type Of Beer To Cook Corned Beef In

If you plan to add beer to your corned beef this St. Patrick's Day, you're on the right track. Whether cooked from scratch or reheated out of the can (don't skip rinsing the canned version), beer makes corned beef more flavorful and tender, and makes the smell in the kitchen even better. Any kind of beer will add more flavor to this already savory dish, but for incredibly succulent and flavor-infused corned beef, cook it with Guinness Stout.

Darker beers infuse a rich and malty flavor into corned beef that amplifies the natural flavors in meatier dishes (beer makes beef stew better, too). Out of all the dark beers to choose from on a holiday that celebrates Irish roots and Irish dishes, Guinness (either Stout or Extra Stout) is a perfect choice — after all, it is one of America's favorite Irish beers. Guinness also has a unique toasted bread kind of flavor with a full body, creating a melt-in-your-mouth texture and balancing out any over-salting. When combined with brown sugar, Guinness can create a sweet, savory, caramelized glaze that makes the whole dish that much better.

If you're out of Guinness or just want to try something else to use in corned beef this year, choose another kind of dark beer to add. Stouts, porters, and brown ales and brews with malty, chocolate undertones are the best beers to add to corned beef to create a deep and rich flavor profile. On a Reddit thread dedicated to the best beer for corned beef, one user wrote, "Definitely [choose] something roasty, toasty, and dark. Don't do a lighter ale and ... don't add an IPA. Learn from my mistakes." Select one that you like to drink, maybe one you're sipping on as you cook or want to enjoy with dinner.

If you're going to skip the Guinness, it makes sense to use an Irish stout like Murphy's Irish Stout to add flavor since corned beef has origins in St. Patrick's Day history. Other popular stouts to use include Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, and Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. Great options for darker ales and lagers include Shiner Bock, Brooklyn Brown Ale, and Saranac Brown Ale. Scotch Ales, like the Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Mountain Man Scotch Ale, can also add a caramel-like, malted note to corned beef.