Cookout and vegan-friendly beer pairings

July 2, 12:32 AMNY Beer Pairing ExaminerElizabeth Willse

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Virginia Messina, the Seattle Vegan Examiner asked about vegan-friendly beer pairings for Fourth of July.  "Vegans love beer!" she says.  She's got several tasty vegan cookout options here.

She's looking for a good. vegan-suitable beer pairing for vegan chili dogs.

General Notes on Cookout Beer:

Summer backyard barbecues pair well with refreshing light-to-medium-bodied IPAs, Pilsners, lagers and lighter ales.  That's especially true when veggies are on the grill, or when you're looking for a beer that would quench a little chili fire.  You want something that will harmonize with the food, while also being thirst-quenching on a hot summer day.  Maybe even a summer brew, lighter, crisper, a little citrusy.

About Vegan Beer:

Not all beers are vegan-friendly.  That has to do with the ingredients, and also with the way the beer is processed.  Beers using honey, of course, wouldn't work for vegans (and would taste rather strange paired with chili dogs, anyway.)  Vegans need to watch for other additives like casein, gelatin or isinglass (a fish byproduct) sometimes used in beer processing, cask conditioning in particular.  Cask conditioning is an English technique.  Isinglass is added as part of the cask conditioning process, after fermentation.  Cask conditioned beers are typically served on tap in bars, though, so it is unlikely they'd factor into a vegan backyard cookout.

 I used these two lists to sleuth out vegan-friendly breweries and beers:

Barnivore.com
VeganConnection.com

Back to the Chili Dogs:

Finding a good taste pairing that echoes chili and cookout flavors while staying vegan friendly becomes fairly easy with all those options.  While a grilled portobello mushroom, or a mushroom-intensive veggie burger would have the earthy flavor to pair with a medium to darker ale, lighter, crisper pilsners will probably work best with bean or tofu-based options and other ingredients. Dos Equis and Corona are both vegan-friendly and often typical go-to beers for Tex Mex and chili pairings.  But there's so much more out there!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is vegan friendly, and would be more full bodied than Corona.  All of Victory Brewing Company's beers are vegan-friendly (except when cask-conditioned).  While Victory Golden Monkey  has great spices that would play off the chili dogs nicely, its alcohol is way to strong for a muggy day's cookout.  Go with the Prima Pils instead.  Sixpoint Craft Ales, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, is vegan friendly and has a few great candidates.  Righteous Rye would have a nice bite, and Six Point Sweet Action has a citrusy, grapefruity flavor that would be thirst-quenching for a backyard barbecue, and harmonize with a well-spiced chili.

The pairing possibilities could go on longer than a July 4th Weekend.  What are your favorite cookout beers?  Pairings with chili dogs?  Check these lists and see if they're vegan friendly!