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Home/Blogs/5 Beers That Belong at Every BBQ
Great BBQ food deserves a great beer to go with it. The right pint can lift a simple burger into something worth remembering, cut through the smoke of a rack of ribs, or cool you down after standing over hot coals all afternoon.
At Birmingham Brewing Company, every beer we brew is vegan and gluten-free, made right here in Birmingham using 100% renewable energy. That means everyone at the table can grab a can without a second thought, whatever they’re eating.
Fancy trying a few styles before you decide? Head over to our online shop and let your guests pick their favourite.
Not every beer earns its place at a barbecue. The best summer beers share a few things in common, and once you know what to look for, picking the best beers for a BBQ becomes easy.
Refreshing flavour: Warm weather calls for something crisp and thirst-quenching, not heavy or overly rich.
Good balance: A great BBQ beer balances a touch of sweetness with just enough bite, so it never feels one-note.
Food-friendly styles: Beer for a BBQ needs to hold its own against smoke, char, and sauce, without drowning out the food.
Sessionability: BBQs run long. You want beers you can enjoy a few of across the afternoon without feeling weighed down.
Variety for different guests: Everyone has different tastes, so having a spread of styles on hand makes hosting far easier.
This is also where vegan beer and gluten-free beer come into their own. When you’re hosting a mixed group, having a full range that everyone can drink, whatever their diet, takes one thing off your plate. All of our beers fit that brief, so nobody’s left working out what they can and can’t have.
If you only bring one beer to the BBQ, make it Pale Brummie. It's our best-selling pale ale, and for good reason. It's balanced, easy-drinking and never tries too hard, which makes it the safest crowd-pleaser on this list.
Pale ales work so well at a barbecue because they sit right in the middle. There's enough hoppy bite (that's the slightly bitter, citrusy edge hops give a beer) to keep things interesting, but not so much that it overpowers the food. That balance is what makes Pale Brummie such a dependable choice when you don't know exactly what everyone fancies.
Pairs well with:Like the rest of our range, Pale Brummie is vegan and gluten-free.
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Once the marinades and the chilli sauce come out, you need a beer with a bit more backbone. That's where Gold Brummie steps in. As our IPA, it brings a bolder, hoppier finish than Pale Brummie, which is exactly what smoky, spicy and chargrilled food calls for.
Bigger flavours need a beer that won't get lost next to them, and the extra hop punch in Gold Brummie does just that. It cuts straight through a sticky glaze or a chilli-heavy rub. Think of it as the beer for the bolder dishes on the grill.
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When the sun's out, and you just want something light and easy, reach for Stirchley Lager. It's the classic choice for a reason. Crisp, clean and served ice-cold, it's built for exactly the moments a BBQ creates: standing in the garden, plate in hand, sun on your face.
Lager works so well in summer because it refreshes rather than fills you up. It's the kind of beer you can drink steadily through the afternoon without it competing with the food, which makes it one of the most versatile summer beers you can put on ice.
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Not everyone drinking at a BBQ wants alcohol, and that shouldn't mean missing out on flavour. Sober Brummie is a proper beer, just without the alcohol, so it belongs on the table just as much as anything else on this list.
There are plenty of reasons someone might reach for it. Drivers need something they can enjoy without worrying about getting home. A midday BBQ often calls for something lighter before the evening properly gets going. Others might be working the next day, or simply prefer to pace themselves while still tasting something with real character.
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Stout might not be the first beer you think of for summer, but hear us out. Once the grill has been going a while and the smoke has properly worked its way into the food, a rich, dark stout is exactly what you need. It's a beer built for the later stages of a BBQ, when the sun's dropping, and the flavours on the plate have deepened.
The roasted, chocolatey notes in Stout Brummie are a natural match for smoky, rich food, and even work well alongside pudding if the BBQ runs into the evening.
Pairs well with:As with every beer we brew, Stout Brummie is vegan and gluten-free, including the popular gluten-free stout in our range.
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Every BBQ brings together a mix of tastes. Some guests want something light and crisp, others want big flavour, and some don't want alcohol at all. Rather than guessing, a mixed case takes the pressure off.
It's a simple way to let everyone try a few different styles without you having to overthink who drinks what. Pop a mixed case in the fridge and let people help themselves. And with free delivery on orders over £40, stocking up for the whole BBQ couldn't be easier.
Shop Mixed CasesWe’ve been brewing in Stirchley since 2016, and we’re still an independent business, brewing every beer on-site using 100% renewable energy.
That’s also why the whole range works for a BBQ crowd without any exceptions or asterisks. There’s no “gluten-free option” tucked away on the side. Every beer we sell, from the lager to the stout, is vegan and gluten-free as standard. Order online whenever suits you, with free delivery on all orders over £40, so getting BBQ-ready is as easy as a few clicks.
The best summer beers for a BBQ are ones that balance refreshment with flavour. A crisp lager like Stirchley Lager suits lighter dishes, while a pale ale such as Pale Brummie works well across most BBQ food. For bolder flavours, an IPA like Gold Brummie cuts through smoky or spicy dishes.
Yes, every beer we brew, including our ales, lagers, bitters and stout, is 100% gluten-free. Unlike gluten-free beers brewed with alternative grains, we brew with traditional ingredients like wheat and barley for full flavour, then clear each batch of gluten using a special enzyme, so it's genuinely suitable for anyone with a gluten sensitivity or coeliac disease.
Vegan beer is becoming much easier to find, and our entire range is vegan. That's a direct result of the same enzyme process we use to make our beers gluten-free.
A stout, like Stout Brummie, pairs particularly well with smoky food. Its roasted, chocolatey character comes through even against rich, chargrilled flavours in a way lighter beers can't.
Yes. Sober Brummie is a full-flavoured alcohol-free beer, ideal for drivers or anyone who wants to enjoy a BBQ without the alcohol.
Whatever’s on the grill, there’s a beer in our range to go with it. Explore the wider collection, including mixed packs built for sharing, and get your fridge BBQ-ready.
