Hot Sauce in Beer: Is It as Delicious as They Say?

Hot sauce in beer: If you’ve ever heard anything about it, there’s a chance that you recoiled from the idea. Everyone likes their beer in different ways, so the taste that works for you might not work for others. For most people, the plain taste of beer just won’t do, so they came up with different ways to improve the taste.

In this guide, we would look at the different ways to make hot sauce in beer!

Why Mixing Hot Sauce and Beer?

First, some of the methods for mixing hot sauce and beer would even make the cheapest beer taste good, so you can enjoy your beer in the comfort of your home with an extra kick. According to many beer consumers, putting hot sauce in beer is a great experience, especially when you drink from a can.

Second, as you may have inferred, hot sauce and beer is an easy way to prepare a cocktail. The mix, in fact, is technically a cocktail since it is a mixed alcoholic beverage, but it does not need any real thought process since it’s pretty easy to make. Although it seems like a mistake to put hot sauce in beer, it would turn out to be pretty delicious regardless of how you do it.

Mixing beer with hot sauce is like a Michelada. This is a Mexican concoction where you combine light beer with tomato puree or tomato juice, salt and spices. But, it’s much easier to make than this, and you can always add lime to your can of beer for extra freshness.

How To Make Hot Sauce and Beer

If you’re drinking out of a beer can and not a cup, you can make it by squirting the hot sauce all over the top of the can and into it until it almost reaches the lip. This would give you a different experience from the normal beer-drinking out of cups or with straws. You can also squeeze lime into the beer can to add an acidic taste.

But if you pour your beer in a cup instead of the can, you can simply pour a few drops of hot sauce into it. You can also add a few drops of lime afterwards. Here are some more complex recipes you can try out:

– Tabasco in Beer

If you use the Tabasco hot sauce brand, you can try something unique while making your beer. Firstly, cut the fresh lime in half and rub it around your beer mug to moisten it, then dip the mug rim lightly in salt. Then, fill the mug halfway through with ice, add three shakes of salt and squeeze juice from the remaining lime. Then, you can add the Tabasco sauce and fill the mug with beer. Mix the concoction and enjoy your mug of beer.

– Bloody Beer

You can also make beer with a Bloody Mary mix and wheat or golden beer. First, you add the Bloody Mary mix to your cup and pour in the beer slowly. Then, season the mix with hot sauce and add any other vegetables that you want, like pepper, celery and green beans. Now, you can enjoy your cup of bloody beer.

– Mexican Beer with Hot Sauce

You can make a cup of Michelada yourself, and enjoy the refreshing summer taste with Worcestershire sauce and normal hot sauce. You need to make the salt rim for your glass first, by mixing chili with salt in a shallow dish. Rub the cut side of the juiced lime on your glass and dip the glass into the dish to make a salt rim.

Then, fill the glass with lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Add a pinch of salt, fill the glass with ice and top it up with as much beer as you want. Then, stir it gently and mix it up. If you don’t find a Mexican beer brand, know that Heineken and hot sauce works just as well.

– Light Beer and Cayenne-Based Sauce

If you buy Cayenne-based hot sauce, you can expect to taste hints of vinegar and salt. This would affect the taste of your light beer, so this mix is ideal if you want an intense spicy taste.

You can decide to pour the hot sauce all over the top of the can, but a unique way to enjoy this mixture is by taking them one by one. You can alternate tasting the hot sauce on your chips with drinking the beer. This would cool your tongue down temporarily and give you a unique contrast of flavors.

– Red Eye Cocktail

The red-eye cocktail is another experiment you can make with your beer which would give you a different taste on your palate. It would also make a great drink during brunch.

To make this cocktail, you need a tomato mixture made with hot sauce, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, and black pepper. You need to stir it with Old Bay and add some horseradish on top to taste. Ensure the mix of sauces is well-blended before mixing it with the beer.

Pour the tomato sauce first, then fill the rest of the cup with as much beer as you want. You can also add some lime and more hot sauce to intensify the taste before drinking.

– Simple Hot Sauce Recipe

With a can of beer, lime wedge, salt and hot sauce, you can make your hot sauce in beer wherever you are. Simply add a dash of salt to the rim of the can and then pour mild hot sauce from the top. Next, place the lime wedge at the edge of the rim and you can start enjoying the can of beer. With mild hot sauce, you don’t have to worry about the peppery flavor overshadowing the taste of beer.

How Does Hot Sauce Change Beer?

Beer can be either sweet, sour or bitter depending on the storage process and what it was made with, so not all beers have the same taste. There is no set taste for beer, which means that there is no set taste for a hot sauce and beer mixture.

The taste can change when you add the hot sauce, depending on the type of beer that you are drinking and whether it is bitter, sweet or sour. How hot the hot sauce is can also factor in, and you don’t want the hot and spicy flavor to take away the taste of the beer you’re drinking.

– Enhancing the Sweet and Malty Notes of Light Beer

Hot sauce contains salt and acids, and so adding a little bit of this in your beer will bring out any minor malty or subtle sweet taste notes in it. This is especially helpful when you’re drinking light beer, since their tastes are usually simple and plain. The spice in the hot sauce would also cleanse your palate and reduce the amount of bitterness that beers usually have.

So, you get a sweeter taste of beer and a cleaner palate with no annoying after tastes when you mix the hot sauce in beer. If a few drops of your hot sauce of choice change the taste of beer drastically, know that the effect is milder when you douse the top of a beer can.

If you look at it from the perspective of what beer is made of, it becomes easier to understand this concoction. Beer is alcohol, malty sugars, yeast and water, which makes it a bit like bread when it comes to the ingredients. So, dousing hot sauce in your beer is nothing strange.

Asides from hot sauce, you can add salt, lime, and Worcestershire sauce to your beer to further enhance the taste.

Other Ways To Improve the Taste of Beer Aside from Hot Sauce

If you want to try out other recipes, there are different ways to improve the taste of beer aside from adding hot sauce. The hot sauce might be the simplest and most accessible way since most people have a bottle sitting in their fridge.

– Citrus

For one, you can mix beer with citrus, although most people know this. The combination of bitter beer and any citrus fruit is a great taste, but you should avoid doing this with dark beer.

– Soda

Light-colored soda is another way to improve your beer before drinking. Since there are different types of soda, you can match your beer with the different soft drinks until you find one that fits your taste buds. You can get started with your favorite can of soda.

– Apple Juice

You can also mix apple juice with your beer to give you a sour and unique flavor. It’s better to mix these one to one, and it would make the beer very easy to drink. It’s a good idea for those who are new to beer drinking.

– Salt

As mentioned earlier, salt would also enhance the taste of your beer, although you should check to ensure the brewery didn’t already add it. It makes the taste of beer crispier.

FAQ

Does hot sauce amplify alcohol in beer?

No, hot sauce does not amplify alcohol in beer. Hot sauce and alcohol do not have any chemical reactions that affect the alcohol content in beer.

Does boiling hot sauce stop fermentation in beer?

No, boiling hot sauce does not stop fermentation in beer. Fermentation is a complex biochemical process that occurs within the beer and is not affected by hot sauce.

Do people put Tabasco in beer?

Yes, some people put Tabasco in beer. Tabasco can add a spicy and savory flavor to beer, making it a popular choice for those who enjoy a little extra kick in their brew.

Conclusion: Try It Out Whenever You Want!

There’s no harm in experimenting and trying out new things. So, even if you’re wary about mixing hot sauce in beer, you can try it once with any of the simple recipes. You can start by pouring the hot sauce all over your beer can and giving it a sip. If it suits your fancy, you can move on to other cocktails and concoctions. But as many beer lovers and tasters have attested to, there’s no better way to enjoy beer than with hot sauce!