The Best IPAs for All Your Favorite BBQ Foods

If you’re heading to a barbecue anytime this summer, two things are certain: you’re gonna eat at least one of the foods below, and someone’s gonna bring a 6-pack of piney, citrusy, assertive (you might say bitter), high ABV, deliciously divisive IPAs. Also known as Imperial Pale Ale, IPAs are known for their extra hoppiness. 

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Hops, FYI, are cone-shaped flowers of the plant Humulus lupulus. They also help stabilize all varieties of beer and impart a massive variety of flavors―from piney and herbal to bright and citrusy and beyond. And despite what you may have heard, IPAs can pair really, really well with your standard BBQ menu. So whether you’re the person bringing the IPA, or whether you’re wondering what IPA might go best with a classic grilled burger or your famous Carolina-style pulled pork, here are some of the best bottles to go with your next BBQ.

Hamburger/Cheeseburger

To be honest, it all depends on how you take your burger. We’re going with a medium-rare burger, with the distinct grill char but also enough umami-rich juiciness left to stand up to a thirst-quenching IPA. Lucky for us, either hamburger or cheeseburger should pair really well with Sam Adams (hugely available) New England Juicy IPA―an East Coast style (less assertively hoppy), juicy and hazy, but with more malt present to match the meat. 

Hot Dog

Let’s say you’ve got a classic, grilled-to-snapping perfection beef or pork (or veg) hot dog. Yet again the char factor does a lot, but in pairing for an IPA, I’d say follow your choice of toppings. Ketchup: a maltier IPA like Rosie’s Red―still a hoppy West Coast IPA with lots of citrusy, bracing edge, but also notes of tart red fruit. Mustard: something assertive but still bright and complex, like the Juicy Jay East Coast IPA, complete with the softly fleshy fruitiness of the East Coast style of IPA (think stone fruit, melon, even banana). 

Ribs

Yet again preparation is king, and key, and all the things here: sticky sweet pork ribs (like, “I’m actually gonna wear a bib” ribs) would go very well with any session IPA (which you can gulp a bit more readily thanks to its lower ABV) to cut the sweetness. But low-and-slow smoked and yet still-meltingly-fatty dry-rubbed ribs would be a happier pair with a hoppier IPA―like Hill Farmstead’s Double Citra, a higher-ABV double IPA that pairs perfectly with meaty, complex dry rubbed meats thanks to a mega emphasis on just one hop variety (Citra). Expect tropical and citrus fruit, grassy florals, and some fleshy malt playing around all the piney, peppery, bright, and bracing hops. 

Chicken Kebabs

If you’re lucky, you’re eating the kind of chicken kebab made simply, blissfully, with bottled Italian dressing. And if you’re really lucky, you can pair that (ideally) still juicy, gently charred chicken and herbal notes from the dressing with any West Coast IPA, though the softly piney, slightly fleshier citrus of Stone Delicious IPA leans nicely into the Mediterraneanness of it all. (For a non-alc option try the citrus and soft white grape of Athletic Brewing’s Vita Chiara.) 

Chips and Guac

Ah, chips and guacamole―a BBQ staple, also frequent life-saver of the grill-master in the event of a food delay. Chips and guac also happen to pair very well with a variety of IPAs (sweet corn, saltiness, rich avocado for all the hoppiness to karate-chop right through). But the soft, tropical fruity notes of Slow Jam (Juicy IPA) from Rhinegeist might just be too perfect to pass up. 

Watermelon

See, here you could almost just swap out the watermelon and swap in the Ship Bottom Watermelon Sunset Double IPA or, especially if you’re winding down, go for Edge Hill Hazy IPA from Tom Holland’s non-alc line BERO. You’ll get tropical fruit, lime, and juicy, thirst-slaking hops―basically adding refreshment to refreshment.