The Role of Beer in Beer Batter | Cook's Illustrated (2024)
Beer batter—made by combining beer (usually a lighter style such as a lager), egg, and flour—is often used to coat fish, onion rings, and other types of pub-style fare before deep-frying. Though we’ve found that including hard liquor in the batter can lead to more-tender results in tempura, the alcohol in most lagers and pilsners is so low (about 5 percent by volume) that its effect would be minimal at best. Far more important is the fact that beer is carbonated, which affects the batter in two ways. First, the bubbles provide lift as they escape from the batter during frying. Second, the carbonation makes the batter slightly more acidic, which limits how much gluten can form when the beer and flour mix, preventing the batter from turning tough. This is because gluten forms most readily in a pH of 5 to 6, while most carbonated beverages share a similar pH of 4 (unless they contain a strongly acidic ingredient). In theory any bubbly drink with a neutral or appropriate flavor profile could serve as a substitute. To prove this point, we fried fish in batters made with beer, nonalcoholic beer, seltzer, and water and found that all the batches with a carbonated beverage did indeed lead to noticeably lighter, lacier crusts than the batter made with plain water. In sum, carbonation and pH are the biggest factors in delivering a better batter-fried crust, so feel free to use bubbly substitutes such as nonalcoholic beer or seltzer water.
First, the bubbles provide lift as they escape from the batter during frying. Second, the carbonation makes the batter slightly more acidic, which limits how much gluten can form when the beer and flour mix, preventing the batter from turning tough.
Beer batter is a batter for deep frying that is made by adding beer to a mixture of seasoned flour and (sometimes) eggs. The beer adds flavor, helps ensure a beautiful brown color, and the carbonation creates a crispy crust.
For flavor, most recipes using beer do best with a malty, low-bitterness beer, like a marzen, scotch ale, or (maybe) amber ale. Highly-hopped "put hair on your chest" IPAs are a bad idea: you don't want that bitterness.
Found among the beer and wine, but lacking the alcohol, is the perfect swap for beer battered fish: club soda. Full of bubbles due to its carbonation, club soda can give the same lightness to a batter as beer would.
Beer contains yeast which can add to anything you are cooking that needs to rise. The carbonation in beer can also make baked goods light and fluffy. Beer bread is an obvious example of this, as well as pizza dough (check out my recipe for beer pizza dough that I shared here).
Vodka is more volatile than water, so evaporates quicker, drying out the batter faster and more violently. That creates larger bubbles, even more surface area, resulting in a much crispier crust. Vodka also inhibits the production of gluten. This creates a batter that can.
That same carbonation and the slight acidity of the beer also helps create a batter that's very tender and flaky. You can get these same results with bubbly water or a NA beer. Don't use sugary sodas or other drinks, though—they are too sweet for this fish recipe.
Some people leave this step out and just stick to a basic beer-and-flour batter, which is perfectly effective. But, beating in an egg helps to add a little body and golden richness to the batter, helping it to crisp up a little more nicely.
This beer batter recipe is not complicated. It calls for just 2 ingredients: beer and self-rising flour. The beer should be cold, and don't sift the flour or over-whisk the batter — a few lumps make for a better texture.
Beer is a popular ingredient in batters used to coat foods before frying. One reason is that a basic batter can be made from merely flour, beer, and some salt. The purpose of using beer is so the bubbles in the beer will add body and lightness to the batter.
First, the bubbles provide lift as they escape from the batter during frying. Second, the carbonation makes the batter slightly more acidic, which limits how much gluten can form when the beer and flour mix, preventing the batter from turning tough.
Lehmann notes that improved flavor is the main benefit of adding beer to pizza dough. “Some people say it adds a more malty flavor,” he says. “In our experiments with some mainstream light beers, we found they did not add much in terms of taste, even in blind taste tests—robust or full-flavored beers worked better.
Beer adds a rich, earthy flavor to soups and stews that makes them taste like they've been simmering for hours. Beers with a sweet or nutty taste can add depth to desserts. And don't worry about getting drunk – virtually all of the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process.
Beer not only adds flavor to baked goods, but it boosts the leavening. It's also an excellent substitute for milk in baked goods, meaning you don't have to dip into your supply.
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