Candy and Beer Pairings That Will Rock Your Party
Jackie Dodd-Mallory
(Senior Editor)
Candy & Beer Pairings that will rock your party. Â
Two of the greatest guilty pleasures in this world are candy and beer. With the extensive data base of flavors that craft beer has to offer, it’s easy to find the perfect beer to pair with any candy you can manifest. Earlier this year I helped Jelly Belly get the word out about their new Draft Beer Jelly Belly jelly bean, an easy task given that beer and candy make easy playmates.
When it comes to pairing the two, there are just a few small guidelines to keep in mind. Rules don’t exist, if you like it, it’s a good pairing. There are a few things to keep in mind when you decide which beers to drink with each candy.
Consider intensity. IPA’s are a big strong beer with a huge flavor presence, necessitating a candy that can take a punch. Pair an intense beer with an intense candy, it’s a lot of fun to experience two high flavors duke it out.
Consider texture. Smooth, mellow beers, like oatmeal stouts, go well with smooth creamy textures, like milk chocolates. While high carbonation beers can help cut a more sour candy.
Consider flavors. Every beer and every candy has a dominate flavor. Think of the dominate flavor in the beer and the candy, is it lemon? Chocolate? Caramel? Peach? Can you picture those two flavors meshing well?
When pairing beer and candy, pick two options and try them both. Go with your gut. Which one makes you want more? Even if it doesn’t make sense, that’s the one you want to serve.
No matter what you end up with, you’re still drinking beer and eating candy, there are no losers in that game. Have a great time, drink some great beer and don’t forget to share.
Check out my recommendations on How To Throw A Beer and Chocolate Party.
Beer and Candy Pairings
 
- Orange Jelly Belly Jelly Beans with Orange Wheat beer.
Beer suggestion: Hangar 24 Orange Wheat
- Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters with Brown Ale.
Beer Suggestion: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale or Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale
- Candy Corn with White Ale
Beer suggestion: Allagash White
- Caramel Corn with Belgian Dubbel Ale
Beer Suggestion: Ommegang Abbey Ale or The Lost Abbey, Lost & Found Abbey Ale
- Dark Chocolate Almonds with Chocolate Stout
Beer Suggestions: Bison Brewing Chocolate Stout or Rogue Double Chocolate Stout
- Peanut brittle with Scotch Ale
Beer suggestions: Moylan’s Brewery Kilt Lifter or AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
- Sour Gummy Worms with IPA
Beer Suggestions: Bear Republic Racer 5 or Sierra Nevada Torpedo
- Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels with Imperial Stout
Beer Suggestions: Old Rasputin or Stone Imperial Stout
- Crushed Pineapple Jelly Belly Jelly Beans with Saison (or a brett/wild ale)
Beer Suggstions: Great Divide Colette Farmhouse Ale or The Lost Abbey Carnevale
Comments
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar June 6, 2014 um 4:12 am
This post totally just made my day! Candy and beer all the way!
addie | culicurious June 6, 2014 um 4:26 am
This is great, Jackie! I love both of these things. 🙂 I’ve also pinned this to my "How To’s" board on Pinterest. What a great concept!
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm June 6, 2014 um 7:44 am
OMG Jackie, TOTALLY love this idea! YUMMMMMM! All the pairings sound amazing!
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen June 6, 2014 um 6:14 pm
Great pairings Jackie! I’ve not done much experimenting with candies and beer before, but it sounds like a great idea to me!
Samantha June 9, 2014 um 3:34 pm
One of my favorite beer and candy pairings is a framboise with peanut butter cups. It’s like a pb & j on chocolate bread. And Snickers are pretty awesome with porters or barkeywines.
Solen June 13, 2014 um 6:17 pm
Have you tried marshmallow and milk stout? It’s absolutely perfect!
Katie January 18, 2015 um 5:51 pm
Don’t forget Guinness and Riesens!
Mary lou April 17, 2015 um 10:37 am
Takes a look
Ruby Daly January 18, 2016 um 7:34 am
I have never thought of pairing beer with something different than fries or chips. But then again, I have never thought of the variety of beers there is. I will try some of these combinations for sure.
Lauren October 14, 2020 um 9:58 am
I love this! Thank you for sharing! Do you have any suggestions for St. Bernardus 12 or Chimay blue label? I am doing my own cnady and fruit parings and stuck on these two. Thank you!
Jackie October 14, 2020 um 10:24 am
St. Bernardus is a Quad. It’s really complex, so it could do a number of things. Try it with red hots, the cinnamon will pair well with the yeast and spice and it’s big enough to handle the heat. You could also go with dark chocolate twix, the cocoa and carmael will pair well with the malt.
Chimay is a Belgian dark ale, try dark chocolate covered raisins