Just like a restaurant's sommeliere picks the best wine to go with your meal, our beer experts have done the same, choosing beer pairings to partner up with four of our popular wings baskets. The suds were thoughtfully weighed, taking into consideration the wings' flavorings and how they would taste in comparison to a beer type, based on the drink's hoppiness, sweetness, finish, flavor, and other factors that either complement or contrast with the food.
The next time you visit, consider one of our perfect pairings and see if we can't tickle your tastebuds.
1. 10 Traditional Bourbon BBQ Medium Wings and New Belgium Citradelic IPA.
IPAs (India Pale Ales) are best known for their bitter flavor and high alcohol content. It can be said that IPAs are more of a developed taste and not for everyone. However, that bitterness is transformed when paired with the sweetness of our medium-heat Bourbon BBQ wings. What you'll find is that the slightly bitter hop notes and the tropical fruit and pine flavors of the Citradelic will cut through the sweetness and nicely contrast with the wings.
Unless you have an insatiable sweet tooth, avoid pairing Bourbon BBQ wings with sweeter beers like barrel-aged stouts, ciders, or fruited ales.
2. 10 Traditional Sweet Thai Chili Medium Wings and Angry Orchard Rosé or Budweiser
When eating wings that already have a bit of a sweet-yet-spicy kick to them, thanks to the Thai chili sauce, the aim is to balance out that heat with a crisp, refreshing beer like an Angry Orchard Rosé. The flowery, fruity notes in the Angry Orchard will brighten and complement your meal. Or, consider drinking a Budweiser, a beer with bready malt flavors that will cleanse the palate after putting away a basket of wings.
It's best to avoid beers with chocolatey notes to them (like stouts and porters) when eating sweet and spicy foods.
3. 10 Traditional Medium Buffalo Wings and Coors Light
If you're going traditional, why not go traditional all the way, including an all-American beer like Coors Light? American light lagers' malt flavoring and subtle hops cool your tastebuds and offer a neutral taste with which to cleanse your palate so each bite tastes as good as the last.
Avoid drinking fruity beers when sitting down to a traditional wing order with medium-spicy Buffalo sauce as you'll be left with that fruity taste, which is the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish with the cleansing effects of the lagers.
4. 10 Traditional Teriyaki Medium Wings and Guinness
Teriyaki sauce has a sweet and toasty flavor. What better way to complement it than with a dark, malty beer like Guinness? The dry finish of a dark malt beer keeps the sweetness of the wings from overpowering your palate. The notes of coffee, malt, and roasted barley match the wings nearly note-for-note.
Not a Guinness fan? No problem. The only beers you should absolutely avoid are the sour ales as the sour would cancel out the sweet of the teriyaki and leave a literal bitter taste in your mouth.
Ready to try one of our wings and beer pairings? Then head down to your neighborhood Buffalo Wings & Rings or call ahead for a carry-out order. Either way, we're sure you'll rethink the way you drink.
