Drunken black beans don’t need much to be seriously delicious. Just some aromatics, beans, and beer is all it really takes to whip up a batch yourself. However, a lot of people simply default to whatever beer is in the fridge, which can be a mistake, because choosing the right beer can turn this from a side dish into something you’d happily devour all on its own.
Chef Rick Bayless, owner of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco, and Bar Sótano, spoke exclusively with Chowhound and told us that you have to use a beer with a round, balanced flavor. And this is important: The beer isn’t an add-on or a garnish to simply be added in at the end. “It becomes part of the liquid for simmering the beans,” he says. “I like it added from the very beginning.” You need to make sure you pour in the beer in at the start of cooking and let it simmer down along with everything else so by the time the beans are ready, the beer’s flavor will be woven into the dish. No one wants beans with beer just floating on top.
While any beer will technically work, different beers will affect the flavor, especially as hops can go bitter when cooked. And the wasteful mistake everyone makes with canned black beans is draining and rinsing away all that thick liquid it comes floating in. That starchy liquid can actually add even more body and flavor, when integrated with the beer and other flavors early in the cooking process.
Pick a beer with character, not bite
So now you know that not all beers are worthy of getting beans drunk. Something bitter, for example, will undoubtedly take over the whole dish, and bitter definitely isn’t a flavor profile we’re looking for here. You want something with just enough personality, something toasty, or maybe a little nutty, but nothing that’s trying too hard and is overpowering. Rick Bayless pointed out XX Ambar as a good go-to, but amber lagers would also be an option here; they bring an almost caramel-like quality that could bring some warmth without making the beans taste too sweet or strange.
Negra Modelo would also make a great stand-in, with its creamy and mellow taste profile. But if you only have light lagers in the fridge, you can still whip up a great batch of drunken black beans, just be aware that the resulting tastes will be a little softer. And if you’ve ever wondered “what’s the difference between lager and pilsner?” — pilsner is just a snappier, more assertive type of lager, which may be one of the reasons Mexican beer is served with a lime as the citrusy brightness works to balance out the mellow flavor.
