A Sprinkle Of Salt Does Wonders For Cheap Beer

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If you have a case of bitter, cheap lagers in the fridge left over from a party and you don't want to let them go to waste, you can always add a pinch of salt. Beers that lack enough sweet malt to balance out the bitter hops, use water that is high in sulfate, or add the hops at the start of the boil may be unpleasantly bitter for some people. Cheap brewers will often not worry about the delicate art of creating a good balance between bitter and sweet. For those, salt can work wonders.

Salt can reduce the perception of bitterness by countering the offending compounds. This trick is similar to one of our tips on how to brew coffee. A small pinch of salt will also help reduce bitterness in coffee that has been over-extracted, roasted darker than you prefer, or uses low-quality beans (don't add it to every cup). It's the same with beer; there's no need to immediately salt an American-style IPA when the point is to have a bitterness (just order a lager next time). But a pinch of it in a poorly made lager will bring out a bit of sweetness. You can use salt in sours, as well. German goses balance out the sourness with a hit of salt brewed in the ale. If the pint in front of you is a struggle to finish, even if it's supposed to be aggressively sour or bitter, a little salt will help you enjoy the rest.

All you need is a pinch, shake, or dash of salt to improve the taste of a can of beer. If the first bit isn't enough, try adding a little more; it doesn't take a lot. Birra Moretti makes a sale di mare beer with 0.1 grams of sodium in each 11.2 fluid ounces bottle, which is about ⅓ of a pinch. Adding salt is relatively common throughout the American South and Texas, Mexico, and further south. In Mexico, cerveza preparada (prepared beer) will usually come with salt and lime. One example is the michelada, a savory beer cocktail akin to a Bloody Mary, which often combines salt, tomato and clam juice, broth, and lime with beer.

Whatever table, kosher, or sea salt you have on hand will work. If you want to get fancy with it, there is such a thing as beer salt, which often comes with flavorings that will give a simple lager a little something extra. You can find Twang Beer Salts on Amazon in flavors like lemon, chili-lime, dill pickle, and cucumber chili lime.