Kitchen

[hovis]

I am making chili and the recipe calls for 1 cup of lager beer. Can I use regular beer ? Thanks.

[Desertdi]

I don't see what difference it makes, especially in cooking.    (Lager is just "cold" fermentation)

[Nightowlz]

Yes. DH makes chili with beer & uses what he has on hand. Sometimes it's store bought & sometimes it's his own brew. Beer has many different flavors/tastes so go by that.

How to pair food & beer. http://www.epicurious.com/archive/drinking/beer/beerpairings

[chickenbutt]

I agree with the others that you can use a regular type beer.  I do.

That said, however, the use of the much heavier type of beer does impart more of an earthy flavor that has complexity you won't find in another type of beer.

If that depth of flavor FROM the beer is important to you, then I'd just buy a bottle of that to use.   In all the grocery stores where I shop you can just buy one bottle of quite a few choices.

I'm not one for heavier beers.  In fact, when I would drink beer I always preferred something extremely light, like Bud Light or Michelob Ultra.   So, I usually would use one of those for cooking.   It's mostly a preference thing, in terms of what you want from the beer.  

[software]

You can buy beer by the bottle almost anywhere.

I usually keep a couple of bottles of the heavier bodied beers just for cooking.

But you can use regular, it won't taste the same.

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@hovis wrote:

I am making chili and the recipe calls for 1 cup of lager beer. Can I use regular beer ? Thanks.

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[Kachina624]

The flavor of chili is so strong,  I bet you can't even taste the beer.   I'd probably substitute water and I bet you couldn't tell the difference.   Somebody is just trying to make a recipe sound exotic. 

[Starpolisher]

I always add beer to my chili. I have tried many different ones but prefer to use one that I enjoy drinking. I don't like most lager beers. My personal favorite is Corona. Hope your chili was delicious!

[hovis]

Okay I made the chili but I think it is a little too spicey. How can I tame it down ?

[Nightowlz]

The recipe DH uses calls for some carrots to tone down the heat. They will sweeten it a little & since they are porous they will absorb some of that heat.

You could also try adding a little sugar at a time & tasting it.

Add some acid like tomato sauce with the addition of some more beans.

Stir in a tablespoon of sour cream or plain yogurt at a time & taste. 

[VaBelle35]

I make my own chili and I use a bottle of beer.  I've foudn that the best for my chili is Miller Genuine Draft.  But if I don't want to buy and entire 6 pack, I will buy an Oat Stout.  I believe it's Smith's.