A wedding is one of the best days of your life, but planning it is daunting. You have to think about many things, from the number of guests to the alcoholic beverages you’ll serve. The latter can be tricky, as different people enjoy different drinks, so your drink card should be versatile.
Serving beer at your wedding is a must, as there will be people on your guest list who enjoy this refreshing alcoholic drink. With a wide selection of domestic and imported beers on the market, choosing the best beer for a wedding can be challenging since you have to consider several factors.
Here’s how to do it.
Factors to Consider when Choosing Beers for a Wedding
Before hitting the liquor stores, consider:
- Wedding season: You should adapt your wedding beer selection to the season and time of the day when your reception is. Dark beers are the best options for a fall or winter wedding, while summer and daytime weddings call for light, refreshing beers with floral and citrusy notes.
- Guests’ preferences: You know the people who come to your wedding, and you probably know their drinking habits. Assuming most of them are beer drinkers, you should provide a solid drink selection to satisfy their palates.
- Food pairing: Beer selection for your big day also depends on the food you serve. For example, light beer pairs with cheese, seafood, and fruity desserts. Dark beers go well with chocolate desserts, smoked meat, barbecues, and steaks. You can opt for beers that pair well with most foods, like amber ale.
- Drinking theme: You can come up with unique ideas for serving beer, for example, in a little canoe or brewery style. Depending on the drinking theme, you can decide on craft beers or store-bought ones.
10 Best Wedding Beers
Below, we suggest different beer styles and brands you can include in your drink card, including domestic and imported beers:
- Budweiser and Bud Light
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
- Coors and Coors Light
- Fat Tire
- Blue Moon
- Heineken
- Corona
- Amstel
- Guinness Draught
- Bierstadt Lagerhaus’s Dunkel
1. Budweiser and Bud Light
Budweiser is an American-style lager that most of your guests have probably tried but don’t mind enjoying again. Due to its low alcohol content and smooth and crisp taste, this beer goes down in seconds.
Bud Light contains less alcohol and calories than Budweiser, but it doesn’t lack flavors. Barley malt gives it a slight sweetness, but it’s still a refreshing, easy-drinking beer that goes well with most foods. Both Bud Light and Budweiser are the perfect choice for your spring or summer wedding.
2. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada is a classic American beer you can serve any way you want as it suits most foods, from spicy dishes to salads and lean meats. The only drawback is that you can hardly find it in kegs, but you can buy it in bottles or cans in any liquor store.
This is one of the popular beers most newlyweds will serve at their weddings, regardless of the season. Malt flavors dominate it, but you can sense hops in there, too, and some pine, citrusy, and floral notes.
3. Coors, Coors Light, and Blue Moon
Another classic American lager, Coors is an excellent choice for your wedding guests, whether they’re avid or occasional drinkers. It offers banana bread and bubblegum flavors with the first sips, and when it reaches your throat, you can feel a mouthful of rich malt and grains. It pairs best with spicy foods, burgers, and fatty fish.
Coors Light is a refreshing, bubbly beer perfect for summer weddings. With a delicate malt and hops flavor and modest bitterness, this beer will satisfy your guests’ thirst, especially when served cold.
4. Fat Tire Ale
In case you plan a fall wedding, Fat Tire Ale is an excellent choice for your alcohol selection. This popular craft beer has low alcohol content and a body of flavors reminiscent of holidays (grains, biscuits, and roasted nuts).
Thanks to earthy notes, Fat Tire will complement roasted meat or vegetables and all sorts of meaty dishes. This amber ale is one of the domestic beers that can be in your open bar along with other craft beers from your local brewery. It can tackle even those guests who drink beer not too often.
5. Blue Moon
Another beer from Coors Brewery you should try is Blue Moon, which can be a pleasant choice if you want something different. This wheat beer has a creamy body loaded with citrus flavors, with a hint of coriander.
Wheat beers are beer equivalents to white wine, meaning they go well with seafood, veggie dishes, and meal salads. Due to its light, fizzy texture, Blue Moon should be on your drink card for your summer or spring wedding.
6. Heineken
Heineken is a popular choice among imported wedding beers, not only because of its worldwide fame but also due to its sophisticated taste that beats most domestic beers. It’s also an excellent option when you’re on a budget.
This Dutch pale lager is one of the best European beers. It has medium to low ABV, with a mild taste that feels good on your palate. Its balance of sweetness and bitterness is unmatched, and the aromas of green apple and sweet corn give it a unique taste. Pair Heineken with meat, fatty fish, and spicy dishes.
7. Corona
This Mexican beer will add diversity to your wedding beer options. It features excellent drinkability and a mild but not too watery texture. Sweetness pops up first, but after a few sips, you can feel slight hits on the finish.
Corona is a typical beer for weddings on warm days. It lacks flavor complexity, so you can serve this beer with a lime wedge, as this hint of citrus complements the beer’s sweetness and bitterness.
8. Amstel
Amstel is a smooth, easy-drinking Dutch lager with malt sweetness and hop bitterness. The result is a unique flavor profile that leaves a pleasant aftertaste in your mouth. That’s why you might want to serve it after your wedding banquet, with desserts and fruits.
As with most European drinks, this beer isn’t always easy to find, so if you want it on your wedding drink card, start planning before your wedding date.
9. Guinness Draught
Guinness is known for its excellence in making dark lagers, so these dark beers will be perfect for serving at your winter wedding. This beer has a creamy texture full of flavors, with fruity, chocolaty, and coffee aromas that put bitterness under control.
Despite loads of sweet flavors, Guinness Draught isn’t too sweet. It’s actually bittersweet, with a smooth finish. Because of that, it can be served with spicy, salty food and creamy chocolate desserts.
10. Bierstadt Lagerhaus’s Dunkel
This is another dark beer you can serve at your wedding. It’s a bit higher in ABV than other beers from this list, but it’s highly drinkable and refreshing. You can taste brown sugar and toasted nuts, but these flavors don’t leave a heavy aftertaste in your mouth.
Because of its nutty creaminess with a hint of aromatic fruits, Dunkel is one of the best beers to pair with desserts of all kinds. It’s a bit chewy, so you might even want to skip a dessert after a pint or two.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Should You Serve Beer at a Wedding?
When serving beer at your wedding, you can opt for cans, glass bottles, or kegs. If you serve draft beer in plastic cups, go with a keg to keep it fresh and bubbly. You don’t have to buy a full keg, as most local breweries allow you to buy half kegs or even a quarter.
When to Start Serving Beer at Weddings?
You can start serving beer between the wedding ceremony and reception. If you have an open bar and want to keep consumption (and costs) under control, you can start serving beer after appetizers and cocktail hour.
What Are the Best Beer Alternatives for Weddings?
Most beer brands have non-alcoholic options, so you can include these in your drink card for guests who don’t enjoy alcohol. Also, as not everyone enjoys the beer taste, you can offer them other alcoholic beverages, like Smirnoff Ice and ciders, or give them an option to mix beers with soda, lemonade, or juice.
To Sum Up
Choosing the best beer for a wedding is a bittersweet task. Among so many popular beers, you have to decide on a few you and your guests will enjoy.
Our list has something for everyone’s taste, so you’ll certainly not go wrong if you include some of them in your wedding drink card.
