Updated: Best Wines for Beer Lovers

32 wines for beer lovers. 32 beers for wine lovers. Everybody wins with this comprehensive guide.

We’re not just wine geeks at Wine Folly, we’re beer geeks, too! Why wouldn’t we love beer? Much like wine, there’s a rich history behind the drink, endless variations and styles, and countless flavor compounds to sift through.

Also, most importantly, it just tastes good. Like, really good.

If you’re a beer drinker looking to make the jump from the taproom to the tasting room—or a wine drinker looking to do vice versa—this is the read for you.

Crisp, Clean, & Light

Lager & Pilsner

Example: Czechvar Budvar, Bitburger Pilsner
Typical Flavors: malt, baked bread, mineral water, fresh flowers, grain
Wine to Try: Cava (Brut Nature)

Lovers of all things light, crisp, and refreshing need to trade in their steins for a flute of Cava Brut Nature. This extra bright, extra dry Spanish sparkler is an affordable, approachable gateway into the world of wine and pairs well with all manner of salty pub fare.

Cream Ale

Example: New Glarus Spotted Cow
Typical Flavors: corn, malt, lactose, cream soda, coconut
Wine to Try: Muscadet et Sur Lie

Made from the fruity, acidic Melon de Bourgogne variety and aged on suspended dead yeast particles, this style of Muscadet develops a more robust and bready character that’s an easy entry point for lovers of the thirst-quenching ale.

Hefeweizen

Example: Weihenstephaner Bräuweisse
Typical Flavors: banana, bubblegum, citrus, cream, clove
Wines to Try: Beaujolais, Schiava

If you love the more classic banana esters found in German Hefeweizen, you’ll find a similar flavor (and easy-drinking structure) in a younger Beaujolais. However, if you dig more of the bubblegum notes, you may want to say buongiorno to the obscure Italian grape, Schiava.

Witbier

Example: Avery White Rascal
Typical Flavors: coriander, orange peel, white tea, honey
Wine to Try: Gewürztraminer (Dry)

Only one wine comes to mind for the cloudy, quaffable Belgian-style ale with a spice-driven kick: Gewürztraminer. Preferably a dry, somewhat aged one to get not only those citrus and floral notes, but a hint of warm spice as well. Much like Witbier, Gewürztraminer also pairs well with Indian and Arabic cuisine and more exotic fare.

Kölsch

Example: Reissdorf Kolsch
Typical Flavors: cracker, bread, crisp, mild orchard fruit
Wine to Try: Prosecco (Brut, Extra Dry)

Consider in lieu of this clean, pleasantly bitter ale from Cologne, Germany a Brut or Extra-Dry Prosecco. The drier Brut will have a similar mouthfeel and finish to most Kölsch, but if you’re all about those cracker and bread flavors, go for the somewhat sweeter, misleadingly named Extra Dry style.

Belgian Golden Strong Ale

Example: Delirium Tremens
Typical Flavors: white spice, citrus, flowers, hops
Wine to Try: Grenache Blanc

Nicknamed the “Devil’s Ale” in Belgium, these beers earn their reputation by looking as light as a lager does, while packing a graceful, but significant alcoholic punch (7-12% ABV.) Grenache Blanc does a similar dance by also looking light and approachable, while having a similar hidden kick (13-15% ABV.) Plus, these wines can be just as fruity and floral as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, and even a bit hop-like with the characteristic green notes!

Malty, Medium-Bodied, & Hoppy

Amber Ale / Red Ale

Example: Tröegs Nugget Nectar
Typical Flavors: malt, caramel, whole wheat bread, mild fruit
Wine to Try: Sherry (Amontillado)

Time to get fortified. It is difficult to find a wine that’s on the same wavelength as the occasionally hoppy, malt-forward Amber/Red Ale. In making the correlation, our minds went right to Sherry, more specifically, Amontillado Sherry, for its nuttiness, richness, and fine oxidized flavors. Just make sure you pour yourself a smaller glass with that elevated ABV!

Brown Ale

Example: Samuel Smith’s Brown Ale
Typical Flavors: earth, dark fruit, caramel, biscuit, dark spice
Wine to Try: Teroldego

Big on the browns? We’re going to give you an hip variety to consider: Teroldego. This Northern Italian red grape is known for making dark, bitter, and balanced wines with earthy and flowery backbones. As it’s known for being somewhat astringent, it’s not the smoothest of parallels to brown ale, but we’re banking that like us, you’re all about those earthy flavors.

Bock

Example: Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Typical Flavors: plum, crystallized fruit, molasses
Wine to Try: Malbec

This thicker-than-your-average lager begs for a bolder wine. Plummy, dark, and full-bodied, you’ll have no problem swapping one out for a smooth Argentine Malbec.

Pale Ale

Example: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Typical Flavors: citrus, hop, straw, bread, biscuit, pine
Wines to Try: Sauvignon Blanc (Cool-Climate), Vermentino (di Sardinia), Soave

Get the clean and grassy flavors you crave with Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Loire Valley, and Chile. Trust us, it’s like taking in a freshly mowed lawn. If there’s a wine that is certain to turn you from a budding hop head to a serious white wine enthusiast, this just might be it…

Pro-Tip: If you’ve already experienced the unreal Pale Ale-Sauvignon Blanc connection, make the leap to lean Vermentino from Sardinia or springy Soave Classico.

India Pale Ale

Example: Bell’s Two-Hearted IPA
Typical Flavors: citrus, hop, cannabis, fresh herb, flowers, resin
Wines to Try: Grüner Veltliner, Riesling (Dry)

Hopheads and New England-style obsessives, please bring your attention to Grüner Veltliner. This Austrian variety is known for producing dry, acidic, citrus-driven wines that have been known to make IPA drinkers say, “Whoa.” Careful, one sip and you may never go back to drinking beer again…

Pro-Tip: If Grüner is just a little too hard to find, snap up a nice dry Riesling and join us in wondering how anyone can not love this grape.

Succumb to the Dark Side

Porter

Example: Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Typical Flavors: coffee, bittersweet chocolate, smoke, black bread
Wine to Try: Sagrantino

Bitter, swarthy, palatable…wait, are we describing your modern-day Porter or Sagrantino? However, consider yourself warned: you may find the beer to be a bit of an easier drink. Sagrantino di Montefalco makes for one of the most tannic wines on the planet! Your mouth may not know what hit it.

Stout

Example: Guinness Stout
Typical Flavors: bitter chocolate, coffee, licorice, stone, savory herbs
Wine to Try: Classic Médoc (Left Bank) Bordeaux

Known for gravelly soils and Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant red wines, the Left Bank is where you want to look when switching from stout, specifically the Médoc region. The wines from this section of Bordeaux are known for being bold, concentrated, and filled with complex secondary aromas/flavors (cigar box, leather, tobacco) that will be music to any stout lover’s, uh, mouth.

Dubbel & Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Example: North Coast Thelonious Monk
Typical Flavors: caramel, dark sugar, plum, dates, figs
Wine to Try: Port (Ruby, Late Bottle Vintage)

The Dubbel and Belgian Dark Strong Ale can be considerably different beer styles, and normally we wouldn’t loop them together. The problem here is that we found the perfect wine to hit all those delicious dark sugar, plum, and date flavors on the nose: Port. Specifically, Ruby and Late Bottle Vintage styles that are more fruit-forward, affordable, and meant to be enjoyed young.

Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy

Example: Orkney Skullsplitter
Typical Flavors: caramel, malt, peat, tea, heather
Wine to Try: Cognac (V.S.)

As Scotch Ales are smooth, malty, and beg to be savored instead of quickly thrown back, we recommend reaching for a younger V.S. (Very Special) Cognac. With notes of caramel, toffee, leather, coconut, and spice notes, Cognac is pretty much guaranteed to be your thing. Get the right glassware, swirl, and enjoy. Maybe even get a mirror to see how cool you look as you drink it.

Winter Warmer / Christmas Ale

Example: Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Typical Flavors: cinnamon, orange peel, vanilla, cloves
Wine to Try: Mulled Wine/Glühwein

Beer drinkers use winter warmers to get through the cold season. Wine drinkers use Glühwein. Why not drink both? If you’re looking to make your own from scratch, go with a full-bodied red wine like Syrah or Malbec.

High-ABV Territory

Tripel

Example: Tripel Karmeliet
Typical Flavors: pear, lemon, white cherry, white bread, cream soda
Wine to Try: Rosé Sparkling Wine (Domestic Sparkling Wine, Cremant D’Alsace)

Golden, dense, and complex, the singular Tripel is one of our favorite beers here. Gorgeous as it may be, it needs to be consumed with some caution. Much like the Belgian Golden Strong Ale, it looks deceivingly light, but packs enough of an alcoholic punch to cut a night out short. So if you’re craving those sweeter, fruitier flavors and a similar creamy mouthfeel, consider a lower-octane Rosé Sparkling Wine, either domestic or from France’s Cremant stylings.

Pro-Tip: Cost not an issue? Investigate nuttier, breadier, and oh-so-decadent Vintage Champagne. Yes, it could break your budget. But it will also break your brain (in a good way.)

Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Example: Alchemist Heady Topper
Typical Flavors: pine, grapefruit, tree sap, resin, cannabis
Wine to Try: Retsina

Grüner Veltliner and Dry Riesling will still do the trick for most IPAs, but if you like them extra dank and sticky, we’re gonna send you in Retsina’s general direction. This Greek wine isn’t for the faint of the heart (even for those who love wine), with its pine, resin, and lime peel flavor profile. But hey, if you love DIPA/IIPAs, we probably had you at “not for the faint of heart!”

Double/Imperial/Russian Stout

Example: North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Typical Flavors: strong coffee/espresso, burnt sugar, hearty oats, dried dark fruit
Wine to Try: Australian Shiraz

Big, brawny, and known for its aggressive flavor profile, this souped-up stout needs something that’s equally broad-shouldered. Enter Aged Australian Shiraz. Rugged and animalistic, this style of Syrah features flavors of mocha, graphite, savory meat, as well as a high alcohol content thanks to the abundant Down Under sunshine.

Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Stout

Example: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Typical Flavors: bourbon, wood, burnt sugar, vanilla, fudge, char
Wine to Try: Sherry (Oloroso)

Expensive to produce and requiring some serious patience to brew, the Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout is often the gem in any beer enthusiast’s cellar. They’re rich, complex, and one of the surest bets to get better with age. For wines, Oloroso, the beautiful mistake of the Sherry business, is a great go-to. Occasionally, the flor (a special yeast used to make Sherry) dies, and then that Sherry is taken into barrels to age. The end result is a deep, dark, and dry fortified wine with parallel wood, fudge, and burnt vanilla notes.

Quadrupel

Example: Trappistes Rochefort 10
Typical Flavors: raisins, dates, fruitcake, gingerbread, earth, anise
Wine to Try: Sherry (Pedro Ximénez)

The brawny, yet delectable Quadrupel may have fit under the “Belgian Dark Strong Ale” umbrella, but we found that in our experiences with Rochefort and Westvleteren, we got something even a little more heavy. After we nailed down flavors of fruitcake, raisins, and even some gingerbread, we thought there was a better fit than Port. Syrupy Pedro Ximénez (a grape, not a person) Sherry won our hearts with its luscious profile of figs, dates, and fireside spices.

Old Ale & Barleywine

Example: Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine
Typical Flavors: alcohol, English toffee, treacle, hard candy, butterscotch
Wine to Try: Madeira (Bual)

There’s nothing subtle about Barleywine or even Old Ale, its more sessionable equivalent. There’s often not even an attempt to hide the alcohol and it is absolutely thick with fruity esters, malts (English) and hops (American.) The fortified Portuguese island wine, Madeira, is a great go-to with its flavors of roasted nuts, stewed fruit, and toffee. We especially like the sweeter Bual style with its additional salted caramel, golden raisin, and date smells and tastes.

Sour Funky Beers Saison-dupont-Gueuze Tilquin, Lindemans Framboise Lambic, Duchesse de Bourgogne

Sour ‘n’ Funky

Saison / Farmhouse Ale

Example: Fantome Saison
Typical Flavors: hay/straw, barnyard, white pepper, orange, lemon, lime
Wine to Try: Rosé of Tempranillo, Rosé of Syrah, Natural Wine

Ooh, tough call. There can be quite a range in tastes when it comes to Saison, but we’ve got some good options for one of our personal favorite styles of beer. If you like the more peppery style of Saison, consider Rosé of Tempranillo or Syrah. You’ll find these specific styles of rosé more herbaceous and savory, rather than abundantly fruity.

Pro-Tip: If you’re all about the farmhouse funk/brettanomyces in your beer, you might be game for a more untamed natural wine (wine made with minimal human interaction.)

Sour (Gueuze, Gose, & Berlinerweisse)

Example: Gueuze Tilquin
Typical Flavors: lemon juice, lime peel, grape must, apple cider, salt
Wine to Try: Orange Wine

This one is a no-brainer. Orange wine, which is white wine made by keeping the skin and seeds in contact with the juice, is designed for the sour beer lover. It’s acidic, tart, and assertive with atypical aromas and flavors (jackfruit, linseed oil, brazil nuts, sourdough). Sound like any beer you know?

Fruit Lambic

Example: Lindemans Framboise Lambic
Typical Flavors: fresh fruit flavors
Wine to Try: Lambrusco, Beaujolais Nouveau

If you enjoy fruit lambic beers (Kriek, Cassis, Framboise), then you should, nay, MUST try Lambrusco. This sparkling red wine comes in a range of dry and off-dry styles, but always with up-front fruit flavors. Depending on the style, you can even find some additional cream, chocolate, and floral notes! Who can resist?

Pro-Tip: Made the Lambic-Lambrusco connection? Dig a Beaujolais Nouveau! (Bojo Nouveau, if you’re nasty.) This ultra-acidic, quickly-made wine features lush, juicy aromas of raspberry, cranberry, candied fruits, banana, and even bubblegum.

Flanders Red Ale & Oud Bruin

Example: Duchesse de Bourgogne
Typical Flavors: green apple, balsamic vinegar, sour grapes, oxidized fruit
Wine to Try: Blanquette de Limoux / Mauzac

With strong vinegar, green apple, and earthy flavors, these two sours can be a bit of a curveball to the uninitiated. Fortunately, the wine we’re recommending is way more accessible, if but a bit overlooked! We submit to you: Blanquette de Limoux, a dry style of sparkling wine from France’s Languedoc-Roussillon region that prominently features the ancient, esoteric Mauzac Blanc variety. Peachy, grassy, and flush with green apple notes, you best be getting to your local wine shop right now.

Weird Beers and Wine Alternatives: Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Unser, Wookey Jack, Black Boss Porter, Dogfish Head Sah’Tea, Marooned on Hog Island, Rauchbier,

Let’s Get a Little Weird

Weizenbock

Example: Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Unser Aventinus
Typical Flavors: vanilla, clove, malt, nutmeg, cinnamon
Wine to Try: Vin Santo

Fans of this malty, ester-apparent, bock-strength Dunkelweizen should seek out Vin Santo, an intriguing Italian dessert wine known for its vanilla, caramel, honey hazelnut, and dried apricot flavors. Like Weizenbock, it’s a wondrous balance of deliciousness and intensity that will stick to the side of your glass. Drink up.

Cascadian Dark Ale / Black IPA

Example: Firestone Walker Wookey Jack
Typical Flavors: coffee grounds, lime peel, tree resin, roasted grain
Wine to Try: Carménère

Already a beautiful blend of the fruity, sweet, and bitter, this dark-grained IPA is a little more smoky and complex. (Best description? Like a lime squeezed into a cup of coffee. Yum.) Savory, herbaceous, and equally fruity South American Carménère might be just what you’re looking for.

Baltic Porter

Example: Black Boss Porter
Typical Flavors: roasted grain, alcohol, black licorice, balsam, sarsaparilla
Wine to Try: Aglianico, Valpolicella (Ripasso, Amarone)

Originally designed to withstand colder climates and conditions, these lagers (yes, they’re bottom-fermenting!) have all the body, alcohol, and flavors you’ve come to expect from heavier stouts — with a little something extra. Something so hearty, so brooding needs a wine to match. That’s why our hive mind went to Aglianico, a full-bodied, high-tannin red wine with notes of smoke, game, and spiced fruit. Aglianico del Taburno and Aglianico del Vulture make for great, affordable gateway wines.

Pro-Tip: While we doubt we can convince anyone to switch out their Baltic Porter (~$8) for the rich and heady Amarone della Valpolicella ($50+) of lore, if you’ve got the money, go for it.

Sahti

Example: Dogfish Head Sah’Tea
Typical Flavors: juniper, resin, peppercorn, cardamon, twigs
Wine to Try: Vermouth

Boasting an aromatic head and broad-shouldered body, this primitive Finnish beer is a unique treat. We’re going to assume if you’re crazy about Sahti, you’re probably crazy about its signature juniper character. That calls for Vermouth. Open and shut case.

Oyster Stout

Example: 21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island
Typical Flavors: mollusk, brine, sea salt, dark grain
Wine to Try: Muscadet

Dry stouts make for a hell of a pairing with shellfish. They also make for a hell of a pairing in the beer itself, giving a briny and saline character to a dark, easy-drinking brew. Recommending a light, refreshing white wine like Muscadet feels like a far cry from a black ale—that is until you realize it too is dry, saline, and goes great with the treasures of the sea.

Rauchbier

Example: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
Typical Flavors: smoke, wood, malt, bacon, savory spice
Wine to Try: Rioja (Aged), Syrah (Old World)

There’s a lot of drinks that could be described as smoky, but few are as in your face about it as a Rauchbier. It’s not just smoky, either. It’s also spicy, savory, and meaty with some people even noting a bacon flavor! The smoke and leather of an aged Rioja sounds like an excellent substitute, but you’d also do well with an Old World Syrah and its earth and bacon-fat characteristics.

Last word: Did we miss your favorite style of beer? Looking for a wine to pair with it? Let us know in the comments and we’ll try to work our recommendation magic!

Love Beer? Then You’re Gonna Love These Wines