The Pantry Staple That Makes Cheap Beer Taste 10X Better

Cheap beer is a cherished beverage for those who frequent dive bars, saloons, lounges, and their neighborhood bar down the street. Pretty much every beer people drank in the '70s qualifies. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with a working (wo)man's beer, sometimes you just need to elevate the taste. If your budget lager seems watery, overly bitter, or a little flat in the flavor department, a simple solution might just be sitting in your kitchen cabinet. A tiny sprinkle of salt can change the way a beer tastes, without turning it into an entirely different drink.

Salt enhances flavors rather than adding them, which is why we use it so often in food, and the same principle applies to beer. Beer naturally contains bitter compounds from hops, along with sweetness from malt and acidity from the brewing process. In a cheaper beer, those elements may be a little off balance. We've all had a beer that had a thin body or one-dimensional flavor, and we likely handled it by drinking it cold, and drinking it fast. But a very small amount of salt can help soften the bite of bitterness and make the beer taste more balanced.

While salt doesn't actually add malt sugars or increase a beer's body in a technical sense, it changes how your brain interprets the existing flavors. If you enjoy Micheladas or gose, the salty German ale, you probably already know how well salt works with beer's bitterness and carbonation.

To begin, start out with just a pinch of salt, either on the rim or directly in the drink. You should always taste it first before adding more. If you can clearly taste salt, you've likely added too much. While there's all kinds of salt types, fine table salt is the most practical, as it dissolves quickly. However, if you're open to experimenting, there's a whole world of flavored beer salts out there for purchase, from pickle-flavored to citrus infusions to smoky varieties.

Salting beer isn't a new internet hack. Texans have been salting their beer for generations, with many giving credit to Mexico for the inspiration. In San Antonio, if you ask for your beer "dressed," you're likely to get a slice of lime and salt. Mexican drinking culture has long demonstrated that a little salt works remarkably well with beers, particularly when combined with acidity from citrus or spicy and savory add-ons, like chili powder or Worcestershire sauce. But even if you're not a beer drinker, salt can be your friend. Lately, bartenders have been experimenting with adding salt water to some cocktails to temper some particularly bitter drinks.

Sadly, salt can't fix everything. If a beer is stale, skunky, or genuinely unpleasant, salt can't rescue that. But if you want to make your cheap lager taste a little more balanced, rounded, and tasty, shake it like a salt shaker.