The Jerky & Biltong Beer Pairing Guide

It's a warm July evening, the terrace chairs are out, and there's a cold beer sweating on the table. The only thing missing is a snack that can keep up. Crisps go soft, nuts get boring, and cheese doesn't love the heat. Dried meat, on the other hand, was practically built for this moment.

Here's the thing most people never think about: jerky and biltong pair with beer the same way cheese pairs with wine. Match them right and both taste better. Match them wrong and, well, you'll still have beer and meat, so it's hardly a disaster. But why settle?

Why dried meat and beer are best mates

It comes down to contrast. Jerky and biltong bring salt, smoke and deep umami — exactly the flavours that make you reach for something cold and carbonated. The bubbles scrub your palate clean between bites, and the bitterness of hops cuts through the richness of the meat. Meanwhile, all that protein keeps the infamous beer-snack hunger at bay far better than a bowl of crisps ever could.

One practical tip before we start: serve your jerky and biltong at room temperature, not from the fridge. Cold mutes the flavour, and you paid for that flavour.

Five pairings that actually work

1. Classic jerky + crisp lager. A sweet-smoky all-rounder like Jack Link's Beef Jerky Original wants a clean, crisp pilsner or lager. The beer's dry finish resets your palate, the jerky's smoky sweetness does the rest. This is the pairing equivalent of jeans and a white t-shirt — impossible to get wrong.

2. Sweet-savoury jerky + amber ale. Wild West Original is cured with Demerara sugar and apple cider vinegar, giving it a rounder, sweeter profile. An amber or pale ale with a bit of caramel malt picks up on that sweetness beautifully.

3. Spicy jerky + hoppy IPA. Heat loves hops. The chilli kick in Indiana Beef Jerky Hot & Sweet stands up to a properly bitter IPA — the two amplify each other in the best way. If you'd rather cool the fire than feed it, swap in a soft wheat beer instead.

4. Biltong + dark lager or stout. Biltong is a different animal to jerky — air-dried, never smoked, with a signature vinegar tang and coriander spice. That tang slices through the roasty, malty depth of a dunkel or dry stout. Try it with Indiana Biltong Original and you'll wonder why pubs still bother with peanuts.

5. Droëwors + witbier. The coriander in a Belgian-style witbier is a natural echo of the coriander seed in traditional South African droëwors. Biltong Premium Droëwors Original next to a cloudy wheat beer with a slice of orange is a quietly brilliant combination.

Feeling adventurous?

If you want a pairing that will genuinely impress someone, go lean and unusual: QINA Ostrich Sliced Biltong with a dry cider or a glass of something sparkling. Ostrich is leaner and slightly more delicate than beef, so it wants a lighter, fruitier partner rather than a heavy pint.

The alcohol-free corner

No beer? No problem. Alcohol-free wheat beers have come a long way and still bring the carbonation and body that dried meat loves. Sparkling water with a squeeze of lime does the palate-cleansing job just as well, and a cold kombucha's gentle acidity is a surprisingly good match for biltong's vinegar note.

Build your own pairing board

The real fun starts when you line up three or four different snacks and taste them side by side — one classic, one sweet, one spicy, one biltong. Grab a few packs, invite a friend or two, and enjoy responsibly.

Stock up on jerky and biltong at Jerky Store — your beer will thank you.