This summer ale beer bread recipe has hints of lemon and pepper. No kneading required and it’s ready in under an hour!
I’m a total sucker for beer bread, even in the heat of the summer. What can I say? I love carbs. The thing about beer bread is that it’s very fast and easy to prepare, even for beginners.
There’s no kneading, no stand mixers, and no yeast aside from what’s already in the beer. Making beer bread is easier than baking muffins.
As different seasons arrive, I love experimenting with different beers to create variations on my standard beer bread recipe which has appeared many times on this blog (for example, here’s the Spiced Oktoberfest version I created back in the fall).
I asked my friend Jackie from The Beeroness what types of summer beers she would recommend for preparing a bread (I am not knowledgable in the wide variety of beers on the market so I prefer to ask the experts).
She recommended sticking with ales and avoiding IPAs. She also recommended looking for beers with lower IBU numbers since the higher numbers would be more bitter.
I live near a liquor store that happens to carry a lot of fun beer brands and they had several summer ales. After giving it some thought, I decided to stick with Sam Adam’s Summer Ale for a couple of reasons.
First, the IBU number was listed right on the bottle and it was low. I couldn’t find the info on many of my other options. But more importantly, I wasn’t sure how widely available those other brands would be and I know Sam Adams is very widely distributed, at least in the US.
So I kept it simple. But feel free to experiment with a different summer ale!
Looking for more summer recipes?
Check out my Key Lime Pie Popsicles, Strawberry Pie, and Asparagus Quiche!
Summer Ale Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 16 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 3 cups)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
- 1 12-ounce bottle Summer Ale beer (I used Sam Adams)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (plus more for greasing the pan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with softened butter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper, and zest.
- Carefully pour the beer into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The dough will be thick and sticky. Transfer the dough into the prepared loaf pan. Evenly drizzle the melted butter over the top of the batter and then bake until golden on top, approximately 50 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
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Tori Cooper says
This bread looks wonderful and I bet it’s the perfect side to soups or stews!
Megan says
I just love how easy beer bread is to make and how rich the taste and texture turns out. I happen to have a Sam summer (or 10) in the fridge so I’ll have to make this one soon!
Naomi Robinson says
I’m all for bread that looks this good! it would be so delicious with some onion and bacon jam!
Alice Choi says
I’ve always wanted to try baking a beer bread!!! love this!
AllisynDM says
Test
Megan {Country Cleaver} says
Beer bread and I are BFFFFF’s, too! I have to make a summer ale version soon! In the mean time, I am going to go crack a beer and dream of this bread.
Tutti Dolci says
That buttery top is perfection, I’d inhale this bread!
theviewfromGreatIsland says
Gorgeous! I love the flavor of beer in bread!
Laura Dembowski says
I haven’t had beer bread in ages. This totally has me craving it.
Liz says
This is the easiest bread ever! And so tasty that I’ll be making it again and again!
Jennifer Blake says
I could see this going very well with a nice thick chili! Mmmm
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I’ll take 5 slices of this goodness!
Suzy says
I’ve never made beer bread! It’s time!
Joanne says
The texture of this bread is so incredible!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
Nothing beats warm beer bread with a little butter that melts into all the cracks – yum!