Miller Lite has released Beercoal for the past three summers. It’s charcoal that is infused with Miller Lite beer to add more flavor to your summer BBQ.
Beercoal started out seemingly more for marketing than product innovation, but that changed this year. They distributed Beercoal to major retailers, instead of being a very limited run online product. Their distribution includes many places that you’d buy Kingsford, including Kroger, because they sell it at my local store.
Kingsford developed charcoal with different seasonings previously, so they’re the experts on doing it. The formula isn’t revealed for Beercoal, but they say it’s infused with beer.
I know previously they used beer concentrate to achieve this. They also in previous years disclosed that they used barley in the charcoal. Looking at the briquettes, my guess is they still do this because I can see what looks like barley in them.
The charcoal lights just like any other Kingsford charcoal, which is pretty easy. I like to use a charcoal chimney with newspaper in the bottom, and I had a nice burn going without issue.
Does it Work?
When the Beercoal is burning it definitely has a different smell to it than traditional Kingsford charcoal. I felt like the smell was a little more mild.
You could also catch some beer scents during the burn. It’s hard to spot while you have steaks on the grill because of all the other scents, but it’s much more distinct when the the food is off and the charcoal has been burning for a little while.
I felt like I could taste some different flavor notes that traditional Kingsford on my food. It wasn’t much though, and maybe it’s in my head, but it was slightly different.
Conclusion
Beercoal is probably a little more novelty than a new culinary technique, but regardless, it’s still a bag of Kingsford charcoal. It’s fun to try, and you and can definitely pick up some beer notes in the smoke that carries over into your food.