Easy Beer Sauce - the Best Gravy for Bratwurst

This beer sauce is made with just a few of ingredients, yet it has a big impact on any dish you serve it with. Slowly caramelized onions, cooked in a combination of beef broth and German beer make this a deliciously lush and rich gravy. Hands down the beer sauce to have with Bratwurst if you ask me.

Beer Onion Gravy

Having lived in the UK for 20 years I am a big fan of Bangers and Mash. I was looking for a traditional German sauce for my Bratwurst. I tried many onion gravy recipes but nothing convinced me as much as this beer reduction sauce made with dark beer and caramelized red onions.

I like the combination of beer and sauce because for me it is more convenient to open a small can of beer than and a whole bottle of red wine just to cook with it.

This beer pan sauce has a rich, malty flavor, and smells delicious! It depends on which beer you use. Stout, Guinness, German Schwarzbier, or Kellerbier have varying degrees of bitterness. But any bitterness is offset by the sweetness of the sugar, tomato paste and caramelized onions making this a rich malty sauce to remember.

Which beer to use for this beer sauce?

Of course, I am biased and recommend you use German beer. The best cooking beer for this sauce is Schwarzbier. It is very dark, almost black. The malt used in the production gives it a dark color. It has a sweet, bitter almost smoky flavour.

But not only Germans can make good Schwarzbier. In the UK the beers closest are "Stout" or "Porter Beers" and the Irish Sout, Guinness, is a well-known one. The taste can be sweet, malty, and a little nutty - it might have nuances of cocoa or even coffee. Here are some popular brands

• German Schwarzbier or Dunkelbier: Warsteiner Dunkel, Edinger Dunkel, Köstritzer bier, Aecht Schenkerla
• British Stout: Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout, Fuller's Black Cab Stout, Organic Chocolate Stout

Beer Sauce Ingredients:

Please refer to the printable recipe card below for exact quantities

• Oil or butter - to fry the onions
• Onions - I used red onions but you can also use white
• Beer - a dark malty beer is preferable such as Schwarzbier, Dunkel Bier, Stout, Porter Beer, Guinness
• Beef broth - this can be substituted with vegetable broth
• brown sugar - to caramelize the onions and offset the bitterness of the beer
• tomato paste - will add a lovely roasting flavor to the sauce
• corn starch /corn flour - to thicken the sauce

How to make Beer Sauce

1. Prepare: Begin by peeling the onions, and chop them into thin rings.
2. Cook the onions: In a large saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onions on low to medium heat until they begin to brown. This should take 5-10 minutes. Then sprinkle over the sugar and cook for an extra minute. Add the tomato paste and fry it with the onions for 2 minutes. The tomato and sugar will add sweet and sour note, and make the sauce nice and brown.
3. Assemble the sauce: Pour in the beer and beef broth and cook for about 10 minutes for the beer to reduce. Mix the corn starch/ corn flour with 2 tablespoon of water to a thick paste and add it to the gravy. The sauce should start to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

What to serve with Beer Gravy

This stout sauce goes with anything that will soak up the gravy, such as mashed potatoes, potato dumplings or bread dumplings. It does not only pair well with sausages, such as Bratwurst, but also other meat dishes like German meatballs, meatloaf or roast pork. It is also a great beer sauce for steak.

Storage:

This German beer gravy keeps in the fridge for up to two days. You can also freeze it in portions.

Recipe