Put Some Olives in Your Crappy Beer

It would be fair to say that the authors of Skillet are pickle-obsessed. We love pickles, olives, and the salty, sometimes spicy liquids they’re packaged in. Most things get a little better with salt, acid, and phantom, which is why we add these canned delicacies (and their pickles) to a wide variety of dishes. food and drinks, including beer.

I’m a big fan of putting cucumbers in crappy beer , so it’s no surprise that I like a few olives in cold beer. Green olives, which in the Midwest are called “bertinis” – never black – are added to PBR or something similar to give it a little savory flavor. The additive makes the beer brighter, hiding its less desirable qualities. (I always thought PBR had a weird sweetness, and olives soften it up nicely.)

Grab some olives for your bertini:

• Roland Foods Castelvetrano Whole Olives
• Dirty olives stuffed with blue cheese
• Greek Olives Stuffed with Sunny Peppers Piri Piri

There are not many rules regarding bertini, except that the beer must be cheap and the olives must be green. A light, watery beer pairs well with brine, giving the drink an alcoholic touch of Gatorade. Stouts will darken and clash with olives, and IPAs will taste even more bitter by comparison, though I confess I tried this trick with hazy Hefeweizen and it was delicious. According to PUNCH , olives can be gourmet stuffed with blue cheese, anchovies, or almonds, but they don’t have to be black, kalamata, or anything other than green. (My favorite green olive is Castelvetrano, the king of greens.)

How many olives you add to your beer is up to you. Add a couple for a very – and I mean very – subtle effect, like an olive in a dry martini. However, add a little brine, and the taste of the beer will noticeably change; it’s not exactly salty, but deeper, more interesting, and (surprisingly) more refreshing.