Matching beer and food is very personal. Do you like dark beers, hoppy brews or blonde ales? Barbequed food, spicy dishes, fish and seafood? Matching each preference takes time and is unique to everyone. However, I have a few easy tips to help guide you on great food and beer pairings for your favourite summer fare. While at first it might feel a little confusing, a good rule of thumb is to treat blonde/golden beers and lagers as you would white wines and the darker, stronger bitters and porters as reds.

The first way to pair beer is with complementary flavours. In my last recipe I matched the flavours of a raspberry sour dressing with a fruity salad. Think about the slightly sour, dark crust of a pizza and then the traditional lightly toasted malt flavours of a pilsner style lager. Pilsners also complement spicier foods and drink well with curries and Asian style food. Next up are porters and brown ales with their darker roasted malts, their depth of rich flavour, medium body and generally moderate levels of bitterness mean they are a perfect match for grilled and roasted meat, the quintessential beer with a traditional Sunday roast.

Ales and porters are also a brilliant match for barbecued food, be it burgers, steaks, chicken or kebabs. The toasted notes in the beer really match up with any charred and caramelised flavours produced when cooking.

If you want to try contrasting flavours, then my favourite has to be a plate of briny oysters and a pint of stout. Each is robust enough to match the other. If you are not a fan of fresh oysters, try a couple of pieces of a really good quality dark chocolate with a glass of Belgian cherry or raspberry kriek, lambic beers originally brewed by monks. The last way to pair beer is by cutting, in which the carbonation levels of the beer can lift flavours and cut through rich or fatty dishes. Fatty food can also balance heavily hopped beers. Try an American-style double IPA with fish and chips. This works just like fish and chips and champagne.

As it is the height of barbeque season, today’s recipe is a versatile beer sauce which is great for chicken, ribs and burgers. It's so good I could probably drink it. Americans often barbecue over wood and charcoal, then slow cook or smoke the meat which is flavoured with pungent dry rubs. The Australian "barbie" is a hotter process akin to grilling. Either way, I apply my barbeque sauces towards the end of cooking as the high sugar content can burn easily. Here I have used one of my favourite amber beers – Black Sheep Ale. The toastie malt and caramel notes complement the rest of the ingredients perfectly.

Beer Barbecue Sauce

1 bottle Black Sheep Ale

250ml good tomato ketchup

100g soft brown sugar

1 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2tbs of Worcestershire sauce

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

Splash of olive oil

2tbs tomato puree

half tsp cayenne pepper

1 star anise

half cinnamon stick

Sea salt and black pepper

Gently heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and sauté the onion until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and spices and cook for a couple more minutes stirring continuously. Add the beer, ketchup, tomato puree and Worcestershire sauce, and bring to a low simmer until it just bubbles, and cook for a further 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the sugar and cook for another 10 minutes stirring continuously as the high levels will cause it to stick and burn. Leave to cool and if you like a smooth sauce puree with a food processor. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until required for up to one week. Use sauce to brush meat during grilling.