IT'S BEST AS A SIDE DISH:

Fabulous fizz: Malty or hoppy, fruity or spicy, beer brings effervescent flavor to summer dishes. (Regina Schrambling, June 15, 2005, LA Times)

Usually I only contemplate cooking with beer when the weather is anything but sunny and warm. There's a reason it's mostly associated with beef stews, chili and other dishes that need long, slow braising or simmering, not to mention rich cheese sauces and bean or cabbage soup. Beer just seems to signify heartiness.

But I've found it actually rivals wine as an ingredient for all seasons. Whether you whisk it into a batter for fried fish or vegetable fritters or just pour it into a steamer for clams or mussels, it imparts a distinctively malted, slightly floral, almost salty-sweet undertone to food. Beers can be fruity, herbal, yeasty, hoppy and more, and those serious flavors harmonize with a surprising array of "real" ingredients.

As with wine, different styles of beer can work differently in different dishes. In some dishes, you can use any old brew, but more often you need to stop and think. While a dark and sturdy stout is superb in a beef or venison stew, it will overwhelm anything ethereally seasonal. The light magic of a Pilsener is perfect with seafood, but it can get swept away by too many herbs and aromatics.

With so many styles of beer out there, taste is the surest guide. A beer with depth and nuance will bring out those same qualities in a sauce or a marinade. The old "one for me, one for the recipe" is a foolproof formula — of course you have to sample to decide which might be the right one for every dish.

Every type works

Overall, beer works best as a complement rather than a counterpoint to other tastes. [...]

Jalapeño biscuits

Total time: 35 minutes

Servings: Makes 12 biscuits

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large fresh jalapeños, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

About 1/2 cup cold California pale ale or amber ale

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar

Softened butter for serving

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in mixing bowl. Stir in the jalapeños. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ale a few tablespoons at a time and stir the dough until it clings together in a ball. Dough should be slightly sticky but still easy to handle. Knead in the cheese. Don't over-mix.

3. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out and knead a couple of times. Pat the dough out into a round about one-half inch thick. Using a cookie cutter or small glass, cut out into rounds about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on the baking sheet.

4. Pull together the dough scraps and pat out again, then cut more biscuits. Bake 14 to 15 minutes, or until risen and lightly browned. Serve hot with butter.