06 October 2026 · motty

Beer Snacks: Salty Meat Bites That Stand Up to a Pint

The best beer snacks are salty, savory and dry, with enough flavor to hold up to a cold pint: pretzels, nuts, good cheese and, our pick, air-dried biltong. We make certified Glatt Kosher biltong and jerky, so that is where we start, but the rules below work for any bowl on any bar table.

A pint and a snack are one order, not two. Beer is cold, fizzy and a little bitter. It wants something salty to push against, something with enough chew to slow you down, and nothing so wet or greasy that it ruins the glass. Get the snack right and the second beer tastes as good as the first. Get it wrong and you are wiping your hands on your jeans.

What a beer snack actually has to do

Four jobs. A snack that does all four earns a spot on the table.

Salt. Salt is why beer tastes better with food. It softens the bitterness and makes the next sip taste fresh.
Chew. You want something that takes a few seconds to eat. A snack you swallow in one bite is gone before the beer is.
Dry hands. No sauce, no grease, no wet wings. You are holding a glass, and maybe a controller or a dart.
Staying power. It has to sit out for two hours without turning sad. Soft pretzels go stiff. Fried things go limp. Dry food does not care.

One more thing worth knowing: salty food makes you thirsty, and that is the whole business model of the bar bowl. At home, you can use it the other way. Pair salt with a drink you actually want, and pace both. Pour a glass of water for the table, too.

Notice what is missing from that list: a recipe. The best beer snacks need almost no work. Open the bag, pour it in a bowl, pour the beer.

The classics, and what each one is good for

Every bar bowl has a reason for being there. Here is what the usual suspects do well, and where each one falls short.

Pretzels. Salty, crunchy, cheap. They are the default for a reason. The downside is that they are mostly air. You will eat a lot and still be hungry.
Nuts. Roasted and salted peanuts or almonds bring protein and a rich, toasty flavor. Watch the room, though. Nut allergies are common, and a shared bowl is a bad place to find out.
Chips and popcorn. Light, salty and easy. They work with a light lager. They vanish fast and leave you reaching for more.
Hard cheese and crackers. A real step up in flavor. Cheese is dairy, though, so it is off the table at a meat meal in a kosher home. More on that below.
Dried meat. Biltong and jerky. Salty, chewy, high in protein, no utensils, no mess. This is the one that turns a snack into something close to dinner.

Why biltong is a natural beer snack

Biltong is beef, cured with vinegar, salt and spices, then air-dried. It is ready to eat as soon as you open the bag. It is savory and salty, with a warm citrus note from coriander. It is soft in the middle and firm at the edges, and it tears into easy pieces.

That is almost exactly the profile you want next to a beer. The salt and spice cut through a heavy pint. The chew slows you down. The vinegar in the cure gives it a little tang, the same job a squeeze of lemon does.

Our Sliced Biltong comes in three flavors, and each one pairs a little differently.

Original. Beef first, then coriander, with black pepper and garlic behind it. Easy with almost any beer. If you are putting out one bowl for a mixed group, make it Original.
Peri Peri. Real heat that builds as you eat. Cold, crisp beer is the best answer to heat. This is the one for people who like the burn. It will divide a room, so do not make it the only bowl.
Loaded Garlic. Roasted garlic, rounder and sweeter than hot. Savory rather than spicy. Good with darker, maltier beers that can stand up to it.

Our Original biltong lists no sugar in its ingredients: grass-fed kosher beef, coriander, black pepper, salt, garlic and vinegar. Check the product page for what is in stock.

Our Original comes down to beef, coriander, black pepper, salt, garlic and vinegar. That short list is part of why it works as a snack: you taste the meat.

Biltong is the wrong pick if you want something crunchy. It is a chew, not a crisp. If your table needs crunch, put a bowl of pretzels next to it and let people mix. If you are buying for a bigger group, see how much biltong to order for a party or tailgate, which walks through the math.

Biltong or jerky with beer?

Both work. They do different things.

Biltong is savory and salty. It is air-dried and cured with vinegar, with no sweet glaze. It wants a crisp lager, a pilsner or a pale ale.

Our jerky is called Meat Candy, and it is the sweeter end of the shelf. It is made from real whole sliced beef, cooked and glazed, in two flavors: Hickory Kickory Dock, which is smoky hickory with the sweetness behind it, and Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep, a Korean BBQ style that is sweet and savory together. The smoke and sweetness are a good match for darker beers, like a porter or a brown ale, where the malt has its own sweet, roasted notes. Meat Candy uses a glaze, so read the label if you watch ingredients closely.

If you want a single place to see both, our kosher beef jerky collection has the jerky side. For everything in the biltong line, including sizes and samplers, see Buy Biltong Online.

How to put out a beer snack table

You do not need a spread. You need three bowls and a plan.

One crunchy. Pretzels, chips or popcorn. This is the bowl people grab without thinking.
One protein. Biltong or jerky. Put it in a shallow bowl so people can see it and reach in without digging.
One fresh or sharp. Pickles, olives or raw vegetables. The acid wakes your mouth up between sips. At a kosher meat table, this bowl is easy and does not break any rules.

A few habits make the whole thing better.

Use small bowls and refill them. A huge bowl of biltong left out all night dries at the edges. Small bowls stay fresh and look generous.
Keep the bag sealed until you need it. Biltong does not need refrigeration, but air is the enemy of every dried snack.
Match heat to the beer. Spicy snacks with cold, light beer. Sweet and smoky with dark beer. Mild snacks with anything.
Offer a non-alcoholic option. Some guests do not drink. Sparkling water with lemon works with salty snacks just as well, and nobody feels left out.

For more on what to drink with it, see our guide to the best drinks to pair with biltong. And if the beer is for the big game, hosting a game day spread with biltong covers the whole table.

Keeping it kosher

If you keep kosher, a beer snack table has a few extra rules, and none of them are hard.

Meat and dairy stay separate. Biltong and jerky are meat. That means no cheese board on the same table, and no dairy dip next to the meat bowl. Pick one side and stay with it.
Waiting between meat and dairy. If someone eats biltong now and wants cheese later, how long to wait depends on your family's custom.
Check the label on everything else. Pretzels, chips, nuts and pickles all vary. Look for a kosher symbol on each.
Beer itself. Many people drink beer without a second thought, and others check for a kosher symbol or follow stricter practice. Customs differ here, so ask your rabbi what your household does.

Our biltong is made from grass-fed beef, and both it and Meat Candy are certified Glatt Kosher. You can read more on our kosher biltong page.

The bottom line

A good beer snack is salty, dry and chewy, and does not make a mess. Pretzels and nuts do part of the job. Biltong does all of it, and it fills you up, too. Put Original in a bowl for the crowd, Peri Peri for the people who like heat, and Meat Candy for anyone who prefers their snack a little sweet. Add something crunchy, add something sharp, and pour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best snacks to eat with beer?

Salty, dry snacks that take a few seconds to chew. Pretzels, roasted nuts, popcorn and dried meat like biltong all work. Choose something that does not leave your hands greasy, since you are holding a glass.

Is biltong good with beer?

Yes. Biltong is salty, savory and a little tangy from the vinegar in the cure, which is exactly what a cold beer wants beside it. Original goes with almost any style. Peri Peri is best with a cold, crisp lager that cools the heat.

What is the difference between biltong and beef jerky as a beer snack?

Biltong is air-dried and cured with vinegar and spices. It is savory and salty, with no sweet glaze. Jerky is cooked and usually sweeter. Our jerky, Meat Candy, is glazed and comes in Hickory Kickory Dock and Baa-Baa BBQ Sheep. Biltong tends to suit lighter beers. Meat Candy tends to suit darker ones.

What beer snacks are kosher?

Plenty. Look for a kosher symbol on packaged snacks like pretzels, chips and nuts. For meat snacks, our biltong and Meat Candy are certified Glatt Kosher. Keep in mind that meat and dairy stay separate, so skip the cheese board if the meat bowl is on the table.

Is beer kosher?

Practice varies. Some households drink beer without checking, and others look for a kosher symbol or follow a stricter standard. Ask your rabbi what your household should do.

Do I need to refrigerate biltong?

No. Our sliced biltong is ready to eat, shelf-stable and needs no refrigeration. Keep the bag sealed until you want it, and it will taste the same at the end of the night as at the start.

What is a good non-alcoholic drink to serve with salty snacks?

Sparkling water with lemon or lime is the easy answer. It is cold, it has bubbles, and it cuts through salt the same way beer does.