Bonfire Night and What Beers to Drink: The Best Beers for a Cold November Evening

Bonfire Night is all about standing outside with friends or family, watching the fireworks, cooking something over the BBQ and trying to stay warm as November properly sets in.

And that changes the kind of beer we reach for.

On a warm summer evening, a light lager might be the obvious choice. Around a bonfire in November, we think darker, richer and sometimes stronger beers come into their own.

Stouts, dark lagers, winter beers and stronger Belgian ales all have the fuller flavours that suit smoky food and colder evenings particularly well.

So if you're planning Bonfire Night and wondering what beers to drink, here are the styles we'd look towards — plus a few current Beerhunter examples worth considering.

What Beer Is Best for Bonfire Night?

There isn't one single best beer for Bonfire Night, but we'd generally lean towards beers with a little more body and flavour.

Think:

• stout

• porter

• dunkel and dark lager

• winter beer

• bock

• amber lager

• Belgian strong ale

These styles tend to have richer malt, roasted or caramel flavours that feel much more at home on a cold November evening than something extremely light.

That doesn't mean lager is off the menu. If that's what you enjoy, drink it.

But if there's ever a night to swap a crisp summer lager for something darker, Bonfire Night is a good excuse.

Why Does Stout Work So Well on Bonfire Night?

Stout would probably be our first choice.

The roasted malt character you often find in stout — coffee, chocolate, toast and caramel — fits naturally with an evening around a smoky fire.

It also works brilliantly with the sort of food people cook outdoors on Bonfire Night.

A stout alongside a charred burger or smoky sausage makes much more sense to us than trying to pair those flavours with a delicate beer.

Beerhunter's current stout beer range includes Murphy's Irish Stout, O'Hara's Nitro Irish Stout and several mixed stout selections.

There are alcohol-free options too. Guinness 0.0 gives you the familiar dark stout style without the alcohol, which can be useful if you're driving or simply want a lower-alcohol evening.

One small serving tip: don't feel the need to serve every dark beer ice-cold. A stout that's slightly less chilled can show more of its roasted and malt character.

Dark Lager and Dunkel: A Good Middle Ground

If stout feels a bit too heavy, try a dark lager or Dunkel.

This is probably the easiest bridge between everyday lager and richer winter beer.

You still get the clean drinkability you'd expect from lager, but with more:

• toasted malt

• caramel

• bread crust

• darker malt flavours

Beerhunter currently stocks Hofbräu Dunkel, while the Augustiner mixed case includes Dunkel alongside Helles, Weissbier and Edelstoff.

Dark lager works particularly well with Bonfire Night because it has enough flavour to stand up to grilled food without becoming too heavy if you're outside for several hours.

Seasonal Winter Beers Are Made for This Time of Year

Bonfire Night lands at exactly the point when seasonal winter beers begin to make sense.

These beers are often a little richer and stronger than their year-round equivalents and may only be available for a limited period.

Beerhunter's current seasonal imports include beers such as:

• Warsteiner Winter Amber Lager – 5.6%

• Zötler Winterbier – 5.8%

• Ayinger Winterbock – 6.7%

• Gordon's Xmas Strong Belgian Beer – 8.8%

• Gouden Carolus Christmas – 10%

• Delirium Christmas – 10%

• Chouffe N'Ice – 10%

You don't necessarily need to save Christmas beer until December.

A cold Bonfire Night in early November is exactly the sort of occasion where a winter bock, amber lager or stronger seasonal ale feels appropriate.

Explore Beerhunter's Christmas Special Imports

What About Strong Belgian Beer?

If you're staying close to home rather than walking around a large public display, a stronger Belgian beer can be an excellent choice.

Belgian strong ales, Dubbels and Quadrupels often bring flavours such as:

• dark fruit

• caramel

• spice

• toasted malt

• warming alcohol

Current Beerhunter examples include La Trappe Quadrupel at 10%, Chimay Green 150 at 10%, Straffe Hendrik Tripel at 9% and Brugse Zot Bruin at 7.5%.

These are beers to take your time over.

Rather than opening several in quick succession, we'd treat one stronger Belgian ale as the slower drink for later in the evening once the food is cooked and the fire is going.

Browse Strong Belgian Beers

What Beer Goes Best With Bonfire Night Food?

For us, Bonfire Night food means something cooked outside together.

Burgers, hot dogs, sausages and kebabs are ideal because they're straightforward to cook and taste even better with a bit of char from the grill.

Beer pairing doesn't need to be complicated either.

Burgers

Try a dark lager, amber lager or stout.

The malt sweetness works well with beef, while toasted and roasted flavours complement the char from the grill.

A Warsteiner Winter Amber Lager would make sense here, as would something like Hofbräu Dunkel.

Hot Dogs and Sausages

German sausages and German beer are an easy match.

A Dunkel, bock or winter lager works especially well because the malt can handle both smoky meat and mustard.

An Ayinger Winterbock is a particularly seasonal choice.

Kebabs

For grilled chicken or spiced kebabs, you've got more flexibility.

A darker lager works if you want something straightforward, while a stronger Belgian blonde or Tripel can stand up to more heavily seasoned food.

If the kebab has a lot of spice, avoid choosing something so delicate that the food completely overwhelms it.

Best Bonfire Night Beer For...

Here's the quick version.

Are Mini Kegs Good for Bonfire Night?

If you're having people round, absolutely.

A 5 litre mini keg is less about matching the cold-weather beer style and more about making the gathering easy.

One keg can sit somewhere convenient and everyone can pour their own beer rather than repeatedly opening bottles and cans.

Beerhunter's current mini-keg range includes Paulaner Münchner Hell, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen, Bitburger, Warsteiner, Budweiser Budvar, Früh Kölsch and Rothaus Pils, among others.

Browse Beerhunter Mini Kegs

Admittedly, most of these are lighter than the dark beers we'd otherwise recommend for Bonfire Night.

But for a group, practicality matters too.

If you've got ten people standing around the garden, a chilled keg of German or Czech lager is going to be easier to share than handing everyone a 10% Belgian Christmas ale.

Just keep the keg properly chilled before serving — cold enough for the beer, but don't leave it outside long enough to risk it getting excessively cold on a freezing night.

Do You Need to Drink Strong Beer to Stay Warm?

No.

A stronger beer may feel warming because of the alcohol and fuller flavours, but that's not a reason to drink more of it in cold weather.

In fact, if you're spending a long time outdoors, it's sensible to mix stronger beers with lower-ABV options, alcohol-free beer, soft drinks and water.

Think of stronger winter beers as something to enjoy slowly rather than something you need because it's cold.

Bottles or Cans for Bonfire Night?

If you're at home in the garden, either works.

If you're going to a public fireworks display, cans are generally more practical because they're lighter and don't introduce broken glass into a busy outdoor environment.

Always check the venue's own rules before taking any alcohol with you, as many organised displays won't allow it.

At home, we'd pour stronger or darker beers into a glass where possible. It gives you more aroma and makes stout, Belgian ale and winter beer much more enjoyable than drinking straight from the container.

Our Bonfire Night Beer Picks

If we were putting together a small selection for Bonfire Night, we'd cover a few different situations rather than buying one beer for everyone.

For stout:
Murphy's or O'Hara's Nitro Stout.

For dark lager:
Hofbräu Dunkel.

For something properly seasonal:
Ayinger Winterbock or Warsteiner Winter Amber Lager.

For later in the evening:
Gouden Carolus Christmas, Delirium Christmas or La Trappe Quadrupel.

For alcohol-free:
Guinness 0.0.

For a group:
A 5 litre mini keg from Paulaner, Bitburger, Budvar or another favourite brewery.

The point isn't that one of these is objectively the best Bonfire Night beer.

It's that different styles suit different parts of the evening.

Bonfire Night and What Beers to Drink: Our Verdict

For us, Bonfire Night is the point in the year when darker beer starts to make much more sense.

Stout is our first choice, particularly alongside smoky burgers, sausages and food cooked outdoors.

Dark lagers and seasonal winter beers are great if you want something richer without jumping straight to a strong ale.

And once the fireworks are over and you're back indoors, a slower Belgian strong ale or winter beer can be a great way to finish the evening.

If you're hosting a bigger gathering, don't overlook the practical option either: a mini keg makes sharing much easier.

Ultimately, drink the beer you enjoy.

But if you've spent all summer reaching for light lager, Bonfire Night might be the perfect excuse to go darker, richer and a little more seasonal.

Explore Beerhunter's Beer Range