–Backed by Science (and a Ramones Track)

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A match made in heaven –or at a brewery

From ancient temples to late-night festivals, two things have always followed us through time: beer and music. They’re more than just pleasure — they’re pillars of culture. Music has scored revolutions, built identity, and turned chaos into rhythm. Beer? It fuelled the earliest economies, greased the gears of empires, and, according to A History of the World in 6 Glasses, helped kick-start civilisation itself. In short, sound and sip have always shaped the world, so it’s no surprise that nowadays we can theorise that the taste of beer can actually be influenced by the song that’s playing. Even more, that’s a combo that should always be paired together.

My favourite author, Nick Hornby, puts it beautifully in his book 31 Songs: “Songs are what we listen to, what we remember, what we turn to, what we mourn with and marry to.” That same emotional imprint applies to beer. A favourite track can make a pint taste sweeter. A good brew can soundtrack a heartbreak, a reunion, or a Tuesday. From sweaty dive bars to kitchen dancefloors, beer and music have always made one hell of a duo.

And here, we give this holy link a more updated look. To touch on popular beers we can easily enjoy these days, as well as songs that are either timeless or have come out in the latest decade.

I’ve recently started obsessing over Pete Brown’s new book Tasting Notes. In it, the journalist teaches us that “beer isn’t just liquid in a glass; it’s mood, memory, and melody.” So while an IPA might scream indie rebellion, stout hums like blues. There’s rhythm in the drinking and flavour in the music — together, they simply hit different.

Backed my science

But this isn’t just a few nerdy drinks writers waxing poetic over pints. There are properly researched links between two things I’m deeply passionate about — and as it turns out, loads of people are. A decade ago, the same writer, Pete Brown, teamed up with Oxford professor Charles Spence to analyse if, when pairing music with your pint of beer, its taste would actually change.

During the tasting, they matched a Belgian ale with the Pixies’ “Debaser,” a cherry beer with acid house legend A Guy Called Gerald, a Blue Trappist ale with Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” and a Vintage Ale with Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” This was all rooted in crossmodal sensory research — a proper Oxford-led experiment involving over 3,000 participants. The result? Sound and colour can alter taste perception by nearly 10%, especially in wine, with compelling implications for beer too.

Later on, the open science platform Frontiers in Psychology published a study that took this even further. Titled Not Just Another Pint! The Role of Emotion Induced by Music on the Consumer’s Tasting Experience, the research tested people drinking beer under three conditions: silence, labelled beer bottle, and labelled beer plus music from the band Editors.

Their conclusion: “Participants liked the beer more, and rated it as tasting sweeter, when listening to music associated with positive emotion. The same beer was rated as more bitter, with higher alcohol content, and as having more body, when participants listened to music associated with negative emotion. Moreover, participants were willing to pay 7–8% more for the beer that was tasted while they listened to positive music.”

Its main author, Dr. Felipe Reinoso Cavalho from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, adds that “people that previously knew the song… not only liked the multisensory experience of drinking beer more while listening to it, but they also liked the beer itself more.”

In a world where we obsess over food and wine pairings (and spend far too long writing tasting notes), this research offers a new path to explore: how music becomes a seasoning for our senses.

And it makes sense. Think of how different a drink tastes in a beer garden with friends versus under hospital lighting on your sofa. The atmosphere counts. Sound is part of that atmosphere. It’s emotional. It’s immersive. And now we know it’s also chemical.

Jason Oliver, Head Brewer at Cloudwater Brew Co. says that they “often curate playlists to match the energy of new releases or events. Music and beer both have layers of complexity and mood, and when combined thoughtfully, they elevate the experience.”

Want more? In Will Travel for Beer, Stephen Beaumont’s travel guide for beer lovers, you learn that the pint becomes a sort of passport — Tokyo rooftops, Belgian abbeys, and stories to take you around the world. Because drinking is social, music is emotional, and the combo? That’s connection, culture, and just enough chaos.

Because if history has taught us anything, it’s that women were the original brewers long before beer became a commercial, male-dominated industry. In ancient Sumeria, for example, brewing was often a domestic task carried out by women, who passed down the knowledge through generations. The goddess Ninkasi, revered as the patron of beer and brewing, even had a hymn dedicated to her craft — a clear sign of how deeply intertwined women and beer once were. Over time, as brewing grew into a larger, industrialised business, the role of women in the process diminished, but their foundational influence remains undeniable.

Heather Jones, Brewmaster at New Belgium Brewing can confirm that. “Music is a huge part of our culture at New Belgium. It keeps the team energized and inspired, and it adds a layer of joy to the brewing process — that joy comes through in the beer.”

And Megan Parisi Co-founder of Parisi Artisan Ales, adds that “music is part of the brewing experience — it shapes the mood in the brewhouse and connects us to the craft in a deeper way. It’s hard to separate the two when you spend so much time immersed in the process.”

Similarly, music — much like brewing — has been shaped by voices across genders and cultures. Together, beer and music have always been more than just background noise or bar snacks; they are cultural cornerstones. They carry stories of joy and celebration, acts of rebellion and resistance, moments of healing and connection. They hold a whole lot of soul.

Theory into practice

So to put theory into (slightly tipsy) practice, I decided to pair five of my most-drunk beers with five songs from my personal Top 20 of all time. Call it a sonic tasting flight — or just a glorified excuse to drink with intention. Here’s what I landed on:

• IPA by Hobgoblin — “Dirty Old Town” by The Pogues: gritty, nostalgic, and best enjoyed at pub volume.
• Punk IPA by BrewDog — “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones: fast, loud, and unapologetically chaotic.
• Guinness — “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash: smooth, bold, and rich with a dark edge.
• Neck Oil by Beavertown — “Basket Case” by Green Day: light-bodied, slightly bitter, and full of angst.
• Pilsner Urquell — “Faint” by Linkin Park: clean, crisp and aggressive in all the right places.

Interestingly, Jeff Hahn, owner of Day Block Brewing in Minneapolis, when asked about the importance of live bands playing in pubs, he highlighted that “It’s a nice way to work with the bands who play in our music venue… Pop and rock groups tend to want pilsners and other lighter beers, while the metal bands favour IPAs or dark beers for their performance.”

But what about you? Would you’ve gone a different way? Maybe you feel like a Guinness deserves jazz, or Punk IPA needs Beyoncé? I’d love to hear what your perfect pairing sounds — and tastes — like.

Whichever pairing you choose — a bold stout with brooding blues or a sunny lager with disco — few pleasures rival a cold beer in one hand and the right song in your ears. Whether you’re shouting lyrics in a dive bar or slow-dancing in your kitchen, beer and music still make one hell of a duo. Cheers to that.

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