Adventures in Barbecue

We made a barbecue dinner last night to mark Son of Cicerone's recent 24th birthday. Of course, I experimented on the poor lad. I'd been thinking a lot recently about marinating spareribs before applying the dry rub, and decided on a plan that, though crazy, just might work. The marinade was simply schwarzbier, malt vinegar, and some of the rub mix. I rested it overnight, and when I drained the meat prior to applying the rub, I noted the very strong aroma of malt, caramel, and toffee. Fearing I was overdoing the schwarz, I decided to use some Vienna lager for the mop base, while smoking the ribs low and slow. I needn't have worried; the very spicy rub and smoke would have had little trouble with even more schwarzy goodness. The final product was smoky, spicy, had excellent texture, and went wonderfully well with the schwarzbier. And the son was happy....