Any chef can let you in on a secret: When cooking with booze, you actually want to use the stuff you like to drink. Nobody wants to quaff the supermarket swill labeled "cooking wine," so why make it a major ingredient in your beef bourguignon? The same holds true when your recipe calls for beer. Here are seven of my favorite summertime recipes that benefit from some good brew. I've suggested a few bottles for each, but you should experiment with style and flavor on your own — malty stout, hoppy IPA — until you find what you like. Just make sure you really know what you're throwing in there. The beer will appreciate it, too.

Evan S. Benn is the beer columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His Hip Hops column, blog, and beer app can be found at stltoday.com/hiphops. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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