If the word “six-pack” doesn’t conjure an image of chiseled abs, but rather a cardboard carton tailor-made for carrying frosty bottles of ice-cold beer, then you are on the same page as we are. Now, you might call us crazy, but we think that real-deal beer lovers don’t just drink a frothy beer straight from the can. Even if pouring one out for a recipe feels wrong, sacrificing one of your six brings the hoppy, bubbly qualities of the brewery-bred beverage into some of your favorite foods.

Beer belongs in cake.

When you stir some beer into cake batter, a little magic happens. Take this Can o’ Beer Cake. Beer’s innately bitter and floral notes cut the sometimes-cloying sweetness of all that sugar and frosting, so you get a more complex, ultra-tender finished product. Once you get a load of this slice, browse the beauty of our five other beautiful beer cakes.

Beer belongs with chicken.

Beer can chicken might be a summer backyard party staple, but it’s actually easy to do this preparation in the oven. For Big Bud’s Beer Can Chicken, Guy Fieri perches a whole chicken over a can of just-cracked-open beer — that has a few cloves of garlic dropped inside for added punch — and then drapes the chicken with bacon before roasting it in the oven.

Beer belongs with cheese.

Pour a bottle of lager beer into a melty, mustard-spiked mixture of Gouda and Swiss Emmentaler cheeses for a gooey dip that’s best with contrasting crisp apples or hearty bread. But this Gouda-and-Beer Fondue Bread Bowl isn’t the only cheesy dish that beer belongs in: beer cheese-loaded potato skins, Beer-Cheese Burgers and a Beer-and-Cheese Party Plate are just a few of our other favorites.

Beer belongs in fry batters.

It’s a well-known fact that frothy, bubbly beer ensures that batter reaches crispy greatness once it hits the fryer. Guy’s buttermilk-marinated Beer-Battered Mushrooms with Garlic Aioli from Food Network Magazine are serious proof of the drink’s magic properties.

Beer belongs in sweets.

Full-fledged cakes aren’t the only treat that benefit from the complexity of a glug of beer. Food Network Magazine’s Beer-Pretzel Caramels are made with a whole bottle of brown ale, which counters the sweet brown sugar and rich butter.

Want another round? Brush up on your beer basics here.