Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly pour in the beer while stirring. (it will foam.) Continue stirring until the foaming subsides and just until the dough is combined and no dry streaks of flour remain. Scoop the dough into the greased baking pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the top of the dough.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Immediately remove the bread from the pan and place on a wire rack.
Brush all over with the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and let cool completely. Bread can be tightly wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days, or sliced, wrapped, and frozen in a freezer container for up to 2 months.
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Notes
Do not over-mix the dough. Stir until just combined, as overmixing will result in a dry, dense, tough loaf.
Use a scale to measure your flour. This will yield the most accurate results. However, if you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the measuring cup, leading to a heavy loaf.
You can swap the sugar for honey if you prefer honey to sugar.
For perfect slices, you can use a serrated knife.
Make sure to hold off the butter to pour over the bread batter before baking. The melted butter on top will give you a buttery crust compared to if you had mixed it in alongside the beer.
Have self-rising flour on hand? You can use that in place of all-purpose and omit the baking powder.