Lagerita Senorita

Beer cocktails

‘Beer cocktails?’ ‘Is nothing sacred?’ we hear you cry. well In fact, says Naren Young, this combination isn’t as strange, or new, as you might imagine. read on...

For many beer purists out there, the very notion of doctoring up their favourite brew, or, God forbid, mixing it into a cocktail, is about as sacrilegious as it is for a hardened Scotsman to add ice to his single malt. In fact, creative bartenders right around the world are getting excited about beer cocktails, a category that is far more alluring than it sounds.

While beer cocktails are nothing new (the Egyptians were spiking their brews with all sorts of herbs, spices and honey way back when), the creativity that the current crop of modern mixologists are showing with this ancient and historic libation certainly is.

beer cocktails are nothing new – the egyptians spiked their brews with all sorts

There are some very famous classic beer cocktails, although most outside the world of cocktail geekdom have probably never heard of them. Some, such as The Flip, made their name in Colonial America and would have mostly been served warm (refrigeration wasn’t ubiquitous until about the 1830s) or piping hot when a smouldering iron would have been plunged into the modest mix of beer, sugar and eggs, with some rum, sherry or madeira used to fortify the drink, perhaps.

In Jerry Thomas’ legendary opus How to Mix Drinks, he lists several delightful-sounding beer cocktails, such as the Porter Cup, which includes both ale and porter, brandy, ginger syrup, loaf sugar, nutmeg, bicarbonate of soda and cucumber. It might sound a little pedestrian nowadays, but remember that this iconic book was first published in 1862.

The first beer cocktail I ever saw was the Red Eye, which some of you may recall with an ironic whiff of nostalgia from the iconic Tom Cruise movie Cocktail. It contains beer, tomato juice, Tabasco and a whole raw egg. Doug Coughlin (played by Bryan Brown) claimed it to be a great hangover cure. It isn’t, for the record.

While it is rarely seen in cocktail dens of today, I would be remiss not to mention the Black Velvet, a glorious beer drink that had its own 15 minutes of fame in that era when cream sherry, the Golden Cadillac and Mosel were also de rigueur. This simple and utterly unique combination of stout and champagne might just be about as perfect and elegant a match for a plate of freshly shucked oysters as you will find.

One of the greatest beer cocktails you will ever come across, however, is the Michelada, a classic drink borne out of the tiny, rustic cantinas of coastal Mexico. If ever there was a ‘session’ beer cocktail, then this is it. Its original incarnation is the Chelada, a simple mix of cold beer (typically a lager) served on the rocks in a salt-rimmed highball with a generous squeeze of lime. Its big brother, however, spices things up a little with the addition of Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Some bars strangely (and unnecessarily) add tomato juice.

Boilermaker in the shaker

Manhattan’s East Village is teeming with venues to suit every hardened barfly, including several great beer bars, and numerous cocktail dens, that recognise the good things that can happen when spirits and beer get together for a party. And I’m not talking about your standard Boilermaker, although a sojourn to the tiny Amor y Amargo (Love and Bitters) on 6th Street will show you that this most classic of beer drinks (calling it a ‘cocktail’ might be a bit of a stretch) can, in the right hands, be transformed into something glorious.

‘I love the simplicity of the Boilermaker,’ proprietor Avery Glasser says, ‘where domestic pilsener is mixed with bourbon or Tennessee whiskey – neither of them very high quality usually – to create something where the sum of the parts is better than each part individually.

there are many reasons to love beer cocktails, not least their sheer diversity

‘I was inspired by the Amer Biere to create my own twist. After spending time in Strasbourg and consuming dozens of these drinks, I saw that in many ways, this was the Boilermaker of Alsace. So, I thought about what the love child resulting from these drinks would be like: beer, citrus, biscuity, strong and very dry and bitter. The answer was the Boiler-Bach.’ (See box.)

The States of beer to come

Perhaps the best beer cocktail I’ve had in a long time was at the Dutch-inspired restaurant Vandaag, where the legacy of one-time in-house mixologist Katie Stipe can be seen in a wonderful array of beer cocktails such as the Radler, which effortlessly combines pineapple-infused aquavit with ginger, topped off with a Belgian Witbier. Her Popeye also made me curious, again using aquavit (this time infused with Fresno chilies) and finished with spicy tomato, pilsener and a fennel-pollen salt-rim. All are also available by the pitcher – a nice touch.

Across the street at Mayahuel, New York’s temple to all things agave, Phil Ward has also paid homage to beer-inspired cocktails with a long list that is cleverly spiked with a little tequila here, a whisper of mezcal there. I was especially enamoured with his El Jimador’s Shifty with pineapple-infused mezcal, lime and sugar cane, charged with Negra Modelo and served in a spiced salt-rimmed glass.

America’s most celebrated modern bartender, Jim Meehan, has just released The PDT Cocktail Book (Sterling Publishing). He has a fondness for beer cocktails and there is always one listed on his eclectic menu. On my last visit it was his Beer and a Smoke, a cheeky twist on the Michelada that calls on Sombra Mezcal, lime, celery bitters, Cholula Hot Sauce and Victory Prima Pils pilsener.

‘For me, beer cocktails are a fun way to incorporate each element of our beverage programme into what we feature: cocktails,’ Meehan says. ‘Unconventional beers mix really well with spirits. The Michelada is the easiest beer cocktail to adapt, but long drinks, like the Beer Cassis (Dubonnet Rouge, cassis and Brooklyn Brewery’s Local 1) and Flips, such as our Great Pumpkin, work really well too.’

At JoeDoe, another tiny hole in the wall in Manhattan’s East Village, in-house mixologist Jill Schulster has created nine beer cocktails that include such interesting ingredients as preserved citrus, salted honey and iced espresso. Her Black & Tan is an enormous and tasty mix of ale and porter with AH Hirsch Reserve Bourbon finished with a frozen marshmallow.

Back on home turf

North Bar in Leeds boasts a very diverse and dedicated selection of beer cocktails. Unlikely partners such as Krupnik Polish Honey Vodka, apricot brandy and Agavero Tequila Liqueur might be topped off with a malty lager, while Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout is stirred with Kahlua and Frangelico and served up with a Maldon Salt rim.

Manager Matt Gorecki elaborates: ‘The Baltic Brooklyn balances the sweet Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout with Frangelico, Kahlua and a salty edge. Hazelnut, coffee and salt all work brilliantly with chocolate, so it's a great combination. Also, the Maldon Salt rim brings forth associations with the arduous journeys that the Imperial Stouts of the United Kingdom used to make across the Baltic Sea to deliver the much-loved beer to the Russian Imperial Court.

‘I’m extremely happy about the reception that our new beer cocktails have received,’ he continues. ‘When using beer as an ingredient we try to both honour the original drink and offer an exciting new interpretation that will appeal to cocktail and beer enthusiasts alike. We figured that it might stir up a bit of debate amongst those people who can be a little too serious about their beverages and remind people that drinking is supposed to be fun!’

In 2008, at the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup in New Zealand, the English team of Sean Ware, Josh Ivanovic and JJ Goodman took the coveted first prize with their ‘Ale of Two Cities’, a phenomenal combination that left the judges (which included Jonathan Downey, Hidetsugu Ueno and Salvatore Calabrese) amazed.

‘I was inspired by old pubs, combined with British and New Zealand flavours,’ Ware says. ‘But we were keen to use them in a way where the end result could be replicated in other bars. I also wanted it to be non-pretentious, one that could be enjoyed by all. The drink has been on the menu at Callooh Callay since it opened.’

Charles Joly, one of America’s great bartenders who seems to win every competition he enters, is a firm advocate of beer cocktails and has made me some cracking beer-based cocktails over the years, including The Rye in your Britches – listed above – a perfect example of how these drinks should also be thought of seasonally.

‘This cocktail was inspired by the depth and flavour profile of the Basil Hayden’s, with consideration for the autumn season. The cherry liqueur adds a layer of complexity while the bitters introduce some holiday spice. The milk stout adds mouthfeel, while the hops highlight the tannins lent to the bourbon by the barrel,’ he says. ‘This is spirited enough to be paired with a main savoury dish, or enjoyed after dinner with a cigar or rich dessert.’

There are many reasons to love beer cocktails, not least of which is the sheer diversity they can bring to a list. So next time you’re looking to top off a cocktail with a little soda, sprite or even Champagne, perhaps a splash of hefeweizen or peach lambic might be your answer.

Editorial feature from Imbibe Magazine – January/February 2012

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