Byrrh On-The-Rocks

 

This beer cocktail is exactly what it looks like. It is also exactly what it sounds like. It is beer and also Byrrh (pronounced beer) in a rocks glass with ice. A pale ale and French quinine wine go excellent together. They both share a fruity and hoppy herbal zing. Byrrh benefits from the fizz that the ale supplies, and the whole experience is nice as an early afternoon treat. 

But beware. Neither spirit is especially strong on alcohol, but that doesn't mean it is low ABV. If anything, this cocktail is like drinking champagne. One is nice, but wait before you get the next to see how it affects you. 

• 2 oz. Byrrh Grand Quinquina
• 2 oz. pale ale (Einstok used)
• orange zest

Build drink in a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of cracked ice. Stir gently and garnish with orange zest. 

 

s of ale

Submarino

Dropping a shot into a beer (A Boilermaker) is an old idea that achieves a singular end. You get drunk quickly. Still the Mexican variation of the Boilermaker is a good idea in itself. Mexican beer and tequila go great together, and it is easier to do a shot when it is watered down by beer. Try this pairing if you are looking for a little adventure.

• 1 oz. silver tequila
• Mexican beer

Fill a pint glass 3/4 full of beer and drop a shot glass full of tequila into the beer. 

Kolsch God

This is an original cocktail idea I had when I got this can of Fairwinds Kolsch. Grapefruit juice and grapefruit vodka are great with the hoppy and crisp taste of Kolsch beer. Do it on ice, because you want it as cold as possible, and use fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.

The name comes from the DC entrepreneur, now incarcerated, who started a marijuana delivery business called Kush God. Check it out!   But definitely check out this recipe.

• 1 1/2 oz. Absolut Ruby Red vodka
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• Kolsch beer

Combine grapefruit juice and grapefruit vodka in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a kolsch glass full of fresh ice. Top with beer. 

Black Velvet

A typical Black Velvet should be a half pint of stout and a half pint of champagne in a pint glass. That's it. Edie Burns of Bar Dupont says that this drink is a favorite of British in Ireland because it gets you drunk quicker than Guinness alone.

Bar Dupont has turned out this special cocktail for St. Patrick's Day, a fluted version with Sibona Camomilla, chamomile liqueur. I'm guessing it is 3/4 oz. of the liqueur and equal parts Guinness and prosecco. The liqueur smooths things over and ups the alcohol content. Velvet is an apt name here, because the fizzy bubbles feel lush and the chocolate and herbal flavors, as well as grape from the prosecco, offer little resistance.

Original recipe for Black Velvet:

• 6 oz. champagne or sparkling wine
• 6 oz. stout or black porter

Pour into a pint glass.

Wassail Bowl

Wassail is the old time holiday tradition of pestering the nobles until one of their servants goes out and dumps some of the leftover alcohol in a bowl that a bunch of rowdies carries from door to door. These revelers, or wassailers, carry the bowl and sing and jeer at each aristocrat's house and fill the bowl with ale, sherry, spiced wines and beers and add whatever they are carrying to the swill. Then they drink it!

A basic Wassail recipe is built around a spicy brown ale, just like the "Gloucestershire Wassails Song" says. The bowl is wooden "of the white maple tree." And while you get drunk on Wassail, it is quite alright to praise maids who let the Wassailers in, and damn butlers to hell if they add something putrid to the bowl.

For my Wassail I chose Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale. This is a hoppy and dry tasting brown ale for the holiday season. I am impressed that it's robust character stands out despite all the adulteration this drink goes through. When done well, Wassail has a whiff of holiday spice in the foam,  a sherry and hop burst in the center, and a sour zip of citrus.

Serve it in a bowl, and dip mugs in it to pass it around. Holiday mugs, hot drink mugs, beer mugs. Let's not be particular here.

• 6 12-oz. bottles of brown ail (Samuel Smith's Winter Warmer Ale used)
• 1 cup cream sherry
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
• lemon slices

Warm sherry and 1 bottle of ale in a saucepan. Do not boil. Add sugar and spices and stir until sugar dissolves. Add the remaining 5 bottles of ale. Remove from heat and let stand for 3 hours. Pour into a (wooden) punch bowl and garnish with lemon slices. (Serves 10.)

Rumfustian

Despite the name, this is not a rum drink. Rumfustian belongs to a class of colonial winter drinks that make use of whatever rich spirits our forefathers had on hand, usually eggs and fortified wine, and they didn't shy away from doing a hot beer drink. Other drinks of this nature include the Rattle-Skull, Syllabub, and Splitting Headache, which use sherry or beer or both.

Rumfustian is a trifecta of eggs, ale, and sherry, as well as gin and winter spices. It's not at all like the Hot Buttered Rum with it's fatty surface and predictably strong flavor. No. Rumfustian is a protein-rich treat with spices that surprise and confuse if not delight. I chose Samuel Adams Toasted Caramel Bock as the ale for this because it is sweet with caramel roasted barley and a hoppy backbone. It heats up very nicely and goes well with the mulling spices. Picking any bock or brown ale should be fine, though.

• 2 oz. gin
• 2 oz. fino sherry 
• 8 oz. brown ale
• 5 cloves
• cinnamon stick
• lemon twist
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. sugar
• fresh grated nutmeg

Combine gin, sherry, cloves and ale in a saucepan and heat slowly to nearly a boil. While the mixture is heating, combine egg yolks with sugar and beat to make a sweet yolk mixture. While whisking the hot liquid, pour in the egg yolks and continue stirring rapidly for 45 seconds. Pour into a hot beverage mug. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, lemon twist, and fresh nutmeg.

Yorsh

Yorsh is a Russian way of spiking a beer. Because it combines vodka and beer, it is technically a mixed drink, so I cover it for this blog. I don't usually want to consume my vodka this way and I was wondering what conditions make a Yorsh appealing.

Then I had a really clumsy day at work. After breaking about $1000 dollars of merchandise, I was too afraid to handle bottles while drinking at home. The Yorsh is perfect for this situation. You need a beer and a strong drink and you don't want to have to fuss over it. Vashe zdorov'ye!

• Beer
• Vodka (about 2 ounces)

Fill a beer glass 3/4 full and add vodka to the top. Drink quickly.

Canadian Dog's Nose

I get the feeling that this is not as much about the dog's nose as something that would overpower a dog's nose. It's a beer cocktail with whisky and I wanted to use Canadian varieties of both. It's not as refreshing as a Michelada, but it is much stronger. Unlike a Bloody Beer, it's not all salt and pepper sauce. Yes there's Tobasco, but there is also Canadian whisky sweetness somewhere in there. And the beer is bubbly and light, so it's not as thick as a Bloody Mary.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp Tobasco sauce
• 4 oz. tomato juice
• 6 oz. lager beer
• salt and black pepper

Combine whisky, tomato juice, and sauces in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a beer glass. Add beer while stirring slowly. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Winter White Snakebite / American Snakebite

I haven't made a beer cocktail in a while, and I figured it was about time now. I made this traditional half-and-half of cider and beer with Bell's Winter White ale and Crispin Artisanal cider. The effect is a sweet, green apple and honey mixed with citrus hopped white ale. The flavors go together really well. Plus, you can make the drink stronger by adding a shot of vodka--that's the American Snakebite. I guess Americans like their cider-beer cocktails a little stronger than the Brits.

• 1/2 pint cider
• 1/2 pint lager (Bell's Winter White ale used)
• 1 oz. vodka (for American Snakebite)

Combine all ingredients in a pint glass and stir gently.

Michelada

So it turns out that I really like a Michelada beer cocktail when I want something to casually sip on and be refreshed. Here’s how to make one.

• 1 bottle of lager or pilsner style beer
• 2 oz. tomato juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• several dashes of hot sauce

Rim the top of a pilsner or pint glass with salt by first coating it in lime juice. Fill the glass with ice and pour a light beer into the glass until it is more than halfway full. Squeeze half a lime into the glass and top it off with tomato juice and several dashes of hot sauce.