What makes a beer even better? Turning it into a cocktail!
Beer. Cocktails. Purists may wince at the words ‘beer’ and ‘cocktail’ said in the same breath! Hear us out, beer cocktails are anything, but boring! Quality beer adds body and a frothy kick to a spirit-based drink! In fact, we seriously trust it to be a fantastic cocktail ingredient that can provide carbonation, savoury flavours, and great texture! The best bet? It’s less alcoholic than a straight-up spirit! In some cocktails, beer can be the ‘star of the show’ while in others it can add accents. Here are five beer cocktails perfect for weekend drinking….
Shandy is as refreshing on a summer afternoon as it is on a humid rainy evening. It has an interesting origin story or stories! Shandy is believed to have been born in the pubs of London back in the 18th Century. Fast forward to the
19th Century post WWI Bavaria where it was said to be served to thirsty cyclists by an ingenious innkeeper—which is why the Germans call it Radler (cyclist in German). In India, we inherited the shandy in colonial clubs and restaurants where lager was mixed with lemon and soda—the shandy survived even after the British left the country!
Ingredients:
1 pint pale lager beer
1 pint lemon soda/homemade lemonade
slice of lemon, for garnish
Get It Right: The fresh homemade lemonade will make a difference to this refreshing drink. So, skip the powdered/concentrated stuff and mix freshly squeezed lemon juice with sugar and water. Fill the beer glass with half a pint of beer. Top it up with half a pint of lemonade and finish with a slice of lemon. Go for seconds with the leftover beer and lemonade.
Michelada is easily the undisputed king of beer cocktails, especially in North America. It’s perfect for a Sunday brunch with the boys if you want something a little bit more than just plain beer. The drink is believed to have originated sometime in the middle of the 20th century when they started to serve beer with lime and salt in Mexico! Some recipes even require tomato juice, but the Mexico-city version swaps it with lime juice. This Mexican classic kicks up the flavour of beer with an assortment of stuff like lime and hot sauce, and can give Bloody Mary a run for its money!
Ingredients:
1 pint Mexican lager beer, chilled
15ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
Tabasco sauce, 2 drops
Worcestershire sauce, 2 dashes
ground black pepper, 1 pinch
cayenne pepper, 1 pinch
salt, 1 pinch
celery salt, 1 pinch
1 lime wedge
1 lime wedge for garnish
Get It Right: Add equal parts salt and cayenne pepper to a plate or shallow bowl. Rub the lime wedge along half the rim of the pint glass and then dip the rim into the salt-cayenne mixture. Add the lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, black pepper and celery salt to the glass. Fill the glass with the beer and garnish with a lime wedge. Cheers!
The Black Velvet is perhaps one of the most elegant beer cocktails out there. It’s where the queen of bubblies (champagne) meets the humble stout (dark beer). According to Wikipedia, the two-ingredient drink was first made by a bartender of Brooks’s Club in London in 1861 to mourn the death of Prince Albert. Today, the drink is not exclusive to mourning, and is a huge favourite with fans of both sparkling wine and beer!
Ingredients:
1 pint stout beer (like Guinness)
Champagne or sparkling white wine
Get It Right: Fill a highball glass or a champagne flute halfway with chilled dark beer. Top off slowly with chilled sparkling wine/Champagne. Voila, enjoy!
For all the coffee/espresso lovers in the house, here’s one that will take care of both your caffeine and barley fix! This very modern drink may be short on history, but not on taste!
Ingredients:
250ml dark beer/stout
25ml cold espresso
25ml coffee liqueur
10ml vanilla syrup (optional)
coffee beans for garnish
Get It Right: Pour cold espresso into a small jug and add the coffee liqueur and vanilla syrup and give it a good stir. Refrigerate this along with two tall, thin beer glasses. Chill for 30 mins or until really cold, then divide stout between the two glasses. Then, slowly top off the chilled espresso mix equally between the two glasses and serve immediately. Raise a toast!
What do you get when you top off typical ingredients of a Margarita with a lager beer? You get Lagerita—an even more refreshing take on the original! Great for house parties for one or for those with a couple of your buddies after a round of Sunday football!
Ingredients:
60ml tequila
22ml Cointreau
29ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
120ml Mexican lager beer
Salt (optional)
lime wheel for garnish
Get It Right: Coat the rim of a highball glass with salt, fill with ice and set aside. Add the tequila, Cointreau and lime juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into the prepared glass. Finish off with the beer and with a lime-wheel garnish! Yum!
Beer needn’t be a SOLO act. Surprise your palette with these cocktails; we are sure you’ll find a new favourite after-work drink!
[All Image Credits: Shutterstock]
Eva Pavithran
Vertical Head - Lifestyle