Craft Beer Cocktails

Recently I’ve been looking into the world of craft beers and craft beer cocktails, with more and more people asking the right sort of questions over the bar, I’ve been taken a back slightly! Here are the days of the educated beer drinker…(well a few more than normal) so lets give them something to wet their whistle! It lead me to thinking about the future of Craft Beer once the craze is over (not that it’s fully begun yet…but I’m a forward thinker!) and the craft beer cocktails were the first thing that came to mind.

I am a massive beer lover myself, and anyone will tell you that on plentiful evenings you can find me at the bar quaffing an Affligem or an Erdinger from my own Stein, ladies half pint size of course…

I’m going to show you some craft and lager recipes i have created and a few I’ve found online that have tantalized my bucksome beer taste buds, yet also satisfied my cocktail craving.

White Chocolate and Stout Rusk

Rich, warming and indulgent.

Mozart White Chocolate Liqueur and Yamazaki 12 Japanese Single Malt whisky shaken with Milk and Cream. Topped with dry shaken Heavy Stout and White Chocolate Shavings

-Mozart White Chocolate 25ml

-Yamazaki 12 25ml

-Milk and Double Cream 50ml combined

-Stout 40ml dry shaken and served on top.

-White chocolate shavings and a half Farleys Rusk.

An adapted recipe I found online that used American style liqour in place of the Mozart, I love the Mozart because it’s literally like drinking chocolate.

Such an indulgent and elegant drink that can be made with beers such as Bristol Beer Factory’s Milk Stout (Pictured), a classic dark beer made with milk sugar (Lactose) which gives it it’s thick, creamy and smooth consistency. A gorgeous topper to this cocktail. You could even use a Guinness if your fresh out of Milk Stout.

Home Brew Shandy

Natural and refreshing

Bulleit Bourbon, Lemon Juice, Soda and a touch of Sugar with light beer

-Bulleit Bourbon 25ml

-Lemon Juice 20ml

-Soda 60ml

-Gomme 20ml

-Light Beer to top

All in a pint glass this drink is the ULTIMATE summer beer cooler, without being too boozy.

It’s a great profit sinker for us behind the bar, and a great gentle quaffer for those sat on the terrace. You could use a classic Becks Vier to top this, or anything light that you may have lying around. I love it with draught Asahi, the ‘Super Dry’ Japanese Beer balances the sweet of the sugar and highlights the citrus notes from the lemon. Cracking!

Tom Terrific

Hop tastic- tropical notes

Jensen Old Tom Gin, Cherry Heering and Fresh Lemon Juice. Topped up with IPA

-Jensen Old Tom Gin 25ml

-Cherry Heering 10ml

-10ml Lemon Juice

-Top with IPA

What a gorgeously fruity concoction the Tom Terrific is… A MUST beer with this cocktail is Goose Island IPA. I first tried Goose at a craft beer fair in Bristol a few months back and it blew me away. Heavy hoppy tropical notes with mega mango punches. It sits perfectly with the Old Tom’s natural sweetness and it’s all lifted with the citrus and the cherry. Wow!  You can even grab Goose in Sainsburys these days… but I prefer smaller interesting boozy shops like Independent Spirit in Bath. An array of craft beers and spirits beyond belief…they love stocking local brews too. Well worth a visit independentspiritofbath

The Passion of Ol’ Porter

Fruity and hoppy

A nectar like yet fresh concoction of Floris Passion fruit Beer and naturally fragrant Old Tom Gin.

-Floris Passion fruit IPA 25ml

-Hayman Old Tom 50ml

-Passion Fruit Funkin 15ml

-Gomme 15ml

Served in a Coupette with a passion fruit garnish

This sweet and hoppy concoction uses Floris Passion fruit (just one of many of their flavours), a beer that I have grown to love. I would class its taste as more of a cider if it didn’t have a hoppy afterkick…. It’s an unusually sweet beer that unlike their other flavours, doesn’t really sit well with me. So I decided to chuck it into a cocktail! The passion fruit shines through in this cute drink that the ladies will love…

Floris comes from the Huyghe Brewery. Founded in 1906 in Belgium by Leon Huyghe in city of Melle in East Flanders and  although the brewery’s most well-known beer is Delirium Tremens (a blonde, Belgian-style tripel) the Floris is now breaking into the market with its unique flavours.

 

Il Dottore

The Italian DR PEPPER

Amaretto and organic Cola topped up with Peroni Gran Riserva

-Lazaronni Amaretto 25ml

-Fentimens Organic Cola 100ml

-Peroni Gran Riserva 330ml

Now, don’t judge me for this…but let’s be honest…we all love the taste of Dr Pepper…how could you not? This high school classic brings back the memories of parties when the parents are away, using a few ingredients that are basic ‘back of the spirit cupboard’ staples. I’ve upped the ante slightly with some Lazaronni Amaretto, bringing hints of macaroons and apricots, a classic Fentimans Organic cola, a gorgeous softie packed with bitter notes and just a hint of fizz; all brought together with some Italian Peroni Gran Riserva (giving a slightly heartier feel to drink). A slightly subtler (weaker) Peroni Natro Azzuro can be substituted as this Doctor packs a punch, but boy does it feel good!

My last cocktail is tropical flavour sensation!

Maggie Main’s Punch (Serves 3)

-Timmermans Raspberry Beer 1 bottle

-Timmermans  Peach Beer  1 bottle

-Mandarin Napoleon 50ml

-Chase Marmalade 25ml

-Orange peel

Served over ice in a pitcher, top with Soda to taste.

Timmermans Beers are fantastic, and make this Punch…Punchy!

‘Timmermans is one of only a handful of traditional Lambic breweries from the outskirts of Brussels.
Lambic beer has to be the most unusual beer family in the world: small breweries near Brussels maintaining a tradition for spontaneously fermenting wheat beers  (no yeast is added), a process whereby micro-organisms  of the area enter the brew left in open vessels in dusty galleries overnight.

A lambic blend is given further fermentation by addition of fruit which after conditioning gives a pronounced flavour and aroma…’ big thanks to James Clay for that description…

Lambic beers, as stated, are slightly different. I love the idea that its all natural and what you are drinking has come from years of family brewing history. Needless to say, the Framboise (Raspberry) and Peche (Peach) Flavours of this Lambic Beer certainly invigorate this punch. The Chase Marmalade gives strength and bitterness, whilst the Mandarin Napoleon brings sweet fruitiness. I love to chuck in a measure of home steeped Mango Rum ( I literally place mango pieces in Brugal Blanco for 2 days, store in a dark place, then use cheesecloth to filter the solids from the liquids, re-bottle and enjoy!) and this goes extraordinarily with the flavoured beers.

 

Isabella Newman

Bar Manager

Circo Bar and Lounge

Bath

the cocktail ponders