Session #27: Beer Cocktails

When I think of cocktails, I definitely don’t think of beer.  Still, that’s exactly what this month’s Session topic is going to be: beer cocktails.  So I needed to put some thought into this one and it took me until the last could days on the calendar to finally come up with an idea. 

I started with the usual suspects when it came to using beer in the field of mixology.  Sure, you can pour some tomato juice into the beer, but doesn’t this appeal to anyone drinking anything more than a fizzy yellow lager?  There are Half and Halfs, Black and Tans and Black Bogs, but this is just a mix of two beers using a fancy spoon.  If you’re going to mix two beers together, I’ve always been partial to my own Choco-Nut from Rogue Ales, a pint of their Chocolate Stout and Hazlenut Brown mixed together, but that’s only recommended when at an Ale House, and I don’t have one that’s immediately local.  Then, there are the pre-bottled blends, such as Mississippi Mud and Black Eye Ale, but I think tat would be cheating.

Without a good idea, I turned to my trusty companion, the source of all new good ideas, the internet, specifically Google.  One of the pages I found was from All About Beer, an article on Beer Cocktails.  The original recipe comes way of Judy Ashworth.

For example, with “Anchor’s Aweigh,” a splash of Old Foghorn tops off a pint of Anchor Wheat Beer. Riding on a lemon wheel, the darker barley wine swirls gracefully down through the pale beer, like the first tendrils of fog rolling onto San Francisco Bay, and imparts just the right touch of flavor on its way.

Anchor Summer Beer (formerly Wheat Beer) is a crystal clear brew.  When the Foghorn is added, the swirls mentioned are very subtle and appear almost oily within the beer.  The flavor of this “cocktail” is still all Anchor Summer Beer, but the lemon and barleywine tweak the flavor of this “socky” beer enough that it keeps tat wheat forward flavor but adds some depth.

I’ve never been a big fan of Anchor Summer Beer, so maybe this was an odd choice of cocktail, but the mixture here is one I like.  Plus, when compared to other beer cocktails, this one doesn’t use gin, and also leaves me about 8 ounces of Old Foghorn to drink later in the day.  If you ask me, that’s a win-win situation.

With this Session now behind me, the question remains: will I be mixing my beers from here on out?  Probably not.  I like the simplicity of opening a beer, pouring and drinking it.  My personality insists that if I mix, I be precise, and in the process, take all the fun out of it.  That said, If I find myself somewhere with both anchor brews on hand and lemon wheels, I may have to give it another shot.

Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine

Make sure to visit Beer at Joe’s for the full recap of Session #27.  Thanks for hosting this Session Joe and Jazmin.

SING ALONG AND DRINK TO THE FOAM!