Beer Cocktails

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Beer Cocktails

October 21, 2005 12:32 PM EST | Wine & Spirits | Email to Friend

Have you ever heard of a "beer cocktail?" Never heard about them before? Well, join the crowd. Many people have no clue as to what it is. The beer cocktail is a little sleeper that once awoken demands that it's presence be known. We are here to kick the bed a little bit to wake it up for you.

We all know what a cocktail is. Usually, it is two or more different kinds of drinks mixed together to produce a flavorful and hard-hitting concoction. Traditionally beer has never enjoyed the flavorful celebrity category with traditional cocktails.

Bars across America are waking up to the idea of mixing beers together and actually producing something with some taste. They are not only doing it for an addition to the variety of drinks they offer, but as a great marketing and money making option.

There is always money in mixing things. Haven't you noticed that when you mix and match with something you always pay more than normal?

Many staples are mixed drinks, but have lost their mixiness over time and now can almost be considered standard drinks. Drinks which mix vodka, tequila, gin and more qualify for this list, but a beer cocktail is a whole other ballgame. This is beer and it has the foamy factor to deal with - so there is no "shaking" going on here.

If you have done any kind of globe hopping or you carry a bartender's book in your back-pocket, somewhere you've heard the words: "black and tan." This is the best known (a close second would be the "Irish car bomb.") beer cocktail. There are some differences in what the end result is depending on where you order it - but it goes a little something like this:

You can use any brand of stout or a light-colored ale or lager to make a black and tan. A lot of breweries use their own in-house produced beers for this. However, the majority of people in America like to go with the well known Guinness Stout, Bass ale, or Harp lager.

For America, the black and tan is a layered cocktail. The darker colored stout floats on top of the lighter beer. For the rest of the world, the two beers are poured together at the same time. The two beers will eventually mix together regardless of how it started out.

It is much easier to make a black and tan if you use good spouts or taps like some of the ones that KegWorks offers. It is also good if your stout is pushed by a nitrogen or CO2 system. You start by filling half the glass with the ale or lager. Then, slow it down and pour the stout slowly over the back of a spoon. We recommend using the KegWorks decorative black and tan spoon for this process.

Voila! You now have a great tasting and looking black and tan. No need to carry around that bartender's book anymore - you're in the know.