Category: Beer Cocktails

The Right Beer Makes A Big Difference.

For this cocktail, I was trying to make a beer cocktail that tasted like a root beer float. I found a sweeter/low bitter porter to taste better. I find stouts to be a bit too bitter and strong to blend well with the cream. Guinness works well but keeps an eye out for a sweeter porter, but the simple syrup can easily be adjusted to offset a more bitter beer. My favorite beer to use when making this is Black Butte Porter by Deschutes Brewery. It’s also one of my favorite porters anyway, so I’m sure that plays a role, in my opinion, but it blends very well with the dairy, sugar, and vanilla extract. So I say find your favorite porter and give it a go. If it misses the mark, then try a different one.

The Problem With Mixing Dairy And Alcohol And How Stabilized Cream Can Help.

Dairy and alcohol do not mix well. Especially dairy and a slightly acidic drink like beer. The problem is in an acidic or alkaline environment, protein will denature (aka cook), and the protein molecules will unfold. These loose unfolded protein molecules can bond together, forming large, firm protein clumps. We call cheese, and a beer with tiny bits of cheese floating about is repulsive. There are two ways to prevent this from happening.

1. The high-fat content in heavy cream will bond with the alcohol and help prevent it from denaturing the proteins. This is why heavy cream is added to a white Russian and not milk or half and half. The fat will only protect against alcohol, though. Beer is also slightly acidic, and to protect against that, you need something else.
2. Starch is the secret ingredient that will prevent the protein from bonding together and forming clumps even in an acidic environment.

Using starch to stabilize dairy is nothing new; pastry bakers have been using cream mixed with corn starch for a long time. Boston cream pies, meringues, and whip creams that last for hours. It’s been a long time since I have taken an organic chemistry class but what I believe happens is the starch, which is a long glucose chain, will bind to the unfolded and denatured protein chain. The protein/amino acids will bond to the glucose that makes up the starch instead of to another protein/amino acid chain. This is why a Boston cream filling remains silky smooth after being cooked. There is a bit more to it, and I could talk about the different effects starch will have based on when it is added, but for this specific drink, this will do.

How To Make Stabilized Cream.

To make stabilized heavy cream add 1 tbsp (7 g) or cornstarch to 1 cup (240mLs) of heavy cream. Mix the two ingredients with a wire whisk and let it sit for a few minutes before using.

The History Of The Shandy.

The Shandy Gaff is the oldest known version of the shandy-style beer cocktails. The Shandy Gaff is a 1:1 strong or pale ale beer mixed with ginger beer. The earliest printed recipe I could find for the Shandy Gaff is in the 1888 Harry Johnson’s new And Improved Bartender’s Manual. Every recipe I can see from 1888 to 1972 refers to the cocktail as a Shandy Gaff and not simply a Shandy, and they are all made with beer and ginger ale. Although the most popular shandy mixer today is not ginger beer but lemonade. The kind of lemonade used depends on the region.

Americans use the more regionally typical non-carbonated lemonade (like a child’s lemonade stand-style lemonade), the British use clear carbonated lemonade (7Up or Sprite), and the german style uses the cloudy carbonated lemonades (Italian soda style lemonade). The German-style is my favorite way to make it. The first account I could find of the cocktail being called a shandy and make with sparkling lemonade is in a 1989 research paper by John Balding called “We Teach Them How to Drink!” Interestingly that research paper argues that British children will start drinking at young ages anyway, so parents need to teach them responsible ways to drink when they are young. The Shandy is described as gateway alcohol since it is so easy to drink.

The commonly told history of how the lemonade was first mixed with beer comes from Munich, Germany. The story goes that a Pub owner outside Munich was in danger of running out of beer when countless cyclists stopped at his pub for a drink. To avoid running out of beer, he mixed the local lager with lemonade and sold it as the Radlermass. Radlermass is german for “cyclist liter.” The other german name I find for beer and lemonade is Alsterwasser. This is a reference to the Alster River in northern Germany. The article referencing these two german shandies referred to them as tractor or field beers. They were intended as session drinks with a low ABV but enough sugar and calories so that they could be consumed while doing hard work. They could refresh and nourish a sweaty field worker without inhibiting them mentally.

The History Of The Shandy And Shandy Gaff.

The Shandy Gaff is the oldest known version of the shandy-style beer cocktails. The Shandy Gaff is a 1:1 strong or pale ale beer mixed with ginger beer. The earliest printed recipe I could find for the Shandy Gaff is in the 1888 Harry Johnson’s new And Improved Bartender’s Manual. Every recipe I can see from 1888 to 1972 refers to the cocktail as a Shandy Gaff and not simply a Shandy, and they are all made with beer and ginger ale. Although the most popular shandy mixer today is not ginger beer but lemonade. The kind of lemonade used depends on the region.

Americans use the more regionally typical non-carbonated lemonade (like a child’s lemonade stand-style lemonade), the British use clear carbonated lemonade (7Up or Sprite), and the german style uses the cloudy carbonated lemonades (Italian soda style lemonade). The German-style is my favorite way to make it. The first account I could find of the cocktail being called a shandy and make with sparkling lemonade is in a 1989 research paper by John Balding called “We Teach Them How to Drink!” Interestingly that research paper argues that British children will start drinking at young ages anyway, so parents need to teach them responsible ways to drink when they are young. The Shandy is described as gateway alcohol since it is so easy to drink.

The commonly told history of how the lemonade was first mixed with beer comes from Munich, Germany. The story goes that a Pub owner outside Munich was in danger of running out of beer when countless cyclists stopped at his pub for a drink. To avoid running out of beer, he mixed the local lager with lemonade and sold it as the Radlermass. Radlermass is german for “cyclist liter.” The other german name I find for beer and lemonade is Alsterwasser. This is a reference to the Alster River in northern Germany. The article referencing these two german shandies referred to them as tractor or field beers. They were intended as session drinks with a low ABV but enough sugar and calories so that they could be consumed while doing hard work. They could refresh and nourish a sweaty field worker without inhibiting them mentally.

Recipe Resources

• 1888 Bartender’s Manual – Johnson

The History Of The Shandy.

The Shandy Gaff is the oldest known version of the shandy-style beer cocktails. The Shandy Gaff is a 1:1 strong or pale ale beer mixed with ginger beer. The earliest printed recipe I could find for the Shandy Gaff is in the 1888 Harry Johnson’s new And Improved Bartender’s Manual. Every recipe I can see from 1888 to 1972 refers to the cocktail as a Shandy Gaff and not simply a Shandy, and they are all made with beer and ginger ale. Although the most popular shandy mixer today is not ginger beer but lemonade. The kind of lemonade used depends on the region.

Americans use the more regionally typical non-carbonated lemonade (like a child’s lemonade stand-style lemonade), the British use clear carbonated lemonade (7Up or Sprite), and the german style uses the cloudy carbonated lemonades (Italian soda style lemonade). The German-style is my favorite way to make it. The first account I could find of the cocktail being called a shandy and make with sparkling lemonade is in a 1989 research paper by John Balding called “We Teach Them How to Drink!” Interestingly that research paper argues that British children will start drinking at young ages anyway, so parents need to teach them responsible ways to drink when they are young. The Shandy is described as gateway alcohol since it is so easy to drink.

The commonly told history of how the lemonade was first mixed with beer comes from Munich, Germany. The story goes that a Pub owner outside Munich was in danger of running out of beer when countless cyclists stopped at his pub for a drink. To avoid running out of beer, he mixed the local lager with lemonade and sold it as the Radlermass. Radlermass is german for “cyclist liter.” The other german name I find for beer and lemonade is Alsterwasser. This is a reference to the Alster River in northern Germany. The article referencing these two german shandies referred to them as tractor or field beers. They were intended as session drinks with a low ABV but enough sugar and calories so that they could be consumed while doing hard work. They could refresh and nourish a sweaty field worker without inhibiting them mentally.

The History Of The Shandy.

The Shandy Gaff is the oldest known version of the shandy-style beer cocktails. The Shandy Gaff is a 1:1 strong or pale ale beer mixed with ginger beer. The earliest printed recipe I could find for the Shandy Gaff is in the 1888 Harry Johnson’s new And Improved Bartender’s Manual. Every recipe I can see from 1888 to 1972 refers to the cocktail as a Shandy Gaff and not simply a Shandy, and they are all made with beer and ginger ale. Although the most popular shandy mixer today is not ginger beer but lemonade. The kind of lemonade used depends on the region.

Americans use the more regionally typical non-carbonated lemonade (like a child’s lemonade stand-style lemonade), the British use clear carbonated lemonade (7Up or Sprite), and the german style uses the cloudy carbonated lemonades (Italian soda style lemonade). The German-style is my favorite way to make it. The first account I could find of the cocktail being called a shandy and make with sparkling lemonade is in a 1989 research paper by John Balding called “We Teach Them How to Drink!” Interestingly that research paper argues that British children will start drinking at young ages anyway, so parents need to teach them responsible ways to drink when they are young. The Shandy is described as gateway alcohol since it is so easy to drink.

The commonly told history of how the lemonade was first mixed with beer comes from Munich, Germany. The story goes that a Pub owner outside Munich was in danger of running out of beer when countless cyclists stopped at his pub for a drink. To avoid running out of beer, he mixed the local lager with lemonade and sold it as the Radlermass. Radlermass is german for “cyclist liter.” The other german name I find for beer and lemonade is Alsterwasser. This is a reference to the Alster River in northern Germany. The article referencing these two german shandies referred to them as tractor or field beers. They were intended as session drinks with a low ABV but enough sugar and calories so that they could be consumed while doing hard work. They could refresh and nourish a sweaty field worker without inhibiting them mentally.