Nov. 9, 2000

Your response to the Oct. 19 Beer Break featuring Black & Tan and other "beer cocktails" was so enthusiastic that we're returning to the subject more quickly than we expected. Here are some suggestions from readers plus other popular concoctions that mix beer and beer or beer and something else. Feel free to send email to [email protected] or use the link after the "cocktail menu" to join in a discussion at RealBeer.com.

From our readers:

- The ONLY beer cocktail - Black Velvet. A mixture of Champagne and Guinness. Black and Tan is just for women and sissies. Guinness should be drunk alone or with Champagne.

- A great one that's popular at the OBT (Olde Brewery Tavern) in Bethlehem, Pa., is a Baltimore Zoo. It's gin, vodka, rum, tequila (basically all the clear liquors), Guinness and grenadine. You end up with a great (and fairly potent) drink. It's a good one to start the night with, or to end the night with.

- While living in Wildwood, N.J., years ago, there was a drink invented by one of the locals by the name of Reuter. They would put 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of cranberry liqueur in a beer, it went by the name "Reuter Tooter."

- Liverpool kiss: Basically a pint of Guinness with some Cassis. BeeSting: Guinness and orange juice.

- A Foggerty: This was invented by Judy Ashworth when she was the publican at Lyon's Brewery in Dublin, Calif. Three-quarters Anchor Liberty Ale and one-quarter Anchor Old Foghorn. She first named it "Paul Revere's Last Ride."

From Sparging Online - Real Beer News (Australia & New Zealand):

- A few weeks ago the beer club in the Bodega Cafe, Wellington (New Zealand), had a beer cocktail as part of their tasting, which went quite well. Called "Porterowska," the beer cocktail was made of 25% Emerson's Porter, 25% Monteith's Black and 50% Absolut vodka!

From Dry Gulch Brewing Co. & Grille, Albuquerue, N.M.:

- Dark and Smooth. The brewpub's Hang 'Em High Drye Stout mixed with port. A dessert in itself, like Cherries Jubilee or drinking zinfandel and eating a chocolate truffle.

From "Beer and Good Food," by Myra Waldo, a book written in 1958:

- Lamb's Wool. Combine 1 cup applesauce and 2 cups of ale in a saucepan and heat; remove from heat just before the boiling point. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger and stir well. Taste -- you might want to add a little sugar if the applesauce is unsweetened. Drink while hot.

- Brown Betty. Combine 1 cup cognac, 4 cups beer, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 cloves, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 cups water. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Serves 6-8. Can be served at an afternoon tea or an evening party. Serve with wedges of cheese and crisp crackers.

SAMICHLAUS
Brewed by Eggenberg Castle Brewery in Austria

Michael Jackson writes:

I have now received tasting samples of the new Samichlaus ("Santa Claus"). The new version retains much the same attractive reddish, chestnut colour; sappy, brandyish aroma; creamy, cherryish flavors; and a long, spicy, peppery, earthy finish, with a late alcoholic warmth. If there are differences from the original Swiss version, the new interpretation may be fractionally paler in color and lighter in body, and more bitter in finish. I compared it with a 1996 bottling from my cellar but that has, of course, developed some characteristics of age in the meantime.

WINTER SOLSTICE ALE
Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville, Calif.

Gregg Smith writes:

Deceiving with its pale copper appearance, it might lull you into expecting a mild beer. Don't be fooled. Winter Solstice weighs in at nearly the alcohol level of a bock. It begins with a light mouthfeel, but the malty, cinnamon and light vanilla flavors soon build and lead to a warmly spiced aftertaste.