Nose: Malty caramel with earthy undertones.

Taste: Dextrinous and creamy, with a solid caramel malt presence and hints of appley esters.

Overall: Well, hmm. *scuff scuff*. After the build-up in the introduction, I almost hate to write my reaction. It’s decent-tasting and drinkable, but well on the light side for a Scotch Ale, while being heavier than a normal Scottish Ale. Neither fish nor fowl, it’s not quite what I was looking for to warm the cockles of my heart (or my toes). Still, it’s tasty, and as long as you aren’t looking for a strong ale you shouldn’t suffer any disappointment.

Nose: Black coffee, chicory, and toasted bread.

Taste: Mmm, spicy. Nice mix of rye and roasted malt character. A bit of chocolate.

Overall: A bit thin, but other than that quite nice indeed.

Nose: Candied orange peel. Other than lots of hops, the alcohol is very evident.

Taste: Piny resinous hop flavour, pithy grapefruit hop flavour, herbal leafy hop flavour, high hop bitterness, dry hoppy finish. Oh, and there’s probably some malt in there somewhere. The hoppiness does a great job masking the alcohol, as I can’t taste any of the 10+% ABV that was so evident on the nose.

Overall: This beer has never heard of the concept of ‘balance’. It’s interesting to drink in despite of that, but not something that I personally would class as great. If you love hops and don’t mind a beer that’s just hops, you should definitely grab this one if you run across it.

Hops.

Nose: Floral hoppy goodness. Bright notes of grapefruit and pine resin, biscuity malt low notes.

Taste: Peach fruit, biscuit malt, light caramel influence. Medium to high hop bitterness, lots of grapefruit and piny hop flavour. Finish is slightly astringent, long and resinous.

Overall: Beautifully balanced and eminently drinkable.

Well, that’s sure to prove an interesting topic and I’m looking forward to seeing what others have to say. While I haven’t gone as far as conducting a poll, the prevailing opinion among the beer lovers I talk to seems to be that beer cocktails are a waste of a good beer, or a waste of time which could be spent drinking a good beer if made with “bad” beer.

Personally, I’ve never given the matter much thought. I’m much too busy learning about unmixed drinks to delve deeply into the mixed side of things—I follow a few cocktail blogs and occasionally play around with a spirit that I’m trying (or trying to get rid of). I’m certainly aware of the existence of such things as the Black and Tan and shandy, but I’ve never actually had one.

So, what to do? Researching what other people have done would be too easy, so let us instead attempt to derive some recipes from first principles. Beer is carbonated, just like Champagne…I wonder how it would do in a Buck’s Fizz?

Well, not so great. The Buck’s Fizz is mixed at a ratio of two parts orange juice to one part Champagne (or other sparkling wine) and the orange overwhelms the lager I was using. Its cousin, the mimosa, does a much better job of allowing the beer’s character to show through.

α Crucis
Recipe: Pour two parts chilled orange juice into a chilled champagne flute; top with three parts chilled pale lager. The version I’m tasting now is actually tangerine juice with Simpler Times lager.

Nose: Sweet grainy malt and orangey citrus.

Taste: Lightly effervescent, with the lighter mouthfeel and sweet malt character of the beer complementing the heavy juice quite well.

Overall: Light and refreshing, perfect for a breakfast accompaniment.

…but the base beer being one that’s often sneered at doesn’t do much to give it street cred in the beer world. Hops are very in and some American hops have a strong grapefruit character, so we’ll take advantage of that while working up a slight variation.

C. × paradisi
Recipe: As above, but with grapefruit juice and an American India Pale Ale. I chose Bell’s Two Hearted for my IPA.

Nose: Grapefruit and…grapefruit.

Taste: Here we really see the influence of the beer both in mouthfeel and flavour. Effervescent and tart, but the beer provides a slight sweetness to balance the grapefruit and adds complexity with some hoppy bitterness and resinous pine influence.

Overall: I love it.

On the other hand, I love drinking both of the ingredients separately, and while it’s a nice change of pace it doesn’t elevate the ingredients very much. Also, despite the current drift in popular meaning some people still insist you can’t call something a cocktail unless it contains spirits.

I’m trying to think…isn’t there something fizzy and slightly bitter that’s used in traditional cocktails?

Gin and Not-Tonic
Recipe: Fill a chilled Collins glass with cubed ice. Add 2 ounces London Dry gin (I chose Anchor Junipero) and top with an AIPA (I used Bell’s Two Hearted once again.)

Nose: Piny, with just a hint of malt.

Taste: The spicy juniper plays well with the flavour profile of the IPA, lending to a harmonious whole.

Overall: Very refreshing on this hot muggy night, and a credible twist on the venerable gin and tonic.

Which leads us to our final cocktail of the night, which veers away from using the beer in its natural state.

Aviatrix
Recipe: 1.5 ounces Anchor Genevieve or other genever (you can try substituting another style of gin, but it will change the drink significantly.)
0.5 ounce lemon juice
0.5 ounce American IPA reduction (simmer over low heat until reduced by 2/3) (guess which IPA I used…)
0.5 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or follow my glassware-pauper example and make a terrible botch of using whatever you have by spilling part of it when setting up to take the beauty shot.)

Nose: Earthy, malty funkiness with sweet citrus fruit.

Taste: Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, slightly sour. Vague lemon and grapefruit background for a wonderful interplay of malt and juniper.

Overall: I think we have a winner here. While the real star is the genever, the beer reduction does a great job of backing it up and the liqueur brings enough sweetness to balance their strong characters.

With no outright failures and several intriguing combinations, I’m led to the obvious conclusion that beer definitely has a place in the world of mixed drinks.

Appearance: Pours a murky black with coppery brown edges and head. The minimal head quickly dissipates, leaving a ring of fine, dense bubbles around the edge of the glass. A bit of yeast sediment.

Nose: Dark, roasted malts with just a hint of spiciness.

Taste: Drying roast character in the finish to offset the initial rich, chocolaty rush. Complex interplaying flavours include figs, raisins, smoky/spicy phenols, walnuts, and caramel.

Overall: Very nice. Strikes me as a cross between a strong porter and a dubbel more than an actual Belgian style, but no matter which cubbyhole you place this beer in it's still flavourful, well-balanced, and extremely drinkable.

Appearance: Pours a beautiful amber with a dense off-white head. Very pretty.

Nose: Sweet, toasty malt. Any hop aroma is masked by the malt and a slight amount of esters.

Taste: Medium malt sweetness, some citrusy hops and floral notes. Malt has light toasted accents and a bit of caramel character. Medium hop bitterness to balance the malt.

Mouthfeel: Moderate body, high carbonation. Finish is oily, and the hops stick around.

Overall: Solid, middle-of-the-road example of the style. I don't particularly care for it, but then again it's not a style I particularly care for.

Nose: Caramel maltiness, light fruity esters.

Taste: Moderate malt sweetness expressed as caramel, light toffee, and toastiness on the high notes. Medium bitterness continues into the dry finish; mild hop character.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, light carbonation.

Overall: Nice. Easy-drinking brown ale.

Smell: Clean grain aroma, grassy hops with a citrus bite.

Taste: Coarse, sweet, grainy malt dominating. A fair amount of fruitiness, and some citrusy hop flavour to go with the medium hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, peppy carbonation. Medium body.

Drinkability: Good. Nice light-feeling beer, perfect for a crisp autumn day.

Smell: Rich roasted malt, yeast, and cocoa.

Taste: Sweet roasted malt in the beginning, bitter chocolate and coffee notes in the middle, and some floral hops. Long finish shows some chicory characteristics.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy medium body, medium carbonation, mild drying astringency in the finish.

Drinkability: Great; excellent example of the style.