Things to Put in Beer
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:21 pm
Since this is midsummer, generally the hottest part of the year, and beer is one of the more prominent cooling beverages, I think this could be called the height of the beer season. In confirmation of this, there was even a beer summit during the last week.
So, I thought it might be appropriate to comment on things to put in beer, and perhaps find out additional things that other folks put in the beverage. When I was in high school, any mixture of tomato juice and something alcoholic, was referred to as a "bloody Mary." Nowadays, I guess that vodka has become the standard additive used to make a bloody Mary. But beer and tomato juice is still a pretty good mix--albeit a lot of people put vodka into a mix of beer and the juice, to increase the alcoholic kick. Worcestershire sauce--not very much--improves the flavor of the drink, whether or not you add vodka. If I recall correctly, gin was sometimes added to tomato juice instead of vodka or beer, very rarely the drink was made with brandy.
Incidentally, somebody pointed out to me recently that V-8 juice is good in German weissbier, which, of course, is made with wheat. Hefeweizen would probably be good with the V-8 as well. The weissbier with V-8 is improved if you crumble a little dill weed on top. Not very alcoholic, but it is thirst-quenching.
The standard additives for weissbier in Germany, are raspberry syrup or woodruff syrup. The raspberry syrup is good in the beer, and the flavor isn't all that far from a Belgian framboise lambic, if you get the right proportions. I've never tasted woodruff syrup, can't remember ever seeing a bottle of it.
And I guess everybody is familiar with the practice of adding lime to some Mexican beers. You can even buy beer that has lime added during the brewing process. I've known people to add grapefruit juice to beer--not to my taste. I also once saw somebody put sauerkraut juice in beer, something which is supposed to be a hangover remedy. I think the cure might be worse than the malady.
Then there are porter floats, which are often actually made with stout. The recipes on the internet only call for a couple of tablespoons of the beer in a twelve ounce glass, but I like at least a third of the mix to be porter. I use Anchor's version of porter. Some punch recipes include beer, most don't.
Anybody know any other good additives for beer?
So, I thought it might be appropriate to comment on things to put in beer, and perhaps find out additional things that other folks put in the beverage. When I was in high school, any mixture of tomato juice and something alcoholic, was referred to as a "bloody Mary." Nowadays, I guess that vodka has become the standard additive used to make a bloody Mary. But beer and tomato juice is still a pretty good mix--albeit a lot of people put vodka into a mix of beer and the juice, to increase the alcoholic kick. Worcestershire sauce--not very much--improves the flavor of the drink, whether or not you add vodka. If I recall correctly, gin was sometimes added to tomato juice instead of vodka or beer, very rarely the drink was made with brandy.
Incidentally, somebody pointed out to me recently that V-8 juice is good in German weissbier, which, of course, is made with wheat. Hefeweizen would probably be good with the V-8 as well. The weissbier with V-8 is improved if you crumble a little dill weed on top. Not very alcoholic, but it is thirst-quenching.
The standard additives for weissbier in Germany, are raspberry syrup or woodruff syrup. The raspberry syrup is good in the beer, and the flavor isn't all that far from a Belgian framboise lambic, if you get the right proportions. I've never tasted woodruff syrup, can't remember ever seeing a bottle of it.
And I guess everybody is familiar with the practice of adding lime to some Mexican beers. You can even buy beer that has lime added during the brewing process. I've known people to add grapefruit juice to beer--not to my taste. I also once saw somebody put sauerkraut juice in beer, something which is supposed to be a hangover remedy. I think the cure might be worse than the malady.
Then there are porter floats, which are often actually made with stout. The recipes on the internet only call for a couple of tablespoons of the beer in a twelve ounce glass, but I like at least a third of the mix to be porter. I use Anchor's version of porter. Some punch recipes include beer, most don't.
Anybody know any other good additives for beer?
Moi