Beer Cocktail #1

In this blog I aim to explore beer, and all its possibilities. So from time to time, I will be trying out different cocktail, and food recipes with local craft beer as an ingredient. I am starting with the most basic cocktail recipe I could find. It comes from imbibe magazine:

Deep Ellum Rye Pils Shandy Gaff

The recipe from imbibe calls for equal parts (8 oz) pilsner, and ginger beer. I have chosen to use Deep Ellum Rye Pils because I hope the bitterness from the rye will balance the light citrus flavor of the ginger beer.

When mixed 50/50 the ginger beer completely overpowers the Rye Pils. I feel that all I am tasting is the ginger beer. The only point of this recipe was to make a refreshing summer shandy that is enjoyable to drink. I had a hard time choking this mix down.

So, next I tried 8 oz of Rye Pils with 4 oz ginger beer. This was a much better balance. I could easily picture myself sipping on this on a hot day, or chugging this if I needed instant refreshment

I still prefer the Deep Ellum Rye Pils on its own, but my wife who turned her nose up at the Rye Pils, and the equal parts mix, loved the two to one mix. If you are into IBU's and alcohol content this isn't the cocktail for you, but it could be a quick fix if you or your lady are looking for something more refreshing.

The Original Recipe