Who doesn’t love a chilled beer on a sunny afternoon or on an intense game night or even at a brunch party? Everyone does. There’s no debate at all. Time stated beer as the world’s most beloved drink. But you know what is better than a beer if you are in an experimental mood? Yes, Beer Cocktails. Beer cocktails open up a whole new window to what we can do with beers and liquors - TOGETHER. 

Cocktails with spirits and sometimes wine are always a crowd favorite, but what about beer? Beer cocktails don’t get the light they should. They’re a one-of-a-kind boozy treat for any season and any time of the day.

It may seem to some that this whole new beer cocktail trend is a recent hipster fad. Well, it’s not. Let us go back to the date when it all started. For over a millennium, people have combined things with beer. The earliest proof takes us back to King Midas’ tomb, which dates back to 750BC. King Midas’ Brew contained a mixture of mead, wine, and a primitive beer (no hops).

Throughout history, elements were mixed into beer usually to cut down the harsh flavor. Things like honey, rosemary, and grapes, or some more creative things like bog myrtle, grated poppy seeds, and the list go on. By the time it reached America, the act of mixing beer with other elements was fairly established and popular.

Let’s not forget our favorite beer mixture; using it as a chaser after a burning shot of tequila. 

It’s time to shed some light on beer and give it the attention it deserves. Beer cocktails are the go-to this summer. It’s hot, and everyone’s feeling boozy – what’s the perfect drink? A beer cocktail.

Homer Simpson once said, “I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer.” Most definitely, he would have loved the art of beer cocktails.

Whether you’re in the mood to rock a Beergarita at brekkie, or Michocolada at happy hour, or a Shandy at dinner time, here are 10 beer cocktails that are sure to please you. 

Michocolada

Ingredients

• 1-ounce fresh lime juice

• 1-ounce Mole Poblana

• 1-ounce tomato juice

• 1-ounce mezcal

• Chocolate bitters

• Negra Modelo beer

Add lime juice, Mole Poblano, tomato juice & mezcal to the cocktail shaker and add 3 dashes of chocolate bitters. Shake well. Strain into a glass. Top it with Negra Modelo beer. Garnish with chocolate spicy salt.

Recipe from Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami Beach, Florida. 

60-Minute Man

Ingredients

• 1-ounce whole leaf gin

• 1-ounce lemon juice

• 1-ounce simple syrup

• 4-ounce Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Shake the whole leaf gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in the shaker for 60 seconds. Strain over ice in a glass. Add 4 ounces of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Gently stir to mix.

Recipe from Dogfish Head.

Mr. Dan's Something Delicious

Ingredients

• 1-ounce grapefruit-infused Aperol

• 1-ounce pineapple rum

• ½ ounce almond reduction

• 2 drops vanilla extract

• IPA beer

In a cocktail shaker, combine grapefruit-infused Aperol, pineapple rum, almond reduction, and 2 drops vanilla extract. Strain it into a pint glass and top with IPA beer.

Recipe from Gold Bear in New York City.

Brandy Shandy

Ingredients

• 1-ounce Paul Beau VS Cognac

• 1-ounce Orleans Herbal

• ½ ounce Rhum JM Cane Syrup

• ½ ounce orange juice

• ½ ounce lemon juice

• 3½ ounce Ommegang Witte beer

In a mixing tin, combine Paul Beau VS Cognac, Orleans Herbal, Rhum JM Cane Syrup, orange juice, and lemon juice. Shake slightly. Top it with Ommegang Witte beer, and strain into a lowball glass with a large ice rock.

Recipe from Center Bar in New York City.

Cruzan Slowpoke Shandy

Ingredients

• Cruzan Single Barrel Rum

• Lime juice

• Ginger syrup

• Any wheat beer 

Mix 2 parts Cruzan Single Barrel Rum with ½ part lime juice, and ¼ part ginger syrup in a glass. Slowly pour half of the wheat beer into the glass. Add a few ice cubes, and finish pouring the beer.

Recipe from Cruzan Rum.

Red Vespa

Ingredients

• 1-ounce Contratto

• ½ ounce sweet vermouth

• ½ ounce dry vermouth

• 1 can of Tecate pale lager

• An orange

Add 1 ounce Contratto, ½ ounce sweet vermouth, and ½ ounce dry vermouth to an ice-filled glass. Top with 1 can of Tecate pale lager, and garnish with an orange wheel.

Recipe by bartender Ivy Mix at DIEGO at the PUBLIC Hotel in New York City.

The Councilman Jam

Ingredients

• 1½ oz. Tom's Town Corruption gin

• ½ oz. simple syrup

• ½ oz. lemon juice

• 1 Tablespoon KC Canning Co. strawberry Champagne jam

• 1 can Boulevard Brewing Co. Jam Band Berry Ale

Combine Tom's Town Corruption gin with simple syrup, lemon juice, and 1 Tablespoon KC Canning Co. strawberry Champagne jam in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a 14-oz. glass with ice. Top with 1 can Boulevard Brewing Co. Jam Band Berry Ale and serve chilled.

Recipe from Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas, City, MO.

Raspberry Beergarita

Ingredients

• 2 cups of raspberries

• 2 cups of water

• A ¼ cup of sugar

• ½ cup tequila

• 1 cup UFO Raspberry beer

• 3 Tablespoon lime juice

Puree 2 cups of raspberries until smooth in a blender. Press the puree through a fine mesh strainer, and discard the seeds. Add water and sugar to the puree and stir. In a blender, combine the raspberry mixture with tequila, UFO Raspberry beer, and lime juice. Add 2 cups of ice. Blend until completely smooth. Pour into 4 glasses, and garnish with limes and raspberries.

Recipe from UFO Beer.

Muddled Lime

Ingredients

• 8 sprigs fresh cilantro 

• 1 lime

• ½ Tablespoon agave syrup

• 6 oz. Stella Artois Cidre

• Soda water

Jumble sprigs of fresh cilantro and lime in a Collins glass. Add agave syrup, and fill with ice. Add Stella Artois Cidre to the mixture, then stir thoroughly, and top with a splash of soda water.

Recipe from Stella Artois.

Midnight-Moon

Ingredients

• 1 oz. freshly squeezed citrus juice (orange and lemon)

• 3 oz. sweetened butterfly pea tea

• 4 oz. Blue Moon Belgian White

• An orange

Mix fresh-squeezed citrus juice with sweetened butterfly pea tea. Top it with Blue Moon Belgian White, and serve over ice and orange slices. Garnish with an orange wheel.

Recipe courtesy of Lauren Magenta. 

Now that you have recipes of some fabulous beer cocktails on your fingertips, try them out in your next all-nighter, or a game night, or throw a jamboree brunch - just so you can host a stylish beer cocktail party for your friends and family.