Well…I am twelve or so posts behind in the postings for the new cocktails department. Maybe that’s a good thing? Lesson here: Look for the silver lining in everything, even your own apathy. No one reads this blog and it hasn’t exactly jettisoned my literary career. I do love when people tell me they read it, however, but then I suffer from the humiliation of wondering what blog post they read. There is some weird shit in here. Hopefully not the one about being a drunk, depressed, and young wing shack employee in Florida…Anyway…It isn’t laziness or lack of want, trust me I would love to be able to blog daily about random crap and cocktails, it’s just that my children suck every breath of time and energy from my body. They’re cute though. And innocent. They deserve the last gasps of life force I have before I keel over behind the bar well at the age of 80 still clutching my walker before pulling it down over the top of my quivering body. My last words would be “Angel…Carry the torch…Remember…Something fermented, something fresh…and…something bound for the…biiiiiiiiin…..” This is also assuming Angel will be there in thirty plus years when I’m 80…

So, lets focus here…Have you thought about beer cocktails? Even better, ever wondered how beer cocktails work or where they might come from? They’re a bit of a rarity. Previous incarnations, kissing cousins more like, were sometimes known as a shandy which is beer with lemon or lime with sugar. Less alcohol means you can slam more and hydrate yourself at the same time. I think it was a soccer thing, or a lame British thing. Over here in America we just serve shittier beer with less alcohol.

I’m getting back into getting back into beer. For far too long I have stayed away. Its delicious, refreshing and wonderful. Not sure why I took a hiatus. Some dude stopped by the other day with some samples. I tasted, I was overwhelmed with nostalgia at how much I love beer.

The reason beer cocktails taste so great is because the beer lends carbonation, body, and bitterness. All the things we love. There is dilution, yes, but it isn’t so bad. I am not such a fan of highballs unless we’re talking about a rum and coke, I think adding champagne or beer works better. Don’t mention prosecco to me.

Below is an example of some good fun you can have this coming July 4th with a 12 pack of America’s finest and a liter of Aperol.

White Trash Spritz (Highly recommended for humid days to accompany grilled anything but preferably hot dogs, sauerkraut and mustard)

Miller High Life in a Bottle

Splash of Aperol (two ounces)

Pretty good on the rocks but you can also just chug some of the beer out of the bottle then add the Aperol. Situation dependent. Just make sure the beer is cold.

We like doing beer cocktails over at the Canyon. They sell very little but those who go out on a limb and drink one always give positive feedback. So crushable is usually the retort once they have quaffed one of these puppies.

Here are the two most recent seasonal babies we have put out as of late. One with loquats, one with persimmons. Both fruits are lacto fermented in honey at 2% a la the Noma Fermentation Guide.

Brass Monkey

1.5 oz. Living the Dream

.5 oz. Cara Cara Sherbet

.5 oz. Fresh OJ

.5 oz. Sail Away (half Salers, half Cocchi Americano)

.25 oz. Lacto Persimmon Honey

Shake, strain into rocks glass, top with pilsner.

Low Key

1 oz. Bonded Rye

1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz. Lacto Loquat Honey

.5 oz. Apricot Pit Creme de Noyaux

.25 oz. Lemon Sherbet

Shake, strain over cracked ice, add two ounces or so of pilsner.

You get the picture. Normal cocktail specs with a little less booze over cracked ice and splashed with beer. Have fun out there.

Your AI generated image for this post, #417, 5/20/25