Classic Mexican cheladas have inspireda new wave of beer cocktails, includingthis sweet-heat version featuringmango syrup and chile.

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T here doesn’t seem to be much call today in barsand restaurants for the rudimentary Red Eye (beerand tomato juice) or the Wine Cooler (wine with

sparkling water or soda and fruit juice). But there’snothing wrong with the idea of mixing other flavors withbeer or wine to create drinks with new taste profiles. Infact, a small but significant move is afoot to incorporatethe two into contemporary cocktails.

BEER PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS

“[Beer is] a whole new palette of flavors to work with,” saysStephen Beaumont, author, with Brian Morin, of “TheBeerbistro Cookbook,” (Key Porter Books, 2009) and creatorof beer cocktails for the Beerbistro in Toronto, Canada.“Bartenders and mixologists have been playing around withall sorts of different culinary ingredients, making their ownshrubs and bitters, for instance, and completely ignoring thefact that we’re living amidst the greatest wealth of beerflavors and styles that our society has ever seen.”These flavors work perfectly in cocktail making, he

notes, offering new directions and possibilities for blendedbeverages incorporating beer.And why not? Flavorful blends of beer are as old as

brewing itself. Kriek, a lambic-style Belgian brew, isfermented with sour cherries; framboise is similarly madeusing raspberries. Belgian wit beers are often served with alemon wedge to brighten the orange-peel-and-corianderpop of the brew. Other regional recipes call for adding adash of fruit syrup or liqueur to beer.

As Beaumont tells it, there are basically three types ofbeer-based beverages: those made from a blend of two ormore beers; those served with an added ingredient or two;and the full-fledged cocktail in which beer is simplyanother, albeit important, ingredient.Stout has always been a good mixer: The Black Velvet,

stout and Champagne, is a well-loved drink; newerversions mix stout with other regions’ sparkling wines orwith sparkling cider. The Black and Tan, made from stoutor porter and ale, is perhaps one of the best-known ofbeer’s two-way blends, and the lowly Shandy comes inmany varieties; most common are those made with ale orbeer and lemonade, ginger beer or even sorrel tea.But with the vast number of different brews available

today, crafting contemporary beer blends is within reachof any willing experimenter, and many mixologists usedistinctly flavored craft brews as one of many ingredientsin a modern cocktail concoction.

WINE’S WEALTH OF FLAVORS

The same is true of wine. The average American consumercan choose from a broader range of varietals, regions,flavors and wine styles today than at any other time.“One of the benefits of drinking wine cocktails is that

our reach now is so great,” says A.J. Rathbun, author of“Wine Cocktails” (The Harvard Common Press, 2009).“There’s a multinationalism of drinks out there — manymore types and varietals of wines available and many moretypes of ingredients to mix with them. You can make more

BEVERAGE TRENDS

BY JACK ROBERTIELLO

Mixologists are shaking up the cocktail scene, using wineand beer to give new life to mixed drinksNEW

’TAILS to TELL

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interesting drinks and take advantage of thisbounty of ingredients.”In addition to boasting lower alcohol levels

and broader flavor options, wine and beer canadd complexity, high acids and depth tococktails, all characteristics mixologistsdemand. Beer can inject a robustly grainy tang,and those with hoppy notes add a welcomebitterness. Meanwhile, the flavor profiles ofwines can include pineapple, vanilla, apple,pear, blackberry, cherry and other fruit notes.Due mainly to their lower alcohol content, beerand wine drinks provide a better match for mostspicy cuisines: high-alcohol beverages leave aburning sensation on a palate opened by spices.

HISTORICALLY IN THE MIX

Of course, to beer and wine aficionados,adding anything post-production to theirfavorite tipple seems sacrilegious. The oddChampagne cocktail and old, standby beermixtures like the Black and Tan aregrudgingly accepted, but many contemporarydrinkers tend to burrow deeper into theircategory of choice rather than experimentwith a mixologist’s creations.But both beer and wine have long been

served mixed. Brewing cultures frequentlyblended different beer styles or addedflavoring agents. In most European societies,fortified wines (like vermouth and port) andsparkling wines were the base for mixeddrinks, punches and fizzes.Today, many wine-focused restaurant

operators see an advantage to servingsparkling-wine cocktails, as their perceivedelegance makes them an easy entry point. Atthe Purple Café and Wine Bar in Seattle, 16Champagne cocktails appear on the wine list,including most of the classics, like the French75, made with gin and sweetened lemon juice,and the Mimosa, made with orange juice.Newer drinks like the Sea Captain’s Specialare made with rye, pastis and Champagne.

PLAYING TO STRENGTHS

Other wine-based drinks, such as sangrias,have become popular again, appearing inmany modern iterations on chain andindependent restaurant menus: Caribbean-themed Bahama Breeze prominently featuresfour sangrias (spice berry, rock melon,blackberry and mango), made with white, redor white zinfandel.Restaurants serving a broad range of beers

are also likely candidates to spearhead thebeer-cocktail trend. New York City’s ArtisanalFromagerie, Bistro & Wine Bar has developeda reputation for serving special brews, and nowthe restaurant hosts Brew Tuesday, when beersare discounted and pairings with cheese arepromoted. Last winter, the program expandedto feature five beer cocktails.“It’s something interesting for the beer

drinker,” says Artisanal’s beverage director,Ian Nal. “We have a lot of guests who areserious about beer, and it gives them a chanceto try something new and interesting.”

BEVERAGE TRENDS

A.J. Rathbun, author of“Wine Cocktails,” mixesup the traditional mimosawith vanilla and pearflavors and a vanilla podfor garnish.

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Artisanal’s cocktails feature 2 or 3 ouncesof beer as part of the ingredient mix, ratherthan standard beer portions dosed with anadded ingredient or two. Some recipes arefamiliar: the East Side Story is a sort of mojitomade with rum, lime, muddled mint and ahefeweizen beer, while the Cabo San Lager isa play on the Margarita, lightened with beer.Other drinks are more creative: La Fleurcombines citrus vodka, elderflower liqueur,lemon and hefeweizen. The Tennessee Peachmixes Jack Daniels, peach schnapps, peachpuree, lemon and lime juices with a nut-brown ale.

A GREATER PART OF THE MIX

When Beaumont started creating beercocktails at Beerbistro, he drew inspirationfrom his travels in France, where good beerbars routinely offered beer cocktails, such asthe Amer Biere, made with the bitter orangecordial Amer Picon and beer. He alsoencountered elaborate concoctions like theBiere Flambé, which called for brandy to beflamed in a glass, followed by a pour of beerthat slowly raised the fire as the glass filled.While flaming drinks are largely frowned

upon in the United States, other mixers arebecoming more common. At the newlyopened Manhattan tequila bar, Mayahuel,owner Phil Ward has assembled a cocktail listthat includes both beer- and wine-baseddrinks. From its opening in April 2009, he’soffered tequila sangrias combiningstrawberry-infused tequila with rosé wine andelderflower; another version uses jalapeno-infused tequila with vermouth, sugar caneand lime.Ward also showcases classic cheladas, or

Mexican beers, with lime and salt, as well asMicheladas, Mexican beer with sangrita, thetraditional tequila accompaniment madefrom tomatoes, orange juice, lime juice,onions, salt and chiles. A new creation, ElJimador’s Shifty, combines pineapple-infusedmescal, lime, sugar cane and dark Mexicanbeer served with a spiced-salt rim.In Seattle last spring, Jamie Boudreau, bar

director for Tini Bigs and a spirit and cocktailconsultant, introduced a new cocktail menuwith a section of wine-based drinks forwarmer weather. When developing recipes

TheFLAVOR PAYOFF

Stay Ahead with Beer

By Maria Caranfa, director, Mintel Menu Insights

Research conducted by Mintel Menu Insights in May 2009 shows beerleading the way in alcohol sales in retail, restaurant and bar settings.The sales power of artisan and craft brews continues to turn heads inthe industry, while sophisticated cocktails also make waves.Combining beer and cocktail concepts to create new beer cocktails isa winning recipe for beverage programs in all segments and sizes.Examples from some innovative operations provide six blueprints forputting beer into a range of cocktail mixes:

1. Add to Classics: New York City’s Joshua Tree restaurantand bar adds a head of Guinness to its Black Russian, madewith Finlandia vodka, Tia Maria and cola.

2. Play Up Flavors: Back Forty in New York City plays up thesweet, herbaceous and earthy notes of Left Hand Brewery’sSawtooth Ale by mixing it with DH Krahn gin and lemon andserving it in a pilsner glass rimmed with local honey and salt.

3. Make Local Heroes: Incorporate local and house-madebrews into locally inspired cocktails. Nacional 27, a LettuceEntertain You restaurant in Chicago, created the Chicagoan,a blend of Irish whiskey sour, Chicago’s Goose Island 312beer float and a sport pepper more commonly found on theChicago hot dog.

4. Pick Fruit: Enhance the fruit flavors in beer with like-minded mixers. Casa Nueva of Athens, Ohio, makes aRaspberry Wheat Mimosa by mixing Marietta Brewing Co.’sRaspberry Wheat draft with chilled orange juice.

5. Run with the Popular Crowd: Find ways to add a splashof beer to your best-selling drinks. Casual chain restaurantClaim Jumper mixes its Fool’s Gold Margarita with traditionalflavors of 1800 Silver Tequila, Cointreau, sweet-and-sourmix and fresh lemon and lime juices, topped off with a splashof Claim Jumper hefeweizen, served on the rocks with asalted rim.

6. Go All Day: In Chicago, Uncommon Ground’s Beermosaproves that beer has a place at breakfast or brunch. Thecombination of Bell’s Oberon wheat beer and orange juice isan easy morning mix; the juice picks up on the beer’s fruity,spicy notes.

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BEVERAGE TRENDS

using wine, Boudreau looks for those withexpressive fruit and low tannins — easy tofind in the fruit-forward world of modernwinemaking.“I think of the wines as vermouth, and in

trying to figure out how to use them, Ithought, ‘How does vermouth work in adrink?’” says Boudreau, who has worked witha winery to develop wine-based cocktails thathave appeared on numerous restaurantmenus. “With a shiraz, I thought of what goeswith sweet vermouth; with a SauvignonBlanc, I thought of dry vermouth.”Wine is the main ingredient in these

drinks, and spirits are applied as an accent,the way a cordial would be in a spirit-basedcocktail. Boudreau’s spring 2009 menu forTini Bigs included Aude Man Thyme,made with chardonnay, gin, thyme andpeach puree.This newcomer joined a circa-19th century

recipe forWine Cobbler, made with Pineau desCharentes (a fortified wine), peach puree andgrapefruit bitters, on Tini Bigs’ menu. Anothernotable is the Incan Gold, made withSauvignon Blanc, pisco, pomegranate juice,lemon juice and peaches.Rathbun, whose book includes a section

about drinks based on white, red, rosé,sparkling and dessert wines, says wine-tailswork best when they are easily quaffable, lightin alcohol, refreshing and fun.“I’m always looking for something that

offers a little more personality,” he says. “Andwith so many wine drinkers today, winecocktails are a way to get them interested anddrag wine-only people over into cocktails.”

SIMMERED-DOWN FLAVORSChefs have long employed wine reductions,and creative mixologists have borrowed thetechnique for drink applications, addingsweeteners, herbs, spices, salt or fruit beforereducing. Boudreau has done the same withbeer. In one drink, he made a beer-basedbitter amaro flavored with orange, which headded to a lager beer.He also made a reduction from a Belgium

framboise lambic that he uses in cocktails inplace of commercially made raspberry liqueur.With his own reductions, he’s able to controlthe level of alcohol and sugar in a drink, keyto making balanced cocktails.Among the obvious rules to consider when

introducing wine- or beer-based drinks tocustomers:

>Work with ingredients you already have.Start by researching classic recipes andadjust according to your concept ormodern tastes.

> Go slowly to gauge whether your customerbase is interested in the concept.

> Always use the best fruit and juices, andexperiment with various sweeteners.

> Look for good, but not rare or more-expensive ingredients when creating newdrink mixes.And remember to keep it new: Artisanal’s

Nal plans to change his beer-cocktail menuseasonally, adding perhaps watermelon andmint to the mix as the weather warms.“I think you always have to keep things

lively, and people are more receptive tococktails these days,” Boudreau says.Chefs don’t rest on the tried and true;neither should mixologists. And, with thecompetition in the restaurant businessratcheted up by the current recession,adding new twists and anticipatingcustomers’ needs is absolutely essential,whether in beers, wines or cocktails — orall three. &

JACK ROBERTIELLO writes aboutspirits, cocktails, wine, beer and food fromBrooklyn, N.Y.; he can be e-mailed atapplejak@earthlink.net.

BEVERAGE TRENDS

HEAT CONTROL: Highly spiced foods are a great matchfor wine- and beer-based mixed drinks; their lower alcoholcontent helps cool the palate rather than adding to the burn,as hard liquors can do

EASY ENTRY: Cocktails incorporating sparkling wines arean easy sell; the concept isn’t too “far out,” there’s aperception of elegance, and wine-drinkers will take the leapinto the cocktail realm

PORTION CONTROL: Just a few ounces of beer is all that’sneeded as a supporting ingredient in a cocktail; take care notto overdose with a standard beer portion

T A K E - A W A Y T I P S

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