Whether you brew beer at home or simply love the taste, you haven’t realized its true potential until you’ve added it to a cocktail. Take your mixologist skills to new heights by crafting a few fun and easy beer cocktails. Who knew you could do so much with boozy brews?

1. Michelada

When made well, a michelada is one of the most refreshing and flavorful beer cocktails out there. This classic Mexican libation contains simple ingredients and is reminiscent of a Bloody Mary, although you can take or leave the tomato juice in most recipes. This one omits it to keep things simple.

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp. Hot sauce 
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 can (12 oz.) Light Mexican beer
• Tajín seasoning or a similar chili-salt blend
• Sea salt for garnish

Steps to Make

1. Pour the Tajín seasoning into a shallow dish and wet the edge of a pint glass with the cut side of lime. 
2. Dip the glass into the dish to create a salt rim. 
3. Add lime juice, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce to the glass and add a pinch of salt. 
4. Add ice, top with beer, and serve. 
5. Mix and top off with more beer as you go for an extra boozy beverage that’s sure to help you relax and unwind. 

2. Black Velvet

If you enjoy dark stouts like Guinness, the Black Velvet is the perfect beer cocktail for you. This beverage is so popular that a few companies have even made bottled mixes, but it’s simple to concoct. You might as well make it yourself.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. Champagne 
• 4 oz. Stout

Steps to Make

1. First, pour the champagne into a wine flute. 
2. Then, slowly add the beer to fill the glass and serve. Easy as pie.

You can also pour the drink into a beer mug or pint glass. However, the flute certainly adds a touch of class, especially if you’re drinking with the company. 

Some people prepare a two-to-one ratio of champagne to stout, so feel free to experiment and concoct a cocktail to suits your particular taste. 

3. Juicy IPA Pineapple Slushie

The new juicy IPA style has only been around for about a decade, but it’s become increasingly popular in recent years. Now, mixologists are using tropical, hazy IPAs to make deliciously fruity craft cocktails. 

Concoct your own in the comfort of your own home with this recipe for two juicy IPA pineapple slushies — one for you and one for a friend.

Ingredients

• 3 Cups pineapple 
• 2 Cups ice cubes 
• 1 tbsp Agave nectar 
• 12 oz. Juicy, Hazy IPA
• Juice of one lime

Steps to Make

1. Divide the IPA into two glasses and wait for the foam to dissipate. 
2. In the meantime, add the pineapple and ice to a blender. A varied-speed blender like the KitchenAid K400 will work to blend the ingredients into a smooth consistency. 
3. Add agave nectar and lime juice and blend until no solid chunks remain. 
4. Divide the slush into both glasses and stir until it’s well mixed before serving. 

4. Here Comes the Sun

As its name suggests, Here Comes the Sun is both bright in flavor and color. Fresh lemon juice and homemade ginger syrup give the drink a warm honey color, while rye whiskey adds spice and depth. 

You’ll only use an ounce of beer in this cocktail, so make sure it’s a good one. In this case, a wheat beer will do just fine to add a bit of body and fizz.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ oz. Rye whiskey
• 1 oz. Wheat beer
• ¾ oz. Ginger syrup
• ½ oz. Fresh lemon juice
• Lemon wedge for garnish

Steps to Make

1. If you want to make your own ginger syrup, heat a half cup of fresh ginger juice over low heat. 
2. Add a cup of sugar and whisk until you achieve a thick, syrupy consistency. 
3. Allow it to cool before adding it to a shaker with the whiskey, lemon juice, and ice. 
4. Shake and strain into a coupe. 
5. Top with beer and garnish with a lemon wedge.

5. El Chapo

If you’re looking for a stronger drink with a solid backbone, look no further than El Chapo. This three-ingredient cocktail packs a ton of flavor and a gorgeous red hue into one tiny glass to provide the ultimate refreshment. 

As long as you love grapefruit, you’re sure to enjoy this drink.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ oz. Gin
• 1 oz. Strawberry-infused Aperol
• Grapefruit beer
• 2 Strawberry slices for garnish

Steps to Make

1. Make the strawberry-infused Aperol by soaking a half pint of strawberries in a bottle of Aperol for at least eight hours. 
2. Strain the solids and keep the bottle in the fridge. 
3. Once you’re ready to make El Chapo, fill a rocks glass with ice and add the gin and Aperol. 
4. Top with beer and garnish with two strawberry slices on a cocktail pick.

Infusing Cocktails with Creativity

As you get more comfortable combining beers and spirits, let your imagination take flight. Infuse your cocktails with creativity and look to fellow mixologists and bartenders for inspiration. You never know when you might happen to stumble upon an award-winning aperitif or create a new classic.

Tags

Beer Cocktails Cocktail Recipes

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