Brewing up Cocktails 2

Hot Scotchy
Described in the bible of homebrewers by Charlie Papazian: The Joy of Homebrewing as a drink made from the piping hot first runnings of wort (unfermented beer) as it leaves the boil kettle on its way to the fermenter. At this point in the process the wort is a hot sweet, malty and hoppy nectar that you can clearly taste every ingredient in. A brewer would simply fill a pint with the elixir and drop in a shot of Scotch (or whatever grain based alcohol was handy). Adding its own twist Brewing up Cocktails will serve the wort steam heated from Upright Brewing’s Five a farmhouse pale ale and topped with a dollop of housemade cream.

Tea Party

One of the classic cider drinks is a Stone Fence, a concoction of rum and hard cider. According to legend, it was this drink that gave Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys the courage they needed to storm Fort Ticonderoga. Our version combines Samuel Smith’s Organic Apple Cider with the funky, pot-stilled Smith and Cross Jamaican rum and spice notes from J. Witty Chamomile Liqueur.

Lovers Quarrel
When the original beer conceived for this cocktail became unavailable organizers were left with a conundrum, what to replace it with? Glancing at Hop & Vine’s taplist an altogether different but interesting beer offered an exciting new challenge. Dexter, Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin Brewing makes barrel aged belgian and farmhouse style beers all with a tart and funky quality from the brewers use of wild yeasts and barrel aging. Luciernaga “The Firefly” is a beer described by the brewery as: “An artisan pale ale brewed in the Grand Cru tradition. Enjoy its golden effervescence and gentle hop aroma. Coriander and Grains of Paradise round out the spicy palate, melting o so softly into a silken finish of hoppiness and bliss!”

Combined with Gin and St. Germaine with a pinch of Cayenne powder yields a beautiful drink with a fruity yet dry citric tartness that gives way to the spiciness of pepper and chiles. The tart acidicness combined with the heat balance each other out for a thirst-quenching cocktail.

NW Wassail

Based on the classic German mulled cocktail our version adds a bit of NW classic winter beer flair with the fan favorite Jubel Ale from Deschutes Brewing. Heated in a pot with caramelized roasted apples, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and for the booze a healthy dose of whiskey and a bit of dry sherry. After stewing for a bit and letting the ingredients meld it is served hot with a a lemon ring on top.
This drink is sure to warm even the most jaded of beer and cocktail skeptics.

Son of the Furburger

Named in honor of the original jokingly named beer cocktail from Brewing up Cocktails 1 that used a different version of the same oak-aged beer as this.

Son of the Furburger started with the simple and obvious idea of combining Bourbon, Smoked Bacon and of course Maple Syrup for what we thought was a sure thing favorite beer cocktail. But upon trying the cocktail out with various porters and stouts none of them would hold up and the drink alternately tasted watered down or just bitter. We realized we needed a bigger, bolder and richer beer that would accentuate the flavors of maple and smoke and so we went back to our standby from the original Furburger the Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout from Great Divide Brewing
Finally the martini is rimmed with a mix of powdered sugar and ground pepper bacon bits.

which has a great creamy moderately heavy mouthfeel, soft chocolate and smoke from the roasted malts and vanilla flavors from oak aging and just a bit of sweetness.

Defusion

Jacob Grier has a soft spot for the Irish Car Bomb.

“Sure, it’s got a politically incorrect name, it’s messy, it curdles if you don’t drink it fast enough, and it requires chugging a half-pint of Guinness, but it’s also tasty and fun.”

Even so he was not about to put it on the menu at Carlyle, where he was the bar manager at the time he dreamed up his new version using a handmade beer foam that he dubbed the Defusion.

“I came across beer foam while flipping through the Alinea cookbook, which describes an ale foam in one of its dishes. This immediately gave me the idea for the drink. Achatz’ foam technique wouldn’t work for me though. It’s fine for the coursed service at Alinea, but behind the bar I needed something I could prepare in advance and keep stable throughout the night.”