A scoop of ice cream can turn a beer into a cocktail

Turn a beer into a cocktail?

“It’s sacrilege, really” says Irishman and Wilmington lounge owner Brian Parke Jr.

But come to think of it, Parke continues, even Guinness-loyal Ireland offers some sudsy concoctions: the Car Bomb, for instance, a half-and-half shot of Jameson whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Cream dropped into a pint of Guinness.

While Parke prefers brews neat, as do most beer drinkers at his Odessa lounge in Lumina Station, beer cocktails are picking up steam.

Summer’s national mixologists extravaganza, Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, this year dedicated an entire seminar to beer cocktails. Major brands such as Miller and Anheuser-Busch have unveiled beverages based on the Mexican Chelada (lime-juice-spiked lager over ice). And, if you search “beer cocktail” at Wikipedia, you’ll get a list of 87 drinks, everything from Butterbeer (Michelob Light and butterscotch schnapps) to the Gold Rush (beer, Jack Daniels whiskey, vodka, and orange juice).

“People don’t think about, but there is such a variety of flavors with beer,” Front Street Brewery brewmaster Kevin Kozak says. “It’s just such a wide range of flavors you can find to go along with many other flavors.”

Yet, the trend seems rooted in unsavory beer.

“Some of the older, more complicated recipes probably originated as a means of using up not-so-good or undistinguished beer,” author Paul Barnett writes in his book “Beer: Facts, Figures and Fun” (Sterling Publishing, 2006). He points to the Lager Dash or Lager Top, “whereby bland commercial lager is given a little lift by the addition of a small quantity (up to 10 percent) of what in the U.K. is called lemonade and in the U.S. is called 7-UP.”

Like Odessa’s Parke, Kozak doesn’t tinker with beer, but Front Street bartenders mix Honey Bombs (scotch ale with a shot of Wild Turkey American Honey liqueur). Although Kozak is a purist, he doesn’t mind the adulterations.

“As long as it involves beer, I’m OK with it,” he says.

But how should beer be blended into a cocktail?

“Take the beer and sip it and just really get to know it before you decide what you are going to mix into it,” Caffe Phoenix bartender Joel Finsel says. “Build up on the notes and the flavors that are in the beer.” Stephen Beaumont, the beer expert who led the Tales of the Cocktail beer cocktail seminar in New Orleans, offers similar suggestions at his Web site, www.worldofbeer.com. Use beer as the dominant base, and add other ingredients to create a new taste sensation, he advises. Beaumont’s Drill Sergeant, for example, combines American IPA with good amber rum. He also combines Imperial stout with quality port.

Alternately, Beaumont writes, beer can add a hint of its flavor to drinks. Stout gives a roasty edge to Beaumont’s scotch whiskey Compass Box Cocktail.

“In each of these formats, however, it is in my view of pivotal importance that the beer’s original character be treated with respect,” Beaumont writes.

“The crafting of a beer cocktail should not, after all, be all about an attempt to make a particular brew taste better. Rather, the goal should be to create a drink that is as good as the component beer, just different.”

Front Street Flaming Float*

1 to 2 scoops vanilla ice cream

Front Street stout of the moment (currently oatmeal stout)

Splash of Bacardi 151 rum

Place ice cream in a pint glass. Pour stout over ice cream to fill glass. Pour rum over mixture and ignite. Serves 1.

Source: Kevin Kozak, Brewmaster, Front Street Brewery

*Not actually served at Front Street Brewery

White Bear

1 bottle of Pilsner Urquell

1½ ounces of Tuaca

Squeeze of lemon

In a tall, chilled glass, pour three-fourths of the Pilsner. Add jigger of Tuaca and

take in the vanilla and honey notes. Squeeze lemon over glass and drop inside. Pour the rest of beer on top to expand the flavor throughout. Serves 1.

Source: Joel Finsel, bartender, Caffe Phoenix

Green Devil

Splash of absinthe or absinthe substitute

12 ounces strong Belgian or Belgian-style golden ale, such as Duvel, chilled

1 ounce aromatic gin such as Bombay Sapphire

Swirl the absinthe in an 18-to-22-ounce, tulip-shaped glass to coat the surface, and then shake out the excess. Add gin and top with the golden ale, pouring so that the carbonation escapes and the foam rises to as near the top of the glass as possible.

Source: Stephen Beaumont, www.worldofbeer.com

Beer Margaritas

4 12-ounce bottles cold, light-flavored beer,

such as Corona

1 cup (8 ounces) tequila

One 12-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate

Lime wedges

Kosher salt, for rimming glasses

In a large pitcher, combine the beer, tequila and limeade. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of each of glass and dip it in the salt. Pour the margaritas into the glasses and garnish with a lime wedge. Serves 8.

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine, www.rachaelraymag.com

Beer Buster

1½ ounces vodka

Ice cold lager or ale

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

Put vodka in a highball glass. Fill with lager or ale. Add Tabasco and stir lightly. Serves 1.

Source: Mr. Boston Deluxe Official Bartender’s Guide (Warner Books, 1981)