Mix It Up – With Beer
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There’s nothing like beer for simplicity: Put it in a glass and drink. But there are times when the beer does not stand alone.
Adding different ingredients to beer, such as eggs, spices, and other spirits, began in Europe in the Middle Ages, according to David Wondrich, a contributing editor at Esquire.”There were a lot of hot drinks made with beer and ale,” Mr. Wondrich said. “People did it to add variety and taste, and to add nourishment to beer and make it heavier.”
In many European countries, where beers made without grain are more prevalent, adding sweet ingredients such as syrups to lighter beers is common. Germans add raspberry or woodruff syrup to bulk up an otherwise light Berlinerweisser, according to Gunther Heimrich, a host at Loreley, a German bar and restaurant (7 Rivington St., between Bowery and Chrystie Street, 212-253-7077). Lemonade is added to beer during the summertime, creating drinks called shandies.
Most Americans become familiar with mixed beer drinks during college, when concoctions like the Dr. Pepper (lager with a shot of amaretto), the boilermaker (same, but with a shot of whiskey), and the car bomb (Guinness with a shot of Irish whiskey and/or cream whiskey) are slammed at all hours of the night. Guinness is also featured in two somewhat finer drinks, the black and tan (Guinness and Bass) and the black velvet (Guinness and champagne). Both the black and tan and the black velvet can be found at Croxley Ales, an English beerhouse that has an extensive list of other mixed beer drinks (28 Avenue B, between 2nd and 3rd streets, 212-253-6140).