Diverse styles inspire creative blends for frothy sales.
By Lucy Saunders
rom Hot Scotchy to hoppy spritzers, there are almost endless riff s on beer cocktails. In 2012, expect more operators across the country to add beer to their mixology menus.
It's a trend fostered by festivals, competitions and seasonal
beer styles: the 2011 Aspen Food and Wine event featured a beer cocktail competition for the fi rst time, with the winning bartender, Brian Melton of Off the Cuff Cocktails, based in Denver, CO, presenting "Th e AllWhiteAveryTh ing" made with Avery Brewing Co.'s White Rascal, CapRock Gin, orange blossom white tea, hazelnut syrup with white pepper, white grapefruit and lemon juices. During San Diego's Beer Week in November 2011, celebrity
The Ace Hotel in New York serves beer-based cocktails such as the Beggars Banquet, a blend of Maker's Mark Bourbon, lemon juice and maple syrup, fi nished with Old Speckled Hen Ale from Greene King/MoorlandBrewery in the U.K.
bartender Matt Biancaniello of Hollywood's Library Bar, devised a series of six craft beer cocktails, paired with food samples, for "Dionicess IX," to benefi t the Real Medicine Foundation. Organized by Gev Kazanchyan, hospitality professor at California State University; with help of Dave Watrous, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing Co.; and Randy Clemens, chef and author of the Sriracha Cookbook, the six- fl ight tasting was $65 per person. In Denver last July, dozens of fans of craft beer cocktails
gathered at the venerable Star Bar—founded in 1953—to celebrate the fi rst CO Beer Cocktail Party, organized by Avery
32 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 www.cheersonline.com
JOLIE RUBEN
