6 beer cocktail recipes for staying toasty this winter

Now that the winter solstice has come, it’s the official beginning of cold-weather season. To celebrate, I’m sharing some great winter beer cocktails that take advantage of the cooler temperatures with heartier brews and heavier spices.

People have been adding a variety of things to their beer to enhance the drinking experience almost as long as brewing has existed. The practice became more widespread during Prohibition, when the quality of bootleg beer often was inconsistent at best, and then ramped up again at the dawn of the Millennium, when a full-fledged cocktail revolution began.

Here are a few of my favorite beer cocktails that are particularly good when it’s cold outside. To keep things easy, I’ve chosen some simpler-to-prepare beverages, but there are also more complex beer cocktails worth looking out for.

Mulled Beer: The almost forgotten art of mulling beer originated in medieval Europe, centuries ago, but was still popular in both English and American taverns as recently as the early 20th century. But you rarely hear about it these days, which is a shame, because it can be delicious, especially on a frigid day. Plus, it’s pretty easy to make.

First, find the right beer, and then just open the bottle, stand it upright in a saucepan partially filled with water on the stove and heat it on medium for at least 30 minutes, though longer is better. You want to slowly warm the beer, not bring it quickly to a boil. Once it’s thoroughly heated, serve it with or without garnishes like cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices or cherries. Other spices typically included are anise, nutmeg, allspice and ginger.

Some of the best beer styles for this are cherry beers, whether a Belgian Lambic or a dark beer with cherries. The cherry flavors seem to work best, but other fruit beers, such as raspberry, could work, too. Dark, strong and malty is what you want, like a Belgian Dark Strong Ale, or a German Doppelbock, Dunkel or Dunkelweizen. In a pinch, I have seen people make this with a standard lager and a can of Cherry Coke or another cherry-flavored soft drink. It’s not as good, but if you’re strapped for ingredients, it’s worth a try, especially with some heavy garnishings.

The other way to mull beer is to pour your beer into the saucepan, adding a mixture of sugar (I find brown sugar works best), spices and fruit like dried oranges directly with the beer. Bring it to a simmer. Never let it boil. You can keep it warm for hours. The longer it’s heated, the more the spices will intensify, but also the less alcoholic it will become. Some people will also add something like brandy or Cognac.

Hotter Chocolate: Start with a stout beer. Oatmeal stouts are especially good, but any stout will work. Warm the beer by mulling it. While it’s on the stove, fill your glass with cinnamon, vanilla extract and chocolate pieces. Once the beer is hot, pour it over the ingredients and add some mini marshmallows.

IPA Mule: Generally speaking, hoppy beers don’t work well for mixed drinks, because the intense hopping often gets on the way of other flavors. But this variation on the Moscow Mule is an exception. Add to the signature copper mug, an ounce of vodka and lime juice, adding in double that of both an IPA and ginger beer, garnishing with a slice of lime and fresh mint to taste. You can also adjust any of the proportions to tweak the flavors to your liking.

Winter Beer Sangria: This is another simple mix of a winter lager, preferably something with added spices, sangria and a mix of fruits, like berries, grapes or oranges. If you’re beer’s not too spicy, you can always add cinnamon, cloves or even rosemary.

Wheat Berry Punch: Start with a 12-ounce bottle of wheat beer and add 6 ounces of cranberry juice and 4 ounces of orange juice and then garnish with cranberries and an orange slice. You can also add a shot of vodka to punch it up.

Stout de Cassis: This is a simple favorite of mine that I’ve been making for decades. All you need is a stout beer — it should be something fairly heavy, so not Guinness (which is actually lower in alcohol than most typical beers), or even a porter. Then add a few drops of Crème de Cassis, a French liqueur made from blackcurrants. You don’t need much because it’s an intense liqueur, and the berry fruit comes through and dramatically changes the overall flavor of the beer.

Contact Jay R. Brooks at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.