East Indies Highball

My first intuition was to play off the bitter notes in the IPA with a bitter liqueur, and I selected Cynar for that role, because I thought that the bitterness of hops would be similar to the bitterness of the artichoke. Indeed, it was a pleasing combination. I also know that gin pairs well with Cynar, and further expected harmony between gin's botanicals and the herbal qualities of IPA. We soured it with some lime, but then all the bitter and sour required balance.

I had intended to use simple syrup, but sometimes when drinks are flying left and right (metaphorically), and you realize you're out of simple syrup, you let it overcook and it starts to caramelize. In this case, we decided to go ahead and use the caramelized syrup anyway, and it worked even better than simple syrup would have, in my opinion.

Caramelized Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Bring to a rolling boil for ~10 minutes.

Kill the heat, and fortify with 1 oz of 151 proof rum.

East Indies Highball

2 oz Gin (Beefeater)

.5 oz Caramelized Syrup (above)

.5 oz Cynar

2/3 oz Lime

2 oz IPA (Ninkasi Total Domination)

Shake all except beer and then double-strain over fresh ice.

Garnish with a scored lime wedge.

This was an herbal drink, effervescent, bitter, with a counterpoint of caramelized sugar. My favorite of the week. I do not have an exact beer template for you, but my general approach is to formulate a drink that tastes good on its own, and that I think will taste good with a particular beer, and then top that drink with beer.

I am of the opinion that mixing wine, including aromatized wine, with beer, would be in poor taste. That means that the base of your beer drink should be sour or succulent, or maybe driven by liqueur. I have greatly enjoyed beer drinks that use viscous, jammy preparations of fruit, including purees as well as actual jams. Beer is already thick, so it works well to fortify that with something pulpy.

If I had to give you a formula, it would look like:

Beer Template

1.5 oz base spirit

1 oz Fresh juice or .75 oz Fruit Puree

.75 oz Liqueur or Syrup

Dash of Bitters

Shake and strain over ice, and top with 3 oz beer

But you'll notice that maybe none of our drinks conform to that exact template. It's all about taste and iteration, and balancing the individual flavors against each other. Beers are complex on their own, and getting them to taste right with other ingredients is nuanced. You cannot even rely on any one IPA to taste exactly like another; one might have more of a grapefruit flavor, and another might taste more like pine. That's why you have to know your ingredients.

Cheers.