New Ways To Enjoy Beer

Contrary to what a recent commercial would have you believe, you don't have to give up beer completely if you've become bored drinking it. With the recipes below, you can make some tasty cocktails for the times when you need more from your beer than for it to be ice cold. 

Ingredients: Shandy

1 bottle or can of beer
lemonade

1. Pour half of the beer into a glass. 
2. Fill the glass with lemonade.

As easy to make as it is refreshing to drink, try using a lemon-flavoured soda like 7Up or Sprite for the British version of this cocktail.

Ingredients: Black Velvet: 

1 bottle or can of stout
1 bottle of sparkling wine (a dry Champagne would be preferred)

1. Pour the stout into a champagne or highball glass until the glass is half full.
2. Top off the rest of the glass with the wine. Stir if desired, or allow the cocktail to sit for about a minute before serving.

Invented in London in 1861 as a way to mourn the death of Prince Albert, this cocktail can be made layered with either the stout on the bottom and champagne on top or with everything blended together.

Ingredients: Michelada

1 bottle or can of Mexican beer (appropriate cervezas to use: Corona, Modelo, Tecate)
Clamato or tomato juice
your favourite hot sauce
Worcestershire sauce
soy sauce
juice of one lime

1. Take some salt and sprinkle it on a small plate. Rub a slice of lime around the rim of a glass and then press the rim in the salt.
2. Fill the glass about a quarter to halfway with either Clamato or tomato juice. Add the lime juice, two splashes of Worcestershire sauce, two splashes of soy sauce, and the hot sauce to taste. Fill the rest of the glass with cold beer.
3. Garnish with a slice of lime.

This will appeal to fans of the Bloody Caesar; for added authenticity, rim your glass with Tajin seasoning and use Maggi liquid seasoning instead of soy sauce.

Ingredients: Beer Float 

1 bottle or can of beer
ice cream
candy, chocolate chips, sprinkles, whipped cream (optional)

1. Scoop one or two scoops of ice cream into a beer mug.
2. Slowly pour beer into the mug, allowing the foam to rise and then recede before adding more beer.
3.  Top with any of the optional ingredients if you require more sweetness.

Swapping out root beer with regular beer is a great way to make a childhood treat more adult. While making a beer float is as simple as adding your favourite beer to your favourite ice cream, you can create a better float if you consider using flavours that pair well together. Combinations to try include:

• a red ale with vanilla ice cream
• a raspberry lambic with chocolate ice cream
• a hefeweizen with strawberry ice cream
• an espresso stout with coffee ice cream 
• an IPA with lemon-lime sorbet 
• a Belgian white with orange sorbet

The Need To Know Classic That Is: The Black and Tan

If you're planning to have a Guinness in honour of everyone's favourite Irish saint today, why not upgrade it and have a Black and Tan instead? A simple beer cocktail, it's made by layering a stout or any dark beer on top of a pale beer (traditionally a Harp lager). This is made possible because of the lower relative density of the Guinness. Please note that in Ireland this drink is referred to as a half and half, due to the association of black and tan to the British paramilitary, so if your proud Irish friends are giving you the stinkeye at some point today, it may be for calling loudly for more Black and Tans, so head's up. At any rate, always drink responsibly. Don't drink and drive.

Ingredients

1 bottle or can of your favourite pale ale or lager
1 bottle or can of Guinness or your favourite stout

1. Slowly pour half the pale beer into a tall beer glass.
2. Place a large tablespoon, dome side up, two or three centimetres or so above the beer in the glass, with the tip of the spoon pointed slightly downhill. Slowly pour half the darker beer over the tablespoon, so that it gently pours down the side of the glass in a thick trickle.
   
   Allow the drink to stand for a few moments until two distinct layers of beer form.

Detox and Retox - Yoga On Tap at the Ottawa Winter Brewfest

A lot of people practice yoga in order to free their minds from the distractions that normally occupy it; a lot of people drink beer for the same reason. Yoga classes followed by a pint of beer have become a hot new pairing at breweries throughout the city and the country. While you may think the beer would offset any of yoga's positive effects, sipping a pint may have more health advantages than you think, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Cereal Science. And who doesn't like a cold one after working your muscles hard? I first heard of the trend when I saw one of my favourite craft breweries, Dominion City Brewing, hosted YOGA ON TAP last year, that featured a session that offered an all levels accessible yoga class, followed by a tour of the brewery and some beer tasting. It was too late for me to attend that event, but I managed to get into the session happening at the sold-out Winter Brewfest at Lansdowne Park today. It was -28 Celsius leaving the house this morning, with a windchill of way too cold to be out if you don't have to. I thought I could warm myself up on the frigid walk from my parking spot to the Horticulture Building by convincing myself I was attending a hot yoga class but it didn't help. Once I registered and started to defrost, I made my way to the front to set up. I'd say there were about 30-35 people in attendance, with more women than men, about a five-to-one ratio. Our instructor, Ashley, soon welcomed us to the class and won everyone over with her enthusiastic attitude, and the announcement that she was cool with people drinking beer while she led us through the routine. Her approach to the class was it was just her inviting us in to join her as she drank beer while she practised yoga, and that life is a gift that we should all enjoy. I appreciated the commitment to work-life balance, but I would need to take more yoga classes to get the full benefits of it. I was too busy getting my body into the proper form, and worrying if my breathing was correct to get any of the mental or spiritual aspects. But by the end of the session, I was relaxed enough to enjoy some beer. Ashley then led everyone through a beer tasting, and her knowledge of beer is on par with her knowledge of yoga. The standout of the samplings offered was the Unf stout from local brewers whiprsnapr, full of dark chocolate, black cherry, and espresso flavours. With a focus on one's well being, and one's community, YOGA ON TAP was a good time for everyone, whether you come out for the yoga or for the beer.