These craft beer cocktails are great for any celebration, but especially for ringing in the new year with some adult friends!

If you know us then you know that we enjoy the occasional adult beverage.  Not too many, but with the right food and on the right day, a well crafted drink really hits the spot.  I feel the same way about coffee but that’s a post for another time.

Heather has been hinting for a while that she wants to expand the site a little to include my craft beer tasting notes.  I have a bit of a collection of unique beer caps right now, several hundred individual ones at this moment ,as a matter of fact.  No two are the same.  I only need about fifteen more to finish a project I am working on.  I rarely consume a beer that I haven’t vetted with Beer Advocate.  That’s just the way I am.

Disclaimer: I am a Hophead.  I speak IPA. I do not purposely drink “light” beer.  I think Arrogant Bastard Ale coined a phrase that is perfect for this post- “Fizzy yellow beer is for Wussies”.  Heather prefers dry white wine and in the last few months she has been on a real dry mead and hard cider kick. Briefly, she was accompanying me to breweries to expand her palate.  That was a short lived experience.  She seems to gravitate towards lighter tasting beers like cream ales and some wheats.

Did I mention I am a hophead?  Having said this, you will see that in my top 8 craft beer cocktails, I only use one IPA.  Not just anything blends well with them.

Lastly, I have a pretty specific collection of glasses for each type of beer I enjoy just as Heather has a closely guarded lineup of Riedel wine glasses.  Please forgive our photo staging as I am neither a photographer nor a food writer like my lovely and talented wife.  Did I mention she is standing over my shoulder supervising this post?

Here is a collection of my 8 favorite craft beer cocktails.

Enjoy. Tell me what you think and if you are in a beer rut, like many of my guy friends, then try one of these.  Your beverage of choice does not have to have a set of mountains on the can to be good.  Expand your taste horizons a bit.  It’s time to grow up, we are not in college anymore!

Inspired by Puppy Love at New Day

 Cherry Fizz

2 parts Washingtons Folly from New Day Meadery

1 part ginger ale

dash of vanilla

Lightly shake with ice, strain into a glass and add a few cherries for garnish

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Use St-Germain for this, don’t skip it. You can buy a small bottle at most liquor stores for around five dollars

Blackberry Burst

2 oz blackberry puree (puree of fresh or frozen berries-strained)

1 1/2 oz good quality gin

3/4 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

4 oz IPA

Fill a shaker half way with ice. Add all but the IPA. Shake gently and strain into a glass. Top off with the IPA.

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The Curtis

2 oz whiskey

1 oz fresh lime juice

10 oz PBR or light lager

limes for garnish

Add ice to a shaker, add ingredients and shake lightly.  Strain into a glass.

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You all remember when you got your first paycheck and you wanted to impress your girlfriend with a ‘cocktail’ well this drink is still good. Just class is up a bit with a nicer glass and vodka that isn’t from the bottom shelf of the shop and save.

Old School

8 oz vodka

16 oz Budweiser or MGD

16 oz sparkling lemonade

citrus for garnish

Add ingredients plus ice to a glass and stir. Sounds way more classy than pour into a Solo cup and chug….

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Heather’s contribution to the cause

Blueberry Lambic Cocktail

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz simple syrup

1/2 tzp vanilla

juice of 1 lime

1 TB of blueberry preserves

4 oz Lambic ~We used Upland Blueberry Lambic

Blueberries for garnish

Fill a shaker with ice. Add the bourbon, syrup, lime, vanilla, and preserves.  Strain into a tall glass and top off with the Lambic.

It is ok that it separates, it still tastes great.

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Use real maple syrup in this one. None of that fake stuff will do.

Grapefruit Moon

(not mine, I found this in a generic cookbook at Barnes and Noble)

1 1/2 oz bourbon

1 1/2 oz fresh grapefruit juice

1 TB maple syrup

3 oz stout, I used an oatmeal stout by Samuel Smith

grapefruit slice for garnish

Add all but the beer to a shaker of ice. Lightly shake and strain into a glass.  Top off with beer.

Serve with a grapefruit if you don’t feel too girly.

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This one is all mine! I thought Heather would like it.

 Chocolate Covered Strawberry

12 oz chocolate stout, I used Southern Tier

8 oz of strawberry lambic, I used Upland Strawberry Lambic

You can use raspberry lambic by Lindemans here~It just wont be a chocolate covered strawberry~obviously

Add half of the lambic to each of 2 glasses, then slowly top with equal parts of chocolate stout.

Garnish with berries.

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This one is my favorite. Don’t tell anyone.

Sunset

red grapes

2 oz vodka

3/4 oz Aperol, an orange flavored liqueur-Heather cooks with it

3/4 oz simple syrup

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 oz amber lager