Beer Cocktails for the Holidays?

For the most part, beer tends to be the antithesis of cocktails. Aside from established classics such as the boilermaker, which calls for beer as the main ingredient, “beertails” are not normally on the radar of brew lovers, but things and tastes seem to be changing in this regard. In cities such as Boston, San Francisco, and Miami, beertails are being served at trendy pubs when temperatures start to drop, and they get more popular through the holiday season.

A true beertail is more elaborate than the traditional michelada you get at Tex-Mex restaurants along with margaritas and gourmet cheese tacos. If you think about it, flavored and infused craft beer is pretty close to a beertail, so it is not surprising that they are now in vogue. According to a recent article published by Forbes, modern beertails are the logical progression of the American craft beer revolution, which is why most beertail recipes call for highly specific brews; for example, a Fall Apple Cider must be made with Dos Equis Amber, and the Italian Sunshine can only be made with Peroni.

The concept of beertails is similar to that of a wine-and-cheese pairing or a coffee-and-dessert pairing. Of course, there are plenty of people who would agree that beer is “better” than wine, but the difference between a wine and a cheese pairing and the difference between beer and cheese are fairly insignificant. When it comes to a beertail, everything is equal, which is what makes this whole concept interesting.

As far as the beers to be used, you can expect to find them from a wide range of breweries, just like wine and cheese pairings are sourced separately. There are, of course, a number of reasons for this, some of which have to do with the limited number of breweries in the United States and the fact that most of the beers on the market are generally lighter beers. For instance, it is a challenge to pair a German pilsner with a grilled cheese sandwich, but that is the type of challenge that these kinds of pairings are designed to overcome.

There are a lot of flavors and attributes that beer has to offer, which is what makes it unique. Some of the attributes include hops, malt, and flavors derived from barrel aging. These are the attributes that make them ideal for beer tails.