Look. Beer floats are awesome. They’re frothy, refreshing, damned tasty, sinful, and give you the ability to literally chew your beer. Whether you have an “official” reason such as celebrating National Ice Cream Day or you’re just looking for a cool treat to get you through the dog days of summer, indulging in a beer float is one of life’s great pleasures. But picking the right flavor combination is key. Something magical happens when you find that perfect beer and ice cream pairing.
We know there are some detractors that may think “how could you waste a perfectly good beer by pouring it over ice cream?” (Beer Director, Marc Castaldo). To them we say: “You just haven’t tried the best beer float recipes. Time to have some fun!”
When it comes to pairing craft beer and ice cream, you want to always be thinking about balancing all the elements: flavor, mouthfeel, intensity. Granted these will all lean heavily towards the rich, sweet side, but you’ll find that when you pick the right beer, the hop bitterness will pull it all together. And consider complimentary flavors. A beer’s chocolate, coffee, or bourbon notes marry deliciously with the mirroring vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and sugar of ice cream.
So, without further adieu, here are seven of our favorite and best craft beer float recipes. Give them a shot at home and don’t be afraid to experiment! It’s all about having fun.
Just a heads up. These are beer float recipe suggestions for you to try at home. Ask a Beer Goddess or Beertender at your local Flying Saucer about what beer float options might be available for you to enjoy.
Craft Beer Float Recipes
Imperial Or Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout with Vanilla Ice Cream
Why this works:
This is a classic combination. Stouts have roasty, chocolatey, coffee, and even burnt notes in varying degrees depending on the exact style and brewer. Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stouts also have some vanilla and sherry notes. Some stouts — Milk Stouts — even have lactose, a sugar that comes from milk, that provides additional sweetness and body to the beer. The booziness, bitterness, and big load of black patent malts of an Imperial Stout are ready to dance with something like a sweet touch of cream.
All of those characteristics make Imperial and Bourbon-Barrel Stouts the perfect candidates for a scoop of traditional vanilla ice cream. The sugar from the ice cream mellows the aggressiveness and intensity of the stout’s alcohol burn. The vanilla of the ice cream locks in perfectly with the roast, chocolate, and coffee flavors of the stout, as well as any vanilla notes present. Then, after the creaminess and fat of the ice cream cover your tongue, the carbonation and alcohol of the beer come along and scrub your palate so you’re ready for your next bite!
This classic beer float can be found on the dessert menu at most Flying Saucers. Give it a shot!
Brown Ale with Chocolate Ice Cream
Why this works:
Generally on the drier side with some good caramel character, Brown Ales pair marvelously with chocolate ice cream. The malt-forward and medium bitterness mirrors the same qualities of good chocolate ice cream — particularly rich, dark chocolate. The dryness of the Brown Ale helps keeps that sweetness in check. Brown Ale’s nutty, toffee, caramel, and light chocolate flavors evoke an almost candy bar-like quality when enjoyed with the ice cream. It should be said that American Brown Ales’ hop flavor will be more pronounced (because — America!) so, you’ll have a bit more citrusy flavors going on. That’s neither good nor bad — just something to consider.
Finally, a Brown Ales’ carbonation will allow it to scrub your tongue and keep it alive and well for each and every bite.
Doppelbock with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Why this works:
Richness is the name of the game with this combination. Doppelbocks are already decadent with loads of malts and malty-sweetness that stops shy of cloying. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is obviously over-the-top with the sweetness as well. So, how does this work so well without sending your body into sugar shock?
First, the fact that Doppelbock stops short of being cloyingly sweet. Then, there’s a Maillard reaction quality present in both the Doppelbock and a high-quality chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that kind of attenuates the sugars and brings out some toasty notes to cut through the sweetness. (Simply stated, the Maillard reaction is the stage in cooking where sugars reduce and caramelize causing food to brown. It gives cookies that freshly-baked flavor and seared steaks the crust we love.) Couple that toastiness with the Dopplebock’s gentle, warming alcohol sensation and smooth carbonation, and you find yourself lost in a decadently rich treat that’s firmly planted just this side of being too much.
English Porter with Coffee Ice Cream
Why this works:
Honestly, any Porter could really work, but we prefer the softer flavors of an English Porter to the sharper bite of an American counterpart when it comes to pairing it with coffee ice cream. A good Porter will have roasted chocolate and coffee flavors and aromas that are naturally meant for coffee ice cream. There’s definitely a great earthiness at play with complex bitterness to keep the sweetness in check. Really attuned palates will be able to appreciate the slight fruity and floral nature of both the Porter and high-quality coffee ice cream.
Quad and Caramel Ice Cream
Why this works:
Good Quads are dark, deep, complex, fruity, smooth, and caramelly. They’re pretty sinful. We can all agree that a dark caramel is pretty much the same. Pour a boozy Quad over some velvety caramel ice cream and you’ll be in heaven.
There are hints and teases of toast and some spice at play, but nothing dominant. Think of all the best characteristics of a really good port wine coupled with fine caramels. The high alcohol content keeps the malt sweetness and the ice cream sweetness contained. The high carbonation does as well while enticing your tastebuds. Some may prefer a Quad with more pepperiness to help overcome any syrupy effects. However, a good caramel ice cream won’t be cloying and will have the almost smokiness and toastiness that also helps control the sweetness of the Quad.
A truly interesting choice for this beer float is Ommegang’s Three Philosophers which is a blend of a Belgian-style Quad and Liefmans Kriek. It has cherry and sherry flavors that add even more deliciousness to the caramel. It’s like the melted last remains left at the bottom of an ice cream sundae.
Chocolate Stout and Strawberry Ice Cream
Why this works:
Say it with us: chocolate covered strawberries. A classic dessert replicated here with this combination. Do we really need to explain why this works so well?
While not a recognized style of beer, Chocolate Stouts can be found with varying levels of chocolate, sweetness, alcohol, and a host of other characteristics. Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout is one of our favorites for the way in which it’s loaded with chocolate flavor, embraces its sweet side, and the sheer sense of tradition it carries. It truly is a wonderful combination when poured over strawberry ice cream. It puts your mind right into that sexy place of eating chocolate covered strawberries with your lover…or by yourself.
Weissbier/Hefeweizen/German-style Wheat Beer and Orange Sorbet
Why this works:
Banana, cloves, vanilla, and bubble gum flavors are awesome when they hit the citrusy brightness of an orange sorbet. A matter of opinion, but those yeast characteristics found in German-style wheat beers (be they filtered, bottle-conditioned, or what-have-you) are preferable to the bready and more hop-forward American versions when it comes to this application.
The dryness and the effervescent liveliness of the Wheat Beer is pretty spectacular with the packed-snow texture of the sorbet. The froth and cream that’s created when the beer hits the sorbet is spectacular. It’s a truly refreshing and uplifting treat that cleanses the palate after a heavy meal and cools you off on a hot summer day.
The boldness of Sierra Nevada’s Kellerweis, which is openly fermented capturing even more unique yeasty flavors is a crazy-good option. And even though it does have some of those bread notes that most American wheats have, the elements that the yeasts bring drive this bus.
So there you have it. Our favorite and best beer float recipes. Go forth and create. Share these recipes, then try them or your own combinations at any of your summer parties. Cheers!
