Beer syrup sounds disgusting, I know. Why would you ever put something so disgusting in a cocktail? asks my skeptical side. That’s like adding mushroom water.
Wow, I can’t believe I just came up with that. That really does sound disgusting.
Well, leave it to Dallas to try it! Maybe not mushroom water, but they sure use a lot of shrooms!
Back to beer syrup, though. Sure, it isn’t something you see all the time in cocktails, but it’s a good way to get beer flavor into a cocktail while also adding sugar. Beer by itself can work okay, but it generally adds a lot of liquid without a whole lot of flavor.
That can be fine if you’re making a tall drink, but for a small drink, it’s hard to use.
Boiling down the beer into beer syrup solves that problem. It condenses the liquid and intensifies the flavor per ounce, so you get a more flavorful cocktail.
Making beer syrup
Here, I used Karbach Zee German Pils, an excellent pilsner style beer with plenty of flavor. Be careful of really hoppy beers like IPAs; they tend to get downright bitter when condensed this way. Porters, stouts, browns, and pilsners work fine.
I brought the can to a boil and then let it simmer gently for a while. Then I measured it, and it was 1/4 cup. That’s two ounces. Yep, 12 ounces became 2. That’s some flavor right there. So I added 1/4 cup of sugar to it and took it off the heat. I let the sugar dissolve, stirring, and voila! beer syrup!
The Lemon Shondell cocktail recipe
To make the Lemon Shondell, combine with ice:
- 1 1/2 oz Reyka vodka
- 1/2 oz Hornitos Spiced Honey
- 3/4 oz pilsner syrup
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Then take a bit of beer, shake it around in a glass, and take some of the foam off the top. It looks nice on top of the Lemon Shondell, and it adds a touch more beer aroma.
A nice, bright cocktail that smells and hints of beer. With just a bit of spice and honey flavors. I named it after the lemon shandy, a drink with beer and lemonade. That’s what this one reminds me of.
And also because I like Tommy James and the Shondells. I mean, come on! Is there a better song than “I Think We’re Alone Now“?