Beer Ice Cream Floats

You read it right, beer ice cream floats! I have been SO inspired by all the artisnal ice cream flavors and craft beers that have been bursting onto the food scene. Something you all need to know about me is that I have a gigantic sweet tooth and have recently taken to a love affair with microbreweries and craft beer, so when I heard there was a way to combine my two great loves I new I had to try in for myself! Since I am home in New Hampshire for the summer and don’t really have access to the most up-and-comings in food (like I did in New York City) instead of just sitting and dreaming (aka trolling the internet for photos) of sweet beer treats, I set out to make my own. Believe it or not, this required a little bit of research. Since I am not the first person with the genius idea of combining beer and ice cream (in fact, there is a whole beer-centric creamery, Frozen Pints devoted to just that) I found a fair amount of information is available on the all-knowing internet; specifically, the 2 beers that blend best with ice cream are Pale Ales and Stouts and that the notes and flavors of the ice cream must balance out those of the beer.

Now onto the good stuff! I decided to go with some local brews; Shipyard’s Black IPA and Red Hook’s Long Hammer IPA, and keeping with my theme of supporting the small businessman I chose Steve’s Ice Cream (made in Brooklyn) Sunday Morning and Small Batch Bourbon Vanilla flavors. Sunday Morning consists of a buttermilk ice cream with maple syrup swirls and crunchy waffle pieces and don’t let the subtle Bourbon Vanilla fool you, its definitely more bourbon that it is vanilla. I decided to pair Sunday Morning with the deep and savory Black IPA, and thought the strong base flavors of the Bourbon Vanilla would play well with the bitter and citrusy flavors in the Long Hammer. I also picked up some old-time soda fountain glasses and straws from Homegoods.

Steve’s Sunday Morning Ice Cream & Shipyard’s Black IPA

Steve’s Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream & Red Hook Long Hammer IPA

To keep things cool I popped the glasses into the freezer for a couple of minutes before I loaded them up with love. In the 8oz class I poured about half a bottle of Black IPA in (like a pro so no foam here!) dropped in 2 scoops of Sunday Morning, and topped it off with (almost) the rest of the beer. I poured the Long Hammer IPA into the 6oz glass, just about half way, added 2 scoops of Bourbon Vanilla, and topped it off until there was about half left in the bottle. The frothy foam that rises to the top  was my first taste and it only had me wanting more, but I recommend mixing the ice cream in there to get the fully blended flavors!

 

There you have it! A modern take on a nostalgic sweet treat. The dark float turned out just as I had hoped; the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and creamy, but not too sweet and it still retained a decent bitterness. The lighter float came out something like a creamcicle, but with an unexpected bite from the citrus and bourbon. Suffice to say my tastebuds and tummy were elated with how these creamy babies turned out! But don’t worry, my search for craft beer-infused recipes will not stop here. If you have a beer-themed recipe share the wealth in a comment below!

Victory Garden

Victory Garden is a unique frozen desserts shop on Carmine St. between Bleecker and Bedford, in the West Village. They specialize in goat’s milk hard & soft serve ice creams, along with yogurt and other fresh delectables. Their flavors are exquisitely simplistic, while still bursting with flavor. Some of their featured Spring flavors include Chocolate Rosemary, Tangy Goat Milk, and Fennel. Not flavors you’d see in your typical ice cream parlor, but better. SO much better. When I visited they also had a Carob Chip flavor, which was heaven (and quite the accomplishment since I’m not the world’s biggest chocolate advocate)!

After sampling almost all of their soft serve I decided on a cup of chia pudding. Now I know chia seeds have been a health fad for a minute here (and yes they do have some great benefits for your body), but that’s not why you should try the chia pudding at Victory Garden. You should try it because it’s one of the most light, interesting, flavor-packed puddings I’ve ever had. It’s really a simple vanilla chia pudding recipe, but the texture is what kept me going bite after bite. As a chia newbie I asked the girl behind the counter for her best suggestions for toppings. She topped me off with carob chips and freshly chopped strawberries. Vanilla, “chocolate”, and strawberry. How original right? EXACTLY. The flavors were so natural and fresh. It reminded me why they’re such classics. Victory Garden is proof that desserts don’t need to be boosted with artificial sweeteners and extra sugars to be decadent and delicious.

Want to try to make your own chia pudding? It’s super easy and makes for a great healthy snack you can top with anything from frozen blueberries to coconut flakes!