Recipes for beer liqueurs and hop tinctures at home

First there was beer and the beer was delicious. Then there were the Arabs, and the Arabs learned to drive. Then there were the Germans … In short, the Germans had a lot of beer, and they also knew how to drive and generally drink not fools. And the Germans began to distill everything that came to hand for schnapps. And they got beer on hand. And this story is not about that at all, not about schnapps at all, but it could not have done without beer. This story is about delicious beer liqueurs, which are easy to prepare and delicious to drink. So it goes…

Well, how about an experiment? Not an experiment at all. It’s just that not many people know about beer-based liquors, and therefore for those many who don’t know about them, this drink can really seem extravagant and experimental. Meanwhile, the Germans, and not only the Germans, with beer on a short leg and very, very fond of it. And when they can no longer look at it, but they want to drink something, they begin to think that it is still possible to do this with this beer. That’s when the most diverse, sometimes very ridiculous, but more often brilliant drinks are born. We will still get to beer schnapps (already got there), but beer liqueurs, which are often prepared in the homeland of beer, we will analyze with passion right now.

The main question is which beer to choose for this? Of course, it depends on the recipe, but an experiment is an experiment, which allows some liberties. I lean towards full-bodied, malty, hoppy examples that will leave their mark on the liquor, and the mark will be difficult to erase with other ingredients or long aging. Bocks (a traditional liqueur ingredient in Germany), rich lambics and fruity Belgian ales, all these craft IPAs, APAs and other PAs are reliable, accent and somewhat predictable options. Any craft from a local shop will be a good help in our endeavors!

German beer liqueur with spices

Beer liqueur, as mentioned earlier, is a traditional drink in some beer regions of Germany. One of the commercial representatives of this small caste is the Vilshofener Bierlikör liqueur, which is made from the beer of the Wolfstetten factory located in Vilshofen an der Donau, Bavaria. For its preparation, Doppelbock is specially brewed, which is then mixed with spices and schnapps at the production of a small local company “Edelobstbrennerei Roland Braun”. Our recipe is an imitation of this wonderful digestif. You can drink it neat or as part of cocktails, but it is best, especially in the cold season, to serve it warm with whipped cream sprinkled with grated cardamom on top. By the way, we have already prepared a similar drink, but with porter – look for “Porterovka” in the recipes for coffee tinctures.

How to make:

Mix beer, sugar and all spices in a saucepan of a suitable volume. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let the mixture steep for 1 hour. Strain through a sieve, return to the washed pan and boil again. Remove from heat, cool and add moonshine or alcohol, depending on what strength you want to get a drink (if you use alcohol, you get a liquor with a strength of about 32%, which corresponds to the strength of “Vilshofener Bierlikör”, if moonshine with a strength of 60% – in around 20%). Pour the finished liquor into dark glass bottles (or store in a dark cabinet), close tightly and send for aging for 3-4 weeks. Start tasting!

On a note! The Germans like to replace part of the neutral alcohol in the composition of beer liqueurs with rich dark rum. Also, cases of “cutting” are not uncommon, when dark and light beers are mixed in equal proportions.

A simple Belgian beer liqueur

An easy-to-make drink, the author of the recipe was inspired by the latest trends in mixology. As planned, it was supposed to be beer syrup, a tracing paper on Verdejo white wine syrup, which lit up at the next cocktail summit in Chicago. But beer-based syrup does not keep for long, but if you mix liquor out of it, adding a little vodka, you get an excellent digestif and cocktail ingredient. Belgian beer (in the first iteration it was a seasonal ale, fruity and moderately spicy, in the next iterations – lambics, pumpkin ale, bitter IPA) was chosen at random and exceeded all the author’s expectations. Liquor showed itself in cocktails with rye whiskey (Dupont: 60 ml rye whiskey, 22,5 ml Campari, 15 ml beer liqueur; La Fin Du Monde: 60 ml rye whiskey, 22,5 ml Cynar, 15 ml beer liqueur, Angostura dash).

How to cook:

Pour the beer into a small saucepan and place over low heat. Add sugar and, without bringing the beer to a boil, stir until it is completely dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat, let it cool slightly, strain through a fine sieve or several layers of gauze. Add vodka, mix well. Pour the finished liquor into clean bottles and let it rest for 1-2 weeks. Store at room temperature (up to 6 months) or in the refrigerator (up to 1 year).

Beer liqueur with ginger

Polish liqueur recipe based on fragrant dark beer, ginger and honey. It was invented by the famous Polish marathon runner, and an ordinary married couple of bloggers was engaged in the adaptation. But the potion is what you need. The bock in this case is chosen based on the personal preferences of the authors of the recipe and its rich malt flavor, which will not be lost in the backyard of the ginger-honey motif. Of course, you can get creative and use any other beer with a rich taste and aroma. If you like it, try making ginger liqueurs and liqueurs – they are wonderfully good!

How to make:

Peel the ginger, coarsely chop into small pieces and transfer to a two-liter jar. Heat the beer in a small saucepan to 40 degrees, add honey and stir until it is completely dissolved (this procedure is not necessary, but this will degas the beer and quickly dissolve the honey). Remove from heat, cool, pour over ginger. Add alcohol, close the jar tightly and leave in a dark, cool place for 2-4 weeks. Strain, filter, pour into clean bottles and send to rest. Exposure for this drink is important and the longer it lasts, the better. Ideally, the liquor should rest for 6-9 months before tasting. During storage, it is desirable to remove it from the honey sediment at least once and filter it, which will guarantee its transparency and beautiful color.

Ликёр «Рутбир-шнапс» (Root Beer Schnapps)

In North America, root beer, known to us as root beer, is a very popular drink. We suggest you prepare a liqueur with the same name, taste and in general. Complex, botanical, woody. This drink will be a sufficient cocktail ingredient or a savory digestif. All botany can be found in pharmacies or grandmothers in the markets, including the roots of sassafras and smilax, which grow on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. And although root beer is not a beer in the traditional sense of the word, it, along with ginger ale and ginger beer, occupies an honorable place in Western drinking culture and mixology as such, so today it is permissible to be a little beer. But only in liquor…

How to cook:

In a small saucepan, mix water, sassafras root bark, smilax root bark, birch bark, star anise, ginger, mint (can be replaced with regular) and lemon zest. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid and let it brew for 2 hours. Strain the solid residue through a cheesecloth or sieve, pour the liquid back into the pan and bring to a boil. Add sugar and molasses, stir until sugar is completely dissolved and remove from heat. Add vanilla and let the mixture cool. Pour into a clean jar, add vodka, close tightly, shake and let rest for a week or two. Store at room temperature (up to 6 months) or in the refrigerator (up to 1 year).

Hop tincture / Hoppy vodka

Well, something, and hops to beer has the most direct relationship. It contains a huge amount of aromatic oils that make the beer the way it is (and you can’t brew craft without it at all). The same oils and other compounds contained in hops endow vodka with very different and most unexpected tastes and aromas. There are several ways to get hoppy vodka: you can make beer hopped wort and distill (this is how beer schnapps is actually prepared), you can put hops in a gin basket or steep raw alcohol on it before its second distillation. But the easiest and most obvious way is to make a tincture. For this, use any aromatic hops that are of interest to you with a small content of alpha acids (extraction should also be minimized, otherwise the vodka will taste bitter). Vodka (or even gin, which is preferable) with hops is a great cocktail ingredient.

Hop varieties recommended for making flavored vodka:

• Yellow – tangerine and orange undertones, floral aromas (what to mix: 240 ml of American wheat beer, 30 ml of Amarillo hoppy vodka, 15 ml of orange juice and 1 tsp of honey syrup).
• Cascade – grapefruit, orange and pine undertones, floral aromas (what to mix: 60 ml of Cascade hoppy vodka and tonic to taste).
• Citra – undertones of guava, passion fruit and citrus fruits, aromas of tropical fruits (what to mix: 60 ml of Citra hoppy vodka, 7,5 ml of pineapple juice and 7,5 ml of dry vermouth).
• Columbus – earthy, grassy undertones and aromas (what to mix: 240 ml of Belgian blond ale, 30 ml of Columbus hoppy vodka, 15 ml of St. Germain liqueur, 15 ml of red orange juice and 1 tsp of honey syrup).
• Mosaic – undertones of pineapple and blueberry, fruity aromas (what to mix: 240 ml of Belgian blanche, 30 ml of Mosaic hoppy vodka, 15 ml of honey syrup and 6 raspberries/blueberries).
• Polaris – minty and grassy undertones and aromas (what to mix: 60 ml of Polaris hoppy vodka, 7,5 ml of Blue Curacao, 7,5 ml of dry vermouth and 4 mint leaves).
• … other flavor hops.

For pelleted hops: pour the hops into a canvas bag and place in a two-liter jar; add vodka, mix and strain after 10 minutes (try first).

For cone hops: mix vodka and hops in a half-liter jar, mix, close tightly and leave for 24-36 hours (try); strain, filter and pour into a clean bottle.

Good luck!