Beer Floats Are an Adult Summer Treat

No doubt you've had a root beer float once or twice in your lifetime, but have you ever tasted a beer float? Beer floats seem to have taken off more than ever in recent years, thanks to nationwide explosion of craft breweries. The combo of beer and ice cream makes for an enjoyable treat during the hot summer months, or any other time of year. There are a few caveats to making the ideal beer float, however. For a light and refreshing float, you need an ice cream that is low in sugar and fat content, as well as a lighter beer. But if your end game is a heavier and creamier float, then a higher fat ice cream works better and should be paired with a similar creamy and heavy beer that can hold its own with the ice cream, like a porter or stout. Chocolate or coffee stouts pair well with complementary ice cream flavors like vanilla, coconut or toffee. Some even use a nice chocolate or rocky road. The brightness of citrus or berry flavored ice cream would work in a similar manner with brews like Hefeweizen. Sour beers can be delicious in floats as well and their tartness offsets the creaminess of ice cream. Pale ales and IPAs are hoppy beers and can have a fruity note that is best accentuated by a tangy sorbet or peach ice cream. Many believe that the best floats are made with beer poured from a nitro tap because the lack of CO2 in nitro beers produces a smaller amount and size of bubble. This allows the ice cream to maintain its structure for longer and the nitro beer has a preferrable level of creaminess for a beer float. Of course, experienced drinkers and experts alike tend to agree that the combination of a Guinness and chocolate ice cream makes for the ideal beer float recipe above all other contenders. Lucky for us, making a Guiness beer float at home is immensely simple. Add two scoops of vanilla or chocolate (dealer's choice) ice cream to a tall glass. Some will then drizzle the ice cream with a little chocolate syrup before pouring a bottle of Guinness or another stout over the ice cream, but the drizzle is entirely optional. Enjoy the float as-is at this point, or top it off with a swirl of whipped cream and another drizzle of chocolate if you want to ramp your float up a bit. Many say that the chocolate syrup helps to tie the flavors of the float together. Easy-peasy, right? For a little extra oomph, you can even add a shot of Irish whiskey to the mix. A few pro tips: Chill the glass ahead of time to keep the float cold for longer. Pour the beer slowly against the side of the glass to minimize foaming. Adjust the ice cream to beer ratio as needed to your own personal taste. Be sure to serve the float immediately for an optimal drinking experience. Not a fan of stouts? As we saw above, there are other beer float options. Here is a cheat sheet for a few more of the top-recommended beer and ice cream combos: Belgium-style white ale and orange sherbet Porter and chocolate ice cream Raspberry sour ale and vanilla gelato Summer shandy and orange sherbet Brown ale and coffee/espresso ice cream Stout and cherry ice cream Amber lager and salted caramel ice cream The beer float just may be the adult summer treat that you never knew you needed. Don't say I didn't warn you.