Culinary Degradation, Part II - Beer Floats

by Bruce Watson, Posted Jan 19th 2009 @ 10:00AM

A few days ago, I ran a post in which I explored some of the nastiest-sounding, yet oddly enticing foods that I could find on the internet. At the end of the piece, I challenged my readers to come up with the most repulsive foods that they had ever had or seen on a menu. As expected, Slashfood readers came through, offering a wide selection of delectable, detestable taste treats. Over the next few days or weeks (depending on how many responses I get), I will offer up a few posts exploring some of the strange suggestions that YOU sent in.

In my original piece, I briefly mentioned my narrow experience with Guinness floats; this, in turn, inspired a fair bit of commentary on the various ice cream/beer combinations that are available out there. One reader suggested combining orange juice and Guinness in a 1:3 ratio. Similarly, another reader offered up the idea of a Rogue Chocolate Stout float or a Hazelnut Brown float.

Intrigued, I did a little wandering through the internet. While one page mentioned the Guinness/orange juice concoction (or "Wasp Sting"), as well as numerous other Guinness/juice/soda combinations, I was seriously blown away by the sheer amount of time that people have spent playing with beer and ice cream. Bella Online, for instance, offers an almost encyclopedic analysis of beer float literature. Meanwhile, Orangette offers a more experimental perspective, and comes down firmly in favor of porter-based floats. Finally, G4 managed to set up a panel of three culinary daredevils and tasked them with trying a selection of beer floats. For the intrepid experimenter, their post is pretty much required reading. From my own experience, I've also discovered that a malta (a malt-based soda that is popular in Latin American communities) makes a tasty non-alcoholic alternative to beer; as a basis for virgin beer floats, it's outstanding.

As New York is currently in the grip of a major cold snap, I'm not all that inclined to explore the wonders of ice-cold beer-based beverages right now, but I will definitely be giving these a shot if and when summer returns!

Filed Under: Food Oddities, Ingredient Spotlight, What's On Tap?, Ingredients, Drink Recipes, Drinks
Tags: beer, Beer floats, BeerFloats, Bella Online, BellaOnline, comfort food, dessert, G4, Guinness, Malta, oddities, Orangette

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-19-2009 @1:25PM squeakyfrommage said... I'm planning a carbomb float for when it gets warmer: I'm making bailey's ice cream and jameson sorbet, one scoop of each, topped with guinness. Delicious!
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1-19-2009 @3:46PM Mike Wallace said... Lindemans Framboise, vanilla ice cream, minced candied ginger, whipped cream. I have no idea why people are so enamoured of Guinness in floats.
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1-19-2009 @3:51PM Bruce Watson said... Squeaky-
Sounds great, although I have to admit that my ice cream-making days are behind me. However, if you let me know where you live, I'd love to drop by...

Mike-
You are my hero. Lindeman's Framboise and candied ginger? Pure genius!
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