A local London favorite, Pressure Drop Brewery in Hackney, East London, brews a few staples, like their Pale Fire Pale Ale and Street Porter, but never hesitates to experiment and collaborate.
In their collaboration with Square Root Soda Works, Pressure Drop brought cocktails into the craft beer world – a trend we’ve been seeing a lot more of lately.
Initially, booze and beer started intermingling, literally, when barrels that previously held booze like bourbon, whiskey, or rum, were used to age beers, giving them new flavors and a bumped up alcohol content.
In this next wave, beers are being brewed to taste like cocktails – from London-based Partizan’s Negroni Saison, to Brooklyn Brewery’s Improved Old Fashioned.
Pressure Drop’s contribution to the cocktail-beer trend is three-fold, introducing three variations on the Harvey Wallbanger cocktail.
Traditionally, the Harvey Wallbanger is made with vodka, orange juice, and Galliano liqueur, which adds a vanilla flavor.
The Wallbangers from Pressure Drop are all wheat beers, but incorporate different fruits, herbs, and spices.
First up, a vanilla and blood orange wit – most true to the cocktail it’s named after. Wheat forward, the bitterness of the blood orange cuts through the malt sweetness and the beer finishes with a lingering vanilla aftertaste.
Not feeling the vanilla? Not to worry!
There’s an alternative version brewed with bergamot and juniper, something reminiscent of Earl Grey tea and Tanqueray gin (this one was my personal favorite). And a third version brewed with lime and ginger.
Just like the variations on the Harvey Wallbanger – which is itself a variation of the Screwdriver – cocktail-inspired beers ought to be open to interpretation, too.
So keep an open-mind and have a little fun with beer & booze. And if a cocktail-inspired beer isn’t for you, why not try your hand at making a beer cocktail instead?!
Got a favorite cocktail-y beer or beer-y cocktail? Leave me a note in the comments!
Happy Friday!
Image source: Thumbnail, Full size by Natalya Watson
Watson's Corner 