Beer isn’t just for drinking. Not only can the beverage be used to enhance the flavors of more savory dishes like stews, batters and breads, but it also can transform into a refreshing desert. Frisco’s Outer Range Brewing Co. has new beer soft serve ice cream that marries its unique offerings with the cool treat.
However, this isn’t simply a stout float that has a scoop of vanilla ice cream sitting in a pint glass. The brewery has a special Below Zero soft serve machine that uses a liquid nitrogen mix to freeze the alcohol which has a lower freezing point than water and give it the right consistency. Brewery co-founder Lee Cleghorn first had it at Mikerphone Brewing in Chicago a couple of years ago, and then his wife and co-owner Emily Cleghorn had it at breweries in Florida over the past year.
photography: Smooj
First came the nationwide firehose of hard seltzer. Then, on a parallel path, brewers began loading up their kettle sours with buckets of fruit puree to create thick, creamy smoothie-style beers. As both of these trends reached different parts of the American drinking populace, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to Frankenstein the two hyper-popular beverages into one. And in early 2020, someone did. Now, drinkers around the Midwest are growing increasingly familiar with what’s known as the “seltzer smoothie,” thanks to a brand called Smooj.
If you haven’t yet encountered the creamy, sparkly, boozy rocket ship in a can, you likely will soon. Introduced last March by Ann Arbor’s HOMES Brewery via its experimental beverage arm, Troobado, Smooj’s seltzer smoothie is one part hard seltzer, one part fruit puree, gluten-free, dairy-free, 5 percent ABV, and might just be the next big beverage trend set to sweep across the country.
Hops-heavy beers make good springtime sippers Hops-heavy beers are typically savored in fall, but there are plenty of reasons to make them springtime sippers.
By Michael Agnew, Special to the Star Tribune April 7, 2021 8:44am Text size Copy shortlink:
I crave hops in the spring, and I m not typically a hophead. I love pilsners, and revel in the toasty and caramel character of malt. But something about the change of seasons lengthening days, rising temperatures, more opportunities to be outside makes me desire the crisp, bitter bite and the citrus, resin and tropical fruit flavors that hops deliver.
This seasonal craving makes no sense. Hop season is early fall, when the towering bines are cut from their trellises and the tender, bright green cones are harvested. That s when fresh or wet hop beers made with unprocessed flowers are brewed and released to eager hop lovers. By spring, it s just a distant memo
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