Berry and Beer Lemonade

All the beer purists should look away as this Berry and Beer Lemonade will probably annoy them.

I’ve been wanting to do a beer cocktail for a while now and found the recipe for this lemonade on The Beernoness‘ blog and thought it could have quite a wide appeal. One way to think if it is a beer shandy with berries. Use a Blond Pale Ale for the lemonade as a punchier beer will be too overpowering in flavour.

You do need to quite a bit of tasting to get the balance between the sugar and lemon just right so I would suggest starting with 2/3 cup of sugar and then adding as you go. It should not be overly sweet in my view but rather refreshing with a definite undertone of beer on the palate. I used frozen raspberries as that it what I had in the freezer but change that to any berry of your choice. I think having them frozen ensures a ice cold drink not watered down too much by ice.

The beer adds a depth of flavour, there is the sour tanginess from the lemons and pops of tartness coming from the berries in between the sweetness from the sugar. I also love picking out the beery berries at the bottom of the glass when you’ve finished. All in all I think this is a perfect summer drink while lazing next to the pool during the holidays.

I am currently in Copenhagen where lazing around the pool is not an option at all. It is Autumn here and the high today is 11 degrees which in my book as a South African is pretty much freezing. The last few days at the FoodPhoto Festival were incredible and now I am lucky to have a few days of exploring this beautiful city. We had the most fantastic meal last night at BROR. The owners and head chefs Victor and Sam were sous chefs at Noma, yes that Noma, and we had a truly memorable evening – pics and details to come soon. I have been posting photos of the trip to date and will be posting more over the next few days – you can follow along on Instagram and Facebook.

Berry and Beer Lemonade

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Ingredients

  

• 350 g frozen raspberries
• ? - 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 x 340ml bottles Blonde Pale Ale
• Ice for serving

Instructions

 

• Add the berries, sugar and lemon juice to a large jug
• Allow the mix to stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes, stirring once in a while for the sugar to dissolve and the berries to break down a bit
• Add the beer and stir to combine
• Taste the lemonade and adjust the lemon and sugar to your taste
• Add some ice and serve