Mixed Drink for a Too Sour Beer

September 16, 2018 2:11 PM

My wife and I have acquired a six-pack of beer that is too sour for us, but we don't want to throw away the other 5 cans. Any suggestions on ways to make it more palatable? Fun cocktails or milkshakes or what have you?

If it helps your inner bartender, it's actually a beer we've got before that's a bock that usually tastes quite malty. Something must've gone weird with this batch, but the date on the cans says they're fine. In any case it still tastes very malty and dark on the front end, but it has a quite sour aftertaste.

posted by DynamiteToast to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

Best answer: Well, you could make shandies. Sour beer would blend right into a nice lemonade, for instance.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:15 PM on September 16, 2018 [4 favorites]

Micheladas or beer margaritas could work.
posted by gatorae at 2:57 PM on September 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'd also go shandy. The spicy ginger in a shandy works well with the sour and sweet of lemonade and so I'd guess it's going to go well with a sour beer.
posted by quince at 3:00 PM on September 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Cooking? Beer, broccoli and cheese soup. Beer battered fish and chips or tempura.
posted by crazycanuck at 3:03 PM on September 16, 2018 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Also: beer bread! Wonderful glorious tasty beer bread! With gobs of sweet cream butter on top!
posted by mochapickle at 3:13 PM on September 16, 2018 [8 favorites]

Maybe some sort of flavored syrup? Elderflower syrup is traditional with a Berliner Weiss but not sure how it would work with a heavier Bock.
posted by jferg at 3:23 PM on September 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You could try cutting it with a porter or a stout.

Or mix with a rye whisky and some lemon.
posted by astapasta24 at 3:37 PM on September 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Great comments! We're gonna try the shandy tip, but I love whiskey and we love beer bread and fried things so we have some good backup options. Thanks y'all!
posted by DynamiteToast at 3:42 PM on September 16, 2018

Best answer: Get some dry hard cider and make snakebites, 50/50 cider and beer.
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:49 PM on September 16, 2018 [2 favorites]

Shandies are easiest, though New Belgium recently came up with a mixed pack that was designed for, um, mixing, and suggested half-and-halfing sours with a malty dark lager or wheat beer.
posted by holgate at 3:52 PM on September 16, 2018

I wonder if it would work well in a bloody Mary. Might be something worth trying!
posted by limeonaire at 4:15 PM on September 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Peach syrup for a demi-peche.
posted by stoneandstar at 7:11 PM on September 16, 2018

I put Tabasco sauce or hot sauce in my beer sometimes. I think it would work for a sour beer.
posted by AugustWest at 8:23 PM on September 16, 2018

Best answer: If you have some amaro around I'd try a Picon Biere, best with Amer Picon (sadly not imported to the US) but I bet the sour beer could stand up to campari, ramazotti, cynar or another sturdy amaro. Try 3/4 oz amaro/amer to 5-6 ounces of beer.
posted by zingiberene at 8:53 AM on September 17, 2018

Try some with some simple syrup. You might find you like the beer as-is with just a little more sweetness.
posted by slogger at 10:40 AM on September 17, 2018

You could try making beer liquor, something like this.
posted by AnhydrousLove at 6:50 PM on September 17, 2018

best with Amer Picon (sadly not imported to the US)

Actually you can get Amer Picon in the US again. I bought some two years ago at France 44 in Minneapolis. They even let me taste a sample.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 11:13 AM on September 22, 2018