S.J. mumbled something today about “craving a root beer float,” but I only caught the final two words.  My initial thought was, “Oh no!  Won’t it curdle like an Irish car bomb or a ‘brain hemorrhage?’”  Dairy products only curdle when combined with heavily acidic substances, and, for the most part, beer is only slightly acidic.  Suspecting that I wasn’t the first to arrive at the idea of mixing beer and ice cream, I figured it was time to conduct some research.

Locally, Buffalo Eats food guru Donnie Burtless praised a homemade Bistro Europa float by Chef Ellen Gedra that mixed raspberry framboise (a fruity, slightly more acidic beer) with vanilla ice cream.  To us, that sounds delicious, but the framboise might be skirting the line between beer and wine/sangria.

From Martha Stewart to 67 Burger to five dudes who like Wrestlemania, people have both rejoiced and writhed over the notion of “beer floats.”  The positive for us? Three bloggers have already taste-tested vanilla ice cream mixed with several different beers (fortunately they gagged while we reaped the knowledge).  We weren’t too shocked to learn that darker beers—stouts and porters—were generally the best match for a creamy treat.  Unnerved by a beer float?  Toss it all in a blender; a beer milkshake would be a bit more conservative.

While the really, really wealthy among us (or cultured, I suppose) prefer to debate whether a Marsanne or a Rousanne wine best complements a crab dinner, we’d much rather speculate on the best beer/ice cream mixes. 

So, put on your creative drinking hats and help us unite beer and ice cream into daring, delicious combos.

Conservative choices: 

Rogue’s Double Mocha Porter with Perry’s Death by Chocolate Ice Cream.

Flying Dog Coffee Imperial Stout with Perry’s Bittersweet Sinphony Ice Cream.

Guinness Stout with Perry’s Mint-Ting-A-Ling Ice Cream.

Milwaukee’s Best and Perry’s French Vanilla Ice Cream (I don’t believe it, but they say it’s good & cheap.)

More daring ventures:

Sam Adam’s Blackberry Witbier with Perry’s Black Raspberry Ice Cream.

Great Lakes’ Edmund Fitzgerald Porter with Perry’s Peppermint Stick Ice Cream.

Woodchuck Amber Cider with Wegmans’ Green Apple Sorbet

Blue Moon with Perry’s Orange Blossom Special Ice Cream.

Miller High Life with Perry’s Butter Pecan…just kidding.

Enjoy the weather!