Definitely attempt this at home: Craft Beer cocktails (column)

In the strictest terms, craft beer cocktails aren’t really all that new.

The disposition to add beer and alcohol together is probably as old as both. Fortified beer was good for keeping warm or for self-medicating.

Moreover, for a long time beer and spirits weren’t necessarily the delights to drink that they since have become, so finding ways to make the alcohol more palate-friendly was both a craft and an art.

Today’s craft beer cocktails, though, come from a different perspective. With the variety of both beer and liquor available, we can use each to enhance the flavor of the other, rather than to mask its shortcomings. From the perspective of taste, we really are in a craft beer cocktail golden age.

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A craft beer cocktail, in case you’re not familiar, is an (often alcoholic) beverage that uses craft beer as an ingredient. While drinks like boilermakers and Irish car bombs qualify, the emerging notion of a craft beer cocktail is something focused on being interesting and surprising rather than just as a vehicle for delivering the most alcohol with the least amount of burn.

Plus, if a person isn’t traditionally a craft beer drinker, craft beer cocktails are another great entry point. Better restaurants and bars will often have them (both Dogfish Head and Evolution Craft have some suggestions on their menus), but like many of the fun things in craft beer, finding your own way is encouraged.

The first challenge is to find something that you know you like and then think about how to improve upon it. Although it has been said before, the notion of choice is what really has broken the world open for craft beer. Most people older than 40 came of age in a world where being a beer drinker was something pretty specific, given that there were so few styles of beer readily available.

Today, with the will and the time, a person can try a different beer every day until they find one that is appealing. The short version is, there’s something for everyone.

Here are a couple of pairing suggestions to give you a head start in inventing your own personal craft beer cocktail recipe.

Sour beers have become something of a rage, and they’re pretty easy to find even as the warm weather disappears. Sours are as gin-friendly a craft beer as one is likely to encounter, especially because they tend to be fruit-heavy. Add a little simple syrup and whichever fruit is dominant in the beer with a shot of gin and you can soften the bite while bringing out the flavors.

Porters and stouts take on cinnamon and rum really well, but if you want to try something really fun add cream and milk (or half and half) and chocolate chips and warm it up. Throw in a little chipotle or cayenne powder if you’re brave. It might make the best grownup hot chocolate you’ve had.

Along those lines, whiskey and bourbon also heat up nicely with seasonal Oktoberfests, pumpkin and winter ales. Add some lemon, clove, allspice even a little apple to taste. Flavored whiskies also can bring another dimension to the drink.

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Belgian Tripel beers are really rye-friendly. They are rich and sometimes even a little sweet, but mix in a shot of rye whiskey, some bitters and maybe throw in a mulled black cherry or another heady fruit and you’ve fortified an already pretty strong beer. Consume with caution (and maybe a sharp cheese).

IPAs almost come in too many of their own varieties to nail down in a general way. Many, if not most, have some citrus aspect, so adding fresh fruit and vodka can get you anything from an Orange Crush to a Tom Collins-style drink.

If you pour the beer directly on ice, it will limit the head but leave the carbonation.

One of the simplest additives, though, is tomato juice. IPAs, pale ales and even pilsners can bring a different kind of zing to an adulterated Bloody Mary.

This is barely a thumbnail sketch of the possibilities, but here are a couple of big picture guidelines to consider when building your own craft beer cocktail:

Make it about the beer. Even the boldest, most flavorful craft beers have subtleties that make them what they are. The brewers made the beer taste a specific way for a reason. Covering the flavors up can distort or even erase the thing you like best about a beer, so use a gentle hand when mixing.

It isn’t just about the booze. Adding fruits, juices and spices to craft beer cocktails both is where the fun comes in and where you get to amplify and play with the beer flavors.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Lots of people have a cocktail they’re already fond of, making a craft beer cocktail that is a twist on an old favorite is a great place to start.

Finally, there is no end of craft beer cocktail recipes online if you need specific guidance, but where’s the fun in that?