Want to grab a cold beer with friends, but you can’t stand the taste? Luckily, there are some things you can do to manipulate your beer and achieve a more appealing taste! The next time you go out, try one of these creative tricks so you can stop choking down your beer and enjoy it instead.
Here are 10 creative ways to make beer taste better:
- Add fruit to your beer.
- Mix your beer with fruit juice.
- Make a beergarita.
- Try an adult root beer float.
- Mix your beer with soda.
- Make a beer mixed drink.
- Stir in some simple syrup.
- Add some creamer.
- Add a few dashes of cocktail bitters.
- Change the shape of your glass.
This article will explain all of these tricks in detail and give you plenty of ideas for the next time you go out, so read on if you’re ready to stop wincing every time you take a sip and start enjoying the taste of beer.
1. Add Fruit to Your Beer
There’s a reason Corona is usually served with lime and Blue Moon with an orange slice. The bitter flavor of most lighter beers pairs well with fruit, especially citrus. Feel free to think outside the box, too! Citrus isn’t the only fruit that can improve the taste of beer. Try adding some olives to your Michelob Ultra or raspberries to a wheat brew.
Be careful, though! Fruit doesn’t pair well with all beers. Mixing citrus with dark beer (unless it’s a dark lager) will only make your beer taste worse.
2. Mix Your Beer With Fruit Juice
Beermosas are becoming more and more popular on trendy restaurant and brewery menus. Simply mix your beer with orange juice and you’ve got a boozy brunch drink that tastes delicious!
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For the best beermosa, use a beer that already has notes of citrus, such as a wheat or Belgian beer.
My favorite beers to make beermosas with are:
- Golden Road Mango Cart
- Blue Moon
- Goose Island 312
- Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Orange juice isn’t the only juice that pairs well with beer! Because beer is bitter, mixing it with sweet apple juice reduces the unwanted tart taste in beer. This mix is best in a 1:1 ratio, so fill half your glass with non-hoppy beer and the other half with your favorite apple juice (I like No products found. (Amazon), and you’ve got yourself a tasty shandy (aka Beer Cocktail)!
You can also try adding lemonade to a light beer for a sweeter taste, perfect in the summer! If you’re looking for a cold-weather shandy, try mixing your beer with cranberry juice and ginger beer for a drink that tastes great in any season.
3. Make a Beergarita
If you’ve got access to some margarita mix, just add some to your beer and make a beergarita. The sweet taste of the mix will make the bitter taste of beer less intense, and the taste is especially good if you use Mexican beer. You can even add some tequila if you’re looking to get extra boozy!
You could even try adding some ice and blending the margarita part into a slushy. To add some flair (and make the drink Insta-worthy), shove the bottled beer into the margarita-slushy portion. Serve the drink with the bottom half of the beer bottle sticking out and with most of the beer still inside! The drinker can then add more beer as they sip down the margarita.
4. Try an Adult Root Beer Float
Stout beers can be an acquired taste, so if you aren’t a fan, you may need to take drastic measures to like the taste. Luckily, a little bit of ice cream can make everything better!
A quality vanilla bean ice cream paired with a full-bodied chocolate-y stout is the stuff of dreams. My favorite beer to pair with ice cream is New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk, but any dark stout with notes of chocolate or coffee will do.
5. Mix Your Beer With Soda
If you want to make your beer a bit sweeter, but you don’t want to lose the carbonation, you can mix your light beer with any light-colored soda.
Try mixing your beer with these drinks for a sweet and zesty beer:
- Mountain Dew Original
- Sprite Lemon-Lime Soda
- Canada Dry Ginger Ale
6. Make a Beer Mixed Drink
Beer mixed drinks are a great way to get creative and make good beer taste better. Here are a few ideas:
- Black and tan. Mixing beer with more beer? For those who don’t like the taste, this may seem like a disaster in the making. However, a black and tan layers Guinness stout over a pale ale, typically Blue Moon (which then makes it a black and blue), and the result is an all-new drink that looks cool and tastes better.
- Michelada. Make your Mexican beer taste better by adding lime juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and your favorite hot sauce.
- Black velvet. Add Champagne to any dark stout (Guinness is always a good bet) in equal parts, and you’ve got a black velvet!
7. Stir in Some Simple Syrup
Simple syrup (which is sugar water) will definitely take away from the bitter taste of beer. Every bar will have it, so you can ask your bartender to add a bit to your beer next time you’re out. If you’re drinking beer at home, simple syrup is easy to make, or you can get a ready-made cocktail mixer like No products found. from Amazon.com to make it.
8. Add Some Creamer
If you’re drinking a coffee stout, it only makes sense that a coffee creamer can improve the taste! Creamer lightens up the dark and bitter flavor with sweet, creamy goodness. You can even add some Bailey’s Irish Cream for an even more alcoholic (and delicious) drink.
My favorite creamers are:
- Coffee Mate Liquid French Vanilla
- International Delight Hazelnut Gourmet Coffee Creamer
- SOWN Organic Oat Creamer Sweet & Creamy (for a dairy-free option)
9. Add a Few Dashes of Cocktail Bitters
Bitters are usually used for cocktails like Old Fashioneds, but adding a few dashes to lagers, pilsners, or wheat beers can change the flavor profile of a beer enough to give it a new taste.
No products found., available on Amazon.com, are versatile and will pair well with most beers, but you can also try flavored bitters, such as these No products found. that you can also buy on Amazon.com.
10. Change the Shape of Your Glass
Want to make your beer taste better without adding any new ingredients? Try changing the shape of your glass.
The glassware that you use for each beer type can impact its taste. Here’s a guide:
- American pint glasses are best for showcasing the flavors of IPAs, pilsners, and light lagers. These glasses allow good aroma release, which can influence the tasting experience.
- Beer mugs are designed to reduce heat transfer. These mugs are ideal for pilsners, English ales, Irish dry stouts, and German lagers. A beer mug’s thick walls and handle keep beers colder for longer, which greatly improves the taste.
- Flute glasses are perfect for fruit beers and red ales. The shape highlights carbonation and color, which is great for these lighter, crisper flavor profiles.
- Goblets and chalices are preferred for drinking beers with a high alcohol by volume. That’s because the wide mouth allows you to take deep sips and experience the aroma further. These glasses are best for German bocks and most Belgian beers, including IPAs and ales.
- Pilsner glasses are best for pilsners, as the name suggests. They’re also suitable for hefeweizens and pale lagers. The shape showcases carbonation, so any beer with lots of bubbles will taste better in this glass.
- Tulip glasses have small stems attached to a tulip-shaped bowl, which is best for enhancing flavor and smell. These glasses are great for stronger, hoppy brews, as the rims force beers to hit the tongue’s center. Additionally, the stems of the glasses prevent natural heat from the hand from warming the beer.
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Your taste buds will love you!
