Get ready to turn your kitchen into a mad flavor-scientist’s lair.
This simple little device can make beer magic happen.
ENSURE YOUR French press isn’t full of coffee. (Related: Why are you taking all that time to French press coffee and then aren’t even drinking it?)
• POUR IN your beer—some French presses are only 12 ounces, which won’t really allow you to put in a whole beer AND other ingredients, so hopefully you can find a larger one—then add whatever flavor enhancers you’ve decided upon.
• PLACE THE press in the fridge to let the flavors combine (called “steeping”; you’ll learn for how long in hacks 98 and 99).
• TAKE THE press out, push down the plunger as far as it’ll go, pour your fancy new liquid into a glass (all the added ingredients will remain in the press thanks to the strainer), enjoy, and think about how to make adjustments to fit exactly what you’re looking for next time. Significantly less toothpaste? Good call.
The joy of French press infusions is all in the creativity (and the beer drinking), so getting a little loose with what you play around with is the whole idea. But here are some recommendations to start you off as you get the moves down.
Raspberries and Blackberries in a Golden Ale
While this infusion won’t end up tasting like fruit-forward sour beers you may have enjoyed, the berry kick is still absolutely distinctive—just dial it up or down to your preference.
YOU’LL NEED:
- 12 ounces golden ale (I used Russian River Damnation in mine, but plenty of breweries make great examples.)
- 1 ounce muddled blackberries
- 1 ounce muddled raspberries
Muddling is essential here: It’ll release all the juices from the berries and allow them to mix with the beer. You can use an actual muddler (a thickish wooden
stick bartenders use to unlock flavors by mashing ingredients, and also the most fun word to say in this entire book), or just mash up the fruit with the backside of a
spoon in a bowl, then dump it all into the press. For this recipe, you’ll want to steep in the fridge for about 15 minutes or so.
The ratios here, as in all infusion recipes, are completely up to you, and something you should absolutely play around with. But I found this particular recipe offers delicious fruity flavor without overpowering the beer itself or turning it into something that would otherwise be found in a rectangular paper box that you stab with a tiny straw.
About the Book:
For the Love of Beer.
In this tour de force of 100 top tips and tricks, Beer Hacks presents the very best and most creative ways to serve, share, store, and savor your favorite brews. There’s PROBLEM SOLVING: Warm beer? Chill a bottle in about a minute with a can of compressed air. DIY PROJECTS: Turn empty bottles into guitar slides. PARTY TRICKS: The one foolproof technique for shotgunning a beer. FLAVOR BOMBS: a French press is all you need to infuse an ale with fresh berries. Whether you’re hosting a tasting, replenishing after a workout (that’s right—beer has more electrolytes than water), or relishing the singular tranquility of a shower beer, this book is your guide to making beer drinking better, easier, more interesting, delicious, and—especially—fun. Includes an emergency bottle opener on the front cover!
Buy the Book
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