Underrated Beer Summer Treat of Gelato, And The Art of Crafting It
You may well use the excuse of summer to uninhibitedly indulge in the creamy and luxurious beer-infused gelato, but be rest assured, it is as delicious every time of the year.
While the pairing of beer and ice cream may not exactly be intuitive, they make a lot of sense when combined, particularly brews that are malty and chocolatey. The beer makes the velvety ice cream even more decadent and lends it the characteristic roundedness that compels you to go back again and again for one last bite.
Crafting any ice cream with alcohol in its anglaise is art alright. But it is also science.
The Hows And Whys
The process can be fairly challenging for a non-professional, without the fancy, expensive ice-cream churners, or restaurant-style stand mixers. Alcohol has the tendency to inhibit freezing, and if frozen with liquid nitrogen, can become quite icy.
But one way to address this is to boil the beer for a few minutes until some of its alcohol evaporates. Once the alcohol content comes down, it is easier to regulate the quantities of anglaise and the alcohol.
Boiling also evaporates the water, so that the anglaise does not get diluted.
The logic of beer-infused gelato is simple, though. Beer naturally has sweet, bitter and spicy notes that play well with the rich, custardy sweetness of ice cream. So while the texture is creamy, it has a mild, harmonious taste that satisfies your sugar craving, but without the staggering intensity of traditional ice creams.
Flavour Profile
Many chefs have been enamoured by the complex flavour profile of beer and experimented with combining it to ice cream. Gelato artisans carefully select artisanal brews known for their robust flavours—think rich stouts and fruity ales.
It is common knowledge that fruits, coffee, milk and vanilla are flavours that marry effortlessly together. But in order to balance the tartness and bitterness of beer, the anglaise is deliberately tailored to be a little sweeter than classic recipes.
101 of Making It
Beer-infused ice creams are usually made in small batches, so while your local ice cream vendors may not have a beer-infused alternative for you, artisanal ice cream makers usually have one or more offerings of beer ice cream in their experimental lineup.
But even if you are unable to source a scoop of beer-infused gelato, you can make it at home as a beer float. This needs no skills or expertise. You only need to add the ice cream scoops to a glass that already has beer.
But if you want to flex your culinary muscles, you can always make a dark caramel sauce with aged beer and drizzle your homemade sauce as liberally as you want.
For garnish and a little relief, you can also add a few slices of fresh or oven-baked apple.
Pro-tips And Hacks To Keep In Mind
Your beer needs to be entirely flat before you use it for your ice cream. The fizz interferes with the texture of ice cream, making it icy and grainy.
Use as little beer as possible, and add as required. Your motive is to ensure it sets.
To go a step further, you can even add little bits of bacon candied in maple syrup. Now your Michelin stars will be on the way.
