When LIfe Gives You Bad Beer, Make Lemon Meringue Pie Cocktails

When life gives you gross beer, make lemon meringue pie cocktails with it? Here’s the thing about me, I love to try anything weird or unusually flavored. I like to think that it usually works out half of the time, but the other half of the time you end up with something that’s usually pretty gross. So, when I ordered a lemon meringue pie cream ale I had high hopes. I bet big and I lost, it was un-drinkable. That being said it’s my own opinion, clearly the people who made this beer like it, so I don’t even want to tell you what it was called. I didn't want to waste it though, so I thought I would make a cocktail with it. I drank it, so it was taster then the beer… but it is one hundred percent a work in progress.

I’m not sure what this is exactly, maybe a beer punch or a sangria-style shandy? The beer is the base, with a fortifying shot of graham cracker infused bourbon and oleo for sweetness. The graham cracker infused bourbon really needs a centrifuge, and lacking that, the multiple strainings still didn’t really help with the texture. Assuming I could get my hands on a centrifuge, I would definitely try making a syrup out the beer, probably cut out the oleo, and increase the bourbon. It’s topped with a slightly caramelized Italian meringue so it really doesn’t need a lot of additional sweetness. I would love for someone to give this a go and see if they can make it work. Let me know in the comments if you give it a try, or have any ideas.

Lemon Meringue Pie In The Sky
​1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. lemon oleo saccahrum
1 oz. graham cracker infused bourbon
6 oz. lemon meringue pie beer
Italian meringue

Add the lemon juice, lemon oleo and graham cracker infused bourbon to a shaker with ice and shake until combined. Pour into a large glass and add the beer on top. Garnish with an Italian meringue swirl and use a culinary torch to brown the meringue.

Lemon Oleo Saccarhum 
4 lemons peeled
1/4 cup sugar

Pour the sugar over the lemon peels, and let sit for up to one day. Pour off the oil and store in the fridge.

Graham cracker infused bourbon
5 oz. heaven hill bourbon
80 g. Graham cracker

Using a blender combine bourbon and graham crackers, strain through a coffee filter. Again this really needs a centrifuge to truly remove all of the solids.

Cheers!