beergria

1 1/2 oz Laird's 7 1/2 Year Apple Brandy
1 1/2 oz Lacuesta Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Apricot Liqueur
2 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup

Mix in a quart milk bottle and top with Clown Shoes Clementine Witbier (approximately 24 oz beer, unless the mix was shaken with ice and strained into the milk bottle, in which case closer to 21 oz). Serve with glasses each garnished with an orange wedge.
After my visit with Brother Cleve at Think Tank, I rendezvoused with Andrea to have dinner at Trina's Starlite Lounge. To go with our sandwiches, Andrea was intrigued by the Beer Sangria on the menu. I was originally just going to pick a beer, but Andrea's enthusiasm about this large format drink convinced me to give it a chance. When the Beer Sangria arrived, it came in a quart milk jar with two small glasses garnished with orange slices. The orange garnish's aroma complemented that of the clementine in the Belgian-style white ale quite magnificently. The carbonated sip presented a combination of citrus, malt, and apple flavors, and the swallow finished with apricot and hops notes. While the drink started out more orange-driven, it ended more lemony. Indeed, we were both rather impressed with how well balanced the Beergria (*) was, and I felt a little ashamed afterward at my first skeptical thoughts about this libation.

(*) The name on the recipe card I was shown was Beergria; the menu simply calls it Beer Sangria.