de nova stella

8 oz Pretty Things Jack D'Or American Saison Beer
1 Candied Citrus Star (* see text)
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Pour beer in a small snifter containing a candied citrus star. Add orange bitters on top.

On Sunday night, we went down to Green Street for their Bartenders on the Rise event co-hosted with DrinkBoston. Our welcome beverage was created and served to us by Green Street owner Dylan Black. Dylan's drink, De Nova Stella, was his take on a Champagne Cocktail using beer instead of sparkling wine. He named his cocktail after Tycho Brahe's 1573 book about supernovas following Tycho's observing the appearance of a bright star in the constellation Cassiopeia. This part explained the candied lime, orange, lemon, or grapefruit peel star (sweetened with agave nectar and honey and flavored with coriander seed) at the bottom of each glass. However, the beer part was the more interesting aspect of drink. Tycho, it turns out, had a tame moose that liked to follow him around. Unfortunately one night, the elk met his demise after drinking too much beer at a dinner party and falling down some stairs. Beers and stars indeed; however, I could not factor in Dylan's fascination with Tycho's prosthetic metal noses which were a cosmetic necessity after Tycho lost his schnoz in a duel.
The coriander seed infusion in the crystallized agave nectar-honey garnish was rather predominant and mingled well with the citrus and hops notes. While the orange bitters provided much of the early citrus notes, the last ounce or so contained a bounty of citrus notes from the candied garnish. My garnish happened to be a grapefruit peel, although I do not know if all four types of citrus stars were candied together thus intermingling the flavors.