Here’s the scenario: You’re getting ready for a holiday party and you realize you’ve still got that extra case of beer in the garage from a get-together a while back. What luck, you think. You tell your son to get it out for you.
“But Dad, it’s pretty old,” he says. Too old to serve.
If you think you’ve had a reversal of fortune, think again, said Mark Shishido, wine director for Alan Wong’s Restaurants.
Shishido provided the scenario and the solution to what to do with the aging beer — all in time for those upcoming holiday parties. His answer: a tasty, flexible drink recipe with the beer as a base, livened up with apple cider, honey, fresh fruit and spices.
The big surprise of this recipe? It’s a mocktail.
That might seem impossible, but consider the concept of mulled wine — wine cooked with fruit and spices — an age-old European solution for wine past its prime.
Mulled wine isn’t necessarily nonalcoholic, but Shishido has taken the concept and employed it to cook off all the alcohol.
“Water boils at 212 degrees, and alcohol boils out at around 160 or 170 degrees,” he said. “For the sake of security, I cook beer for 20 minutes on a rolling boil so there is no question about the presence of alcohol.”
That requires a high temperature, which means a fair amount of the beer will evaporate. But it’s a method that puts safety first.
Cooked beer loses its nuances but retains its basic flavor and body, which is a lot to work with in a mocktail. Shishido’s recipe calls for a domestic lager (representative of that case of beer in the garage), but other kinds of beer would work just as well. India pale ales and porters offer greater character and more bitterness. Juices, sweeteners, fruits and spices can be interchanged as well.
“Use what you have,” Shishido encouraged.
His recipe employs the concept of “slot in, slot out,” passed on by Wong. “If you’re making a drink and omitting the liquor, what do you sub it with? Slot in the cooked beer,” Shishido said. For sweetness, slot in sugar, honey, agave, stevia or apple cider. Good juice options range from apple and cranberry to peach and pear.
In the end, no matter what you’re slotting in and out, a good mocktail balances these attributes: body, sweetness, acidity, bitterness and aromatics.
Some items play more than one role. Beer is the base and contributes body and a bitter element. Fruit juice rounds out the base and balances the beer’s bitterness. Citrus offers sweetness and acidity, and citrus rinds provide bitterness and aromatics.
The ingredients you select and the way you assemble the drink dictate the kind of experience you create. Using a filtered versus unfiltered juice, for instance, will change the body and look of the drink. A clear, strained drink served in a stemmed glass has a more formal feel than one that is unfiltered and textured, served in a highball glass. (See suggestions at right.)
One variation on this mocktail slots out half the beer and slots in tea. Shishido experimented with mamaki and pu’er, a Chinese black tea, steeping both for several days.
You’d think such a long steep would produce a bitter drink, but that’s not necessarily so, he said. While green teas do turn more bitter, dark teas such as mamaki and pu’er become richer.
The body of these teas becomes round, silky and heavy. “That’s the feeling in the mouth. It’s like skim milk versus cream, or consomme versus chowder,” he said.
The mamaki is lighter and more aromatic, while the pu’er is dark, deep, earthy and robust. Shishido recommends a 50-50 mix of mulled beer with pu’er, or more tea when using mamaki. He also makes a “bridge tea” combining the two, then adds it to the mulled beer.
These teas contribute body and complexity to the mocktail but no bitterness. Balance all that richness and roundness with some acid.
“If you have a rich white clam chowder that’s heavy and thick, a squeeze of lemon will add acidity, and the soup becomes lighter,” Shishido explained. The same goes for this drink.
And of course, the sourness balances the sweetness, which itself balances bitterness. Aromatics of spices and herbs, along with citrus rinds, add flavor and character.
Finding the appropriate balance of all these elements really comes down to what you like, he said. Use what you have but present a cohesive set of flavors.
“For example, for the holidays think of apple, cranberry and pomegranate,” he said.
“Build around an inherent quality. Keep tasting and adding to bring out the flavor you’re looking for, based on your own perspective and preference.”
A restaurant Hall-of-Famer
Mark Shishido has spent nearly 40 years in the local restaurant industry, and in September he was inducted into the Hawaii Restaurant Association’s Hall of Fame. The wine director for Alan Wong’s Restaurants, he joined Wong’s crew in 1998, serving as restaurant manager and general manager before focusing his expertise on wine.
Shishido began his career as a bar porter at the Point After nightclub in 1977, then moved on to stints at various Waikiki hotels and restaurants where he worked in restaurant management. He was assistant wine cellar master at the Halekulani and wine cellar master at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki and Prince Court Restaurant.
In 1992 Shishido passed the Advanced Sommelier Certification for the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Choosing the right glass
With the switch of a glass or even a simple garnish, the “mood” of a drink can be transformed.
“How much do you want to dress it up? How much makeup do you want to put on it?” asked Shishido, explaining that you could take a mocktail from a soft-drink experience to that of a cocktail just by changing up the presentation.
A mocktail that incorporates apple juice, for instance, could be served in a round wine glass that references the shape of the fruit. Garnished simply with an apple slice, it takes on the feel of a cocktail.
The shape of a glass can even influence how someone drinks what’s in it, said Shishido. The gently flared lip of a tulip-shaped Riedel whiskey glass, for instance, passes less liquid at a time than a straight rim, encouraging sipping rather than gulping.
Meanwhile, garnishes provide more than eye candy. Edibles also contribute aromatics and complementary flavors, functioning much in the way food is paired with wine.
Shishido shared a tale he heard about the origin of these accompaniments, though he isn’t sure whether it is fact or fiction. Either way, it makes sense: When drinks were served at roadside bars set along unpaved roads, they were delivered with a napkin on top as protection from “floaters” in the air. The napkin eventually evolved into crackers and bread, and items such as an apple slice. Small plates, or tapas, were the next incarnation.
Mulled Beer
Mark Shishido, wine director, Alan Wong’s Restaurants
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 8 cloves
- 4 whole star anises
- 6 bottles lager-style domestic beer
- 2 cups honey
- 9 cups unfiltered apple cider
- 2 oranges
- 2 lemons
- 18 apple wedges, for garnish
- 18 mint sprigs, for garnish
- Recommended glass: Riedel Cabernet Merlot
In a large pot, combine cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise. Roast spices over medium-low heat for a few minutes until fragrant.
Add beer, raise heat to high, and bring to a rolling boil; cook 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue boiling another 10 minutes. Add honey and stir, ensuring honey is dissolved.
Remove pot from stove and cool 15 minutes. Chill in ice bath, then refrigerate.
While mixture is cooling, add apple cider and juice of the oranges and lemons. Add rinds and let macerate overnight in the refrigerator.
Strain mulled beer through a fine mesh strainer.
To serve, pour 8 ounces of chilled drink into a glass. Fill with ice. Garnish and serve. Serves 18.
Nutritional information unavailable.
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Caution: Some experts warn that recovering alcoholics or anyone with a severe alcohol sensitivity beware of any food item containing even well-cooked alcohol.
