Beer Gelato

Yolks n' sugar

Back in the summer, my Mrs. picked up an ice cream machine, which, for an ice-cream-lovin' guy, was a great idea. The first thing either one of us made in it was that beer ice cream I posted about in July. My next challenge was something I like even more than ice cream when it's done well - gelato. After a trip to Italy several years ago, and having sampled some fantastic flavours in several towns and cities (my favourite was saffron and pine nuts, by the way), my love affair was on. Years later, now that I had the means to make the stuff, I knew what I had to do: IPA gelato. I mean, come on.

The only real hurdle I had was finding a good gelato recipe that used a liquid as the flavour, especially a recipe for beer gelato. The only way I found what I was looking for was to actually start searching in Italian.... and checking Italian food / cooking sites for "birra gelato" or some such search terms. Well, I happened upon a few different recipes, and settled on one that sounded pretty straightforward after running it through Google Translate. Hey... maybe my site will become the #1 go-to place for English searches on beer gelato. Well, without further adieu, here's what I did:

Ready for the machine!

200 mL cream
150 g sugar (I used cane sugar for some darker sweetness & actual flavour)
150 mL of whole milk
200 mL of beer (I put in a generous splash or two more than this)
2 egg yolks

Mix the yolks with the sugar - use a hand mixer, and expect it to take a while to make it smooth & fairly even.  Add the milk and beer. Mix well. For this, I think I just whisked it. Whip the cream and add to the rest - fold and mix it in gently with a spatula. You don't want to lose its creamy consistency / air. Then, add it to the ice cream maker. It took, I believe (but check your maker's instructions), around 20 minutes. If you don't have an ice cream maker, the site suggested you could put the mixture in the freezer, and stir the gelato every 15 minutes for at least two hours.

Leftover ingredients?
Not an issue.

In the end, I must say it came out really well. There was still some IPA aroma to the gelato (although more the malt side of it now), but I was happily surprised at how the hop flavour and bitterness was retained. The taste was spot-on (and was enhanced by the sugar), and the bitterness kicked in smoothly at the end. A great summer (or whenever) treat.

Next? I think I'm going to try a candied bacon stout ice cream...

It looks a little grainy here... but it was nice
& smoooooth after hours in the freezer.