Talk about a cold one.
An acclaimed chef is serving up Thai-inspired “beer slushies” — a cool adult spin on the classic 7-Eleven-style kiddie treat.
Nostalgic brew hounds can gulp the $6 frozen concoction at Pok Pok — a new restaurant run by James Beard award-winning chef Andy Ricker — on Columbia Street, where bartenders use a barrel-shaped machine to craft the icy hooch.
“It’s very unique,” said manager Ryan Domingo. “People drink beer on ice in Thailand — but not like this.”
Domingo and Ricker churn out the slurp-worthy stuff using a rapid-cooling device, not unlike the ones at some wine stores, that shakes a salt-and-ice solution around a bottle of beer for four minutes until the consistency is right.
The refreshing beverage, dubbed Bia Wun or “jelly beer,” is made with low-alcohol content brews such as Singha or Chang and is served with a straw.
The beverage first popped up at Whiskey Soda Lounge — a Ricker-owned bar in Portland, Ore. — a couple years ago, at which point the foodie blog pdx.eater.com/tags/bia-wun“>Eater PDX called it God’s gift to summer drinking and praised the drink as a combination of Bart and Homer Simpson’s favorite beverages.
Pok Pok [127 Columbia St. at Kane Street in the Columbia Waterfront District, (718) 923-9322].
WATCH: Beer on ice in Thailand
Reach reporter Natalie O'Neill at noneill@cnglocal.com or by calling her at (718) 260-4505.r
