Talk about an ice cold beer!
A Williamsburg bar is serving alcoholic, beer-infused ice cream that its owner said combines Brooklynites’ love for the frosty treat with another beloved borough pastime: boozing.
“It’s summer, so a lot of new ice cream concepts are popping up, and people in New York City just love to drink, so it’s the best of both worlds,” said Lantern Hall owner Jeff Wong, who started serving beer ice cream at his bar on Harrison Place and Morgan Avenue on July 19.
Flavors include a fruity creamsicle variety made with an IPA from Bronx brewery Gun Hill, a toffee-like blend with Massachusetts-brewed Jack’s Abby House Lager, chocolate mixed with pretzel bits and a Maryland-made stout, and a honey-lemon sorbet with pilsner from Bushwick’s Kings County Brewers Collective — all served in cups on a wooden paddle, just like a flight of beer.
And like the frothy beverage, the ice creams contain alcohol, so patrons will have to show identification to prove they are old enough to eat the libation-laced delight, according to the bar’s spokeswoman.
Wong did not know how exactly how much booze is in each scoop — all the recipes call for 20 percent beer and the brews’ alcohol content varies by type, with the stout having the most — but said he is pretty sure you can get a buzz if you indulge enough.
“There’s only one way to find out,” he said.
Each four-flavor flight of costs $8, and serves at least two people.
Lantern Hall whipped up its drunken desserts in partnership with boozy ice cream purveyor Tispy Scoop, which usually makes liquor-infused flavors such as vanilla bean bourbon and strawberry white sangria sorbet. The bar provided all of the beer, and tested two to three kinds in the recipes before choosing each’s winning ingredient, Wong said.
A necessary taste test found that ice cream pairs surprisingly well with beer, though the alcohol came through in some bites but not others. The booze was easiest to detect in the chocolate pretzel and stout, as the dark beer’s rich flavor complemented the chocolate. And the toffee-lager combination was a favorite, full of subtle hints of the golden beer and plenty of the delicious buttery sweet.
More menu items, such as scoop-topped Guinness floats, may incorporate the ice cream if the flights take off, according to the owner.
And the bar will keep serving the icy indulgence as long as people keep ordering it, but Wong said that recipes’ beers may need to change because some brews are in limited supply.
In other boozy ice cream news, Carroll Gardens shop MilkMade is churning out new flavors with Coney Island Lager and Van Brunt Stillhouse rum, but there is not enough alcohol in the treats for eaters to catch a buzz.
Try the beer ice cream yourself at Lantern Hall [52 Harrison Pl. at Morgan Avenue in Williamsburg, www.lanternhall.com]. $8.