Beer Jello: Experiment One

For a week now, I've been ranting about beer jello. Last night I finally got off my ass and made some.

I decided to go with Goose Island 312 "Urban Wheat Ale" and apricot jello, since apricot wheat beer tends to be good.

I began by boiling the beer (I used all beer, no water for maximum flavor and alcohol content), though I'm not sure if the boiling cooked off any of the alcohol content. I dissolved the jello into the hot beer:



Then I stirred in cold beer, and poured the mix into mini pilsner glasses (I have a lot from attending beer fests):



and chilled until firm. There was no problem getting the beer to gel properly.

Verdict on the final product? Tasty!



My guinea pigs were Amanda (who said she'd eaten the legendary Japanese beer jello) and Bob, my bartender at the Cardinal Tap Room who would probably eat anything I gave him. The apricot flavor overshadowed the beer taste for the most part, but there was distinct hoppiness that made the whole dessert suprisingly pleasant.

I have many more experiments in mind, especially using unflavored gelatin so I can control the sweetness and flavors...But this was pretty darn successful for a first try!