You Can Lei Low at SLUG Mag’s Brewstillery

Zade Womack, Manager/Beverage Director of Good Grammar, instructs us how to reach new heights of rest and relaxation with the beertail Lei Low. It’s a spring-themed drink that will be debuting as SLUG Magazine’s Brewstillery Beer Cocktail on May 18 at Trolley Square. This tart and fruity beer cocktail will then be available exclusively at Good Grammar after debuting as the featured drink at SLUG Mag’s Brewstillery.

Praise Space Jesus, spring is upon us, which means a lot to us Utahns. The snow is melting, our days are getting longer, and we’re bringing out our summer wardrobes (sometimes earlier than is practical). The Lei Low is a beer cocktail that was created to invoke the days that feel like you won’t need to worry about bringing a jacket for later, when Hawaiian shirts have replaced our flannels, and we want to sit on a patio and have an icy-cold adult beverage.

Beer cocktails have been a part of human culture since fermented grains, fruit and vegetables were first accidented upon by early man. Early beer cocktails are rooted in hiding undesirable flavors by adding things as simple as honey and fresh fruits to make their imbibition more palatable. Then distillation was discovered (again, praise Space Jesus), and you could make bad things taste better by adding some of that good juice. People have been making things like micheladas and shandies as beer cocktails for generations.

Not a lot has changed, but we now have great beer and distilled spirits that you can make amazing drinks with—that’s why you see beer cocktails on so many menus around the world these days. We in Utah have a growing brewing and distillation industry that has provided a lot of amazing ingredients for us to make great drinks. I know that I love it.

The island-inspired ingredients of Proper Brewing Co.’s Lei Effect gose started me thinking of how to make a refreshingly boozy shandy that I’d like to be sipping, while relaxing in a hammock or lounging on a bar patio on a sunny day. Dented Brick Distillery’s Bristlecone Gin, with its citrusy backbone and floral finish, emerged as the perfect pairing. It’s rounded out with fresh citrus juice and a oleo saccarum syrup. Lei Low will be available for consumption in Good Grammar’s upcoming spring menu, with SLUG’s Brewstillery unveiling it at the festival on May 18.

Ingredients:

– 1 ½ oz. Dented Brick Bristlecone Gin

– 1 oz. ruby red grapefruit

– ½ oz. lime

– ½ oz. Oleo Saccarum syrup
* (See recipe)*

– 4 oz. Proper
Lei Effect

Directions:

– Orchid garnish (’cause they pretty)

1.  Combine all ingredients except beer in shaker.

2.  Do a quick shake.

3.  Pour over clean ice in the fanciest glass you have. Float the beer on top; garnish.

Oleo Saccarum syrup

1.  Zest 4 lemons with vegetable peeler being careful not to slice into
the white pith

2.  Put lemon zest and 2 cups sugar overnight

3.  Add 1 cup hot water

4.  Strain

5.  Chill (also, be chill)

More on SLUGMag.com:
SLUG Mag’s Brewstillery 2018
Beer of the Month: Tripel Stamp