Summer Yummy

So it was 89 degrees at about 9:30 this morning, with 70-some-odd percent humidity. For those of you lucky enough to live in a dry-heat climate, that feels effing hot. And it's now a lovely, blazing Friday afternoon, full sun, very little wind. I'm afraid to look at the thermometer on the back porch (it calculates heat index and wind chill, which makes it very intimidating!). LOL.  Call me Jane Austen (oh, that would be wonderful, wouldn't it??!?!), but weather can really effect a person's day.

On the other hand, it is perfect--and I do mean PERFECT--weather for Summer Beer.

The next time you're grilling, burning brush, hanging by the pool or just feeling ridiculously hot, try my following recipe. Be careful though; it's very smooth and if you have too many can really sneak up on you. 

Summer Beer Cocktail Recipe

Difficulty level: Easy peasy

Prep time: 30 seconds

***

2 unfrozen (or semi-frozen)  ice pops. I like the Jolly Rancher pop ice brand, and I use one pink and one blue. Pick your favie.

1 jigger  (1 1/2 oz) of vodka
1 beer (don't use "good" beer for this)

ice

very cold beer mug

straw

Fill the very cold beer mug with ice. Pour in jigger of vodka. Snip the top off the ice pops; pour in on top of  vodka until mug is half-full of liquid. Pour beer on top. Mix with straw. DO NOT SHAKE. ("Bubbles! Bubbles! Awwww....") 

Enjoy!

Oh m'God, this is a really good cocktail. Very refreshing (the vague fruit, the bubbles--yum!). For those of you who don't know/can't remember what an ice pop is, they're fruit-flavored, freezable popsicles encased in plastic; you cut the end off and suck them out the top, instead of unwrapping like other frozen treats.

This recipe actually cuts the alcohol content a teeeeensy bit, because usually you'd just pour in a flavored vodka and then beer. If you decide to make this for a shindig, it may be a lot of fun to let people pick their own ice pop flavors, but technically it would be more practical to go and buy a bottle of a flavored vodka and do it that way; if you chose to do the latter, keep it to one jigger of vodka to a mug--if you do more the texture gets weird, and if you do less you can't taste the flavoring.

In my opinion, since these are a drink for when it's ridiculously hot out, it's easy to accidentally drink a LOT of them, so it's a really good idea to lower that alcohol content. 

By the way, you won't finish the beer in the first mug. Which means you'll need to drink two or three. Or invite friends.

Salud!