Boozy Popsicles Are The Chill Way To Enjoy Beer This Summer

A charming (and true) story about popsicles attributes their invention to a kid who left a sweet drink out on the porch in cold weather and — whoops — found that it had frozen, but was still edible, if not drinkable. Beersicles, on the other hand, have probably been "invented" by everyone who ever tried to use the freezer as a shortcut for chilling a six-pack, only to forget and wind up with frozen cans of disappointment (or a huge mess, if they were foolish enough to try this trick with bottled beer). Intentional beersicles are a whole 'nother thing, though. After all, they're social media-endorsed, so that's a point in their favor. What's more, there have even been commercially-produced versions like Natural Light's Naturdays Frozen Icicles, and some bars have been known to offer house-made beersicles as a summertime special.

The real trick to making beer popsicles lies in — get this! — opening the can (or bottle). When you've accomplished this feat, you then pour the beer into a popsicle mold (a cheap one from the dollar store should work just fine) and stick it in the freezer. Once it has solidified, it will taste like icy beer on a stick. Maybe don't try this with a British bitter beer or an IPA, though, since some craft beer snob may insist you're doing it all wrong if you don't drink these brews at warmer temperatures.

While not everyone's ready to sign off on the idea that warmer beer is better, beer connoisseurs aren't wrong to point out that freezing does little to enhance a beer's overall flavor since extreme cold kills off the yeast cells and leaves it tasting rather flat. Consuming the beer while it's still frozen may go a long way toward camouflaging any flavor loss, but should you freeze beer and then allow it to thaw, you'll definitely notice the difference. What's more, freezing not only destroys flavor but most of the bubbles, as well. This means that frozen beer retains very little of its carbonation.

Of course, the upside of this is now you have something to do with that flat beer you failed to finish off last night. Instead of feeling guilty about ruining a perfectly good beer in the freezer, you can repurpose one already on the downside of its flavor cycle. Yes, you could always use it in beer bread or Belgian-style beef carbonnade or even as a hair rinse, but doesn't making it into popsicles sound way more fun?

Because of what freezing does to a beer's flavor — not to mention the whole carbonation-killing aspect — maybe a straight-up beersicle may not be the best way to enjoy booze on a stick. After all, when Natty Light went into the beersicle business, it used the fruit-flavored Naturdays line. Instead of going with beer alone in your popsicle, you might want to take a tip from cocktail pops. These higher-than-zero-proof summertime treats are typically sweet and fruity as well as boozy, and beer, too, can benefit from add-ins like sugar and fruit.

One idea is to make a classic shandy or radler by mixing beer 50/50 with either lemonade or grapefruit juice (you can always adjust the proportions to better suit your preferences). You could also use orange juice and simple syrup for a beermosa, or go with Clamato juice, Tabasco, and lime for a frozen michelada. Sure, this last combo would be more savory than sweet, but why not break the mold? Not literally, of course, since then the beer would leak out.