Craft brews mixing it up on cocktail scene

Start to finish: 5 minutes. Servings: 1

1 ounce lime juice

1 ounce gin

1/4 cup fresh raspberries

8 ounces raspberry lambic, chilled

In a pilsner glass, combine the lime juice, gin and raspberries, using the back of a spoon to crush the raspberries. Fill with raspberry lambic, then stir gently just to combine.

Start to finish: 5 minutes. Servings: 1

1 ounce Godiva liqueur

1 ounce coffee liqueur

4 ounces cream soda, chilled

4 ounces dark stout

In a tall glass, combine the Godiva and coffee liqueur. Slowly pour the cream soda down the side of the glass, followed by the stout.

Cocktail connoisseurs are falling for craft beers in a new way — as a mixer.

Bars around the country are tapping into the trend of mixing artisanal brews with hard liquor to create new, refreshing cocktails. Can’t see how it works? How about a bold stout blended with white chocolate liqueur? Or maybe a mojito made with blonde ale and rum?

Beer as a mixer isn’t new, but it has seen an uptick in recent years, fueled largely by the flourishing market of excellent craft beers, according to bar consultant Jacob Grier, who’s publishing a book on beer cocktails next year called “Cocktails on Tap.”

Beer is a versatile ingredient that “offers tons of different possibilities that you wouldn’t get in other mixing spirits,” he says. For example, malty or fruity beers add a sweet element to a cocktail, hoppy beers add bitter and floral notes, and stouts can add a chocolate or roasted flavor.

Here are a couple of craft cocktail recipes.