Miso Caramel Beer Float Recipe
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If you thought the only beer float flavors out there involved chocolate, malt, and maybe a stout, then this miso caramel beer float might just send you for a tailspin. There's something that happens the moment the first taste of vanilla ice cream hits your mouth in combination with the smoky beer and the salted caramel. The campfire char softens against the cream, the bitterness rounds into something almost chocolatey, and the whole float starts to feel like a wood-smoked evening by a campfire in autumn.
This is a float to serve at the end of a long, slow dinner, when everyone is ready for something interesting. It's not for the faint of heart, as it involves complex flavors and unusual ingredients like rauchbier, a smoked German lager, and white miso-flavored homemade caramel. But the final result has savory depth alongside a rich sweetness, creating a deeply satisfying flavor that lingers in your mouth long after you've had the last spoonful. And trust me when I say that you'll want to spoon leftover miso caramel on pretty much everything.
As a recipe developer and blogger, I love whipping out unusual desserts like this when I want that course to spark conversation. When everyone is pleasantly full and ready to lean back and sip on their beer floats, this flavor combination has everyone paying attention again. It's something unlike what most people have tried before, and it creates a true sense of surprise and wonderment that people will remember for many days to come.
Gather the ingredients for this miso caramel beer float
For the miso caramel that gives this beer float its special character, you'll need unsalted butter, granulated sugar, room temperature heavy cream, white miso, and flaky sea salt. The main thing to know about miso is that not all miso is interchangeable, and that white miso is sweeter and less pungent than all other kinds. This caramel will not work with another type of miso, so try to get a mellow white miso, though a sweet miso or a malted rice miso may be an interesting second alternative if you're ok with a funkier flavor.
For this beer float's garnish, you'll need raw pepitas you can toast, unsalted butter, and more flaky sea salt. And for assembling the float itself, source a high-quality vanilla bean ice cream where you can see the bean's black dots, a few bottles of chilled rauchbier, and chopped candied orange peel.
Step 1: Freeze the glasses
Place 4 tall pilsner glasses or tulip glasses in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Brown the butter
For the caramel, brown the 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling it, until the milk solids turn amber and smell nutty, about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Caramelize the sugar
In the same saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons water over medium heat. Swirl occasionally, without stirring, until the mixture turns deep amber, about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Finish the miso caramel
Remove from the heat and whisk in the brown butter, then the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. Whisk in the miso until smooth, then the ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Toast the pepitas
For the garnish, toast the pepitas with the 1 teaspoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring, until puffed and golden, about 3 minutes. Toss with the ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt.
Step 6: Drizzle the caramel and add the ice cream
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the caramel inside each chilled glass. Add 2 scoops of ice cream to each.
Step 7: Add the beer
Tilt each glass and pour in about 8 ounces of rauchbier slowly down the side, stopping when the foam reaches the rim.
Step 8: Garnish and serve the miso beer floats
Drizzle each float with 1 tablespoon of the remaining caramel. Add another bit of ice cream to reach the top. Drizzle with more caramel, top with the pepitas, and scatter some candied orange peel over each glass, then drop it in. Serve immediately with a spoon and a straw.
What can I serve with a miso caramel beer float?
Miso Caramel Beer Float Recipe
Vanilla ice cream and smoky rauchbier are topped with a sweet-salty white miso caramel and toasted pepitas in our unique and sophisticated beer float.
Ingredients
- For the miso caramel
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- For the garnish
- ¼ cup raw pepitas
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- For the float
- 1 quart high-quality vanilla bean ice cream
- 3 (12-ounce) bottles rauchbier, chilled
- 2 tablespoons candied orange peel, chopped
Directions
- Place 4 tall pilsner glasses or tulip glasses in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- For the caramel, brown the 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling it, until the milk solids turn amber and smell nutty, about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- In the same saucepan, combine the sugar and 2 tablespoons water over medium heat. Swirl occasionally, without stirring, until the mixture turns deep amber, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the brown butter, then the cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously. Whisk in the miso until smooth, then the ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- For the garnish, toast the pepitas with the 1 teaspoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring, until puffed and golden, about 3 minutes. Toss with the ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the caramel inside each chilled glass. Add 2 scoops of ice cream to each.
- Tilt each glass and pour in about 8 ounces of rauchbier slowly down the side, stopping when the foam reaches the rim.
- Drizzle each float with 1 tablespoon of the remaining caramel. Add another bit of ice cream to reach the top. Drizzle with more caramel, top with the pepitas, and twist an orange peel strip over each glass, then drop it in. Serve immediately with a spoon and a straw.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 604 |
| Total Fat | 38.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.3 g |
| Cholesterol | 113.6 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 59.4 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.0 g |
| Total Sugars | 53.9 g |
| Sodium | 482.6 mg |
| Protein | 8.3 g |
Can these beer floats be made ahead?
Though you may think this is the kind of dessert you must make tableside while your guests are waiting, there's actually plenty you can do ahead of time. Here's what I do every time I want to make these miso beer floats ahead of dinner.
First, make the miso caramel itself. It keeps in the fridge for two weeks, and you can rewarm it in the microwave for 20 seconds until it becomes smooth and pourable, so it can be ready whenever you want to serve the floats. The pepitas can also be made a few days ahead, and the candied orange peels can be chopped. The vanilla ice cream just lives in the freezer year-round, the rauchbier must be chilled in the fridge, and then the whole thing just comes together last minute.
On the night of the party, rim the glasses and scoop the ice cream into them hours before your guests come. Then, when ready to serve, all you need to do is pour the beer and garnish the float at the table. If you're really feeling hands-off, you can even set up a small station so guests can build their own ice cream floats.
What swaps work for this beer float, if you can't find rauchbier?
The main ingredient for this beer float may be one that you've never heard of before, and if you have trouble finding it, I do have some ideas for what to use instead. Rauchbier is a fairly niche German beer style that's not always easy to find outside of specialty bottle shops. It's got a pronounced smoked flavor and can almost feel a bit savory.
If you can't find rauchbier, a porter, or another German beer, a schwarzbier, also known as black lager, would work well as a substitute. They will give you less smokiness but a similarly dark, roasty character that pairs well with vanilla and miso. If you do go with a porter, do everyone a favor and use black smoked sea salt in place of flaky sea salt to bring some of the smoky quality back.
For an even bolder pairing, you can use a gose and swap the vanilla ice cream for a flavor like coconut or, even better, toasted coconut. A gose, a German ale that is tart and rather salty, takes the miso caramel in a completely different direction.