Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons butter, 2 Tablespoons flour, 4 cups beer, Pinch of salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. 4 egg yolks. 1 Tablespoon sugar. 1 cup dry white wine. Grated peel of 1 lemon.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir constantly to avoid lumps. Gradually blend in the flour and cook over moderate-low heat until the flour is golden. Still stirring, slowly pour in the beer. Add the salt, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. While the beer is simmering: beat the egg yolks well in a bowl. Add the sugar, then beat in the white wine and the grated lemon peel.

Drop by drop, beat 1/4 cup of the hot beer into the egg mixture. Gently stir the egg and beer mixture into the remaining hot beer. Heat through, making sure the soup remains below the simmering point. Taste and correct the seasonings as you desire.

This is like an old German drink I used to make, but much simpler. No flour, butter, salt, lemon or ginger. Try it both ways … Let me know your preference. 2 bottles beer (let it get flat — two hours of temptation)
strip of half a lemon peel , use the peel — juice too if you make soup
1-2 Tbs. sugar
3-4 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup milk (or half and half)1/2 tsp of cinnamon (some use a clove or two -then fish out)

Open beer and let it get flat. Two hours. Heat beer with lemon peel and 1 Tb’s. of sugar. Bring to a boiling point, but do not boil. Beat egg yolks with milk. Add a little of the hot beer to the egg yolk mixture and when smoothly blended, turn back into the rest of the beer. Beat over very low heat until thick and foamy. Serve in mug.>

Now to make a soup of it, you brown say 2 tbs. of flour with the sugar in 1 Tb’s. of butter. Add the beer, lemon juice, peels and seasonings. Stir in the beaten egg yolks. Serve hot or chilled. I sometimes put in leftover bread chunks of dried dark bread or sourdough. Usually serves 3-4!

Descartes walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Want a beer?”
Descartes answers, “I think not,” and disappears.

(C) Herb Senft  2004