A quick recipe for St. Patrick’s Day! These are the fastest “cocktails” you’ll ever make. (Is a beer float a cocktail??)
Why it works:
Well, in my brain, ice cream makes everything better. So there’s that. 🙂
Guinness is a dry stout, and in all honesty I should have used a milk stout for these floats. Milk stouts contain lactose (the primary sugar in milk), which doesn’t convert to alcohol during fermentation by beer-making yeast. The resulting “milk stout” has a sweeter flavor and fuller body than a dry stout like traditional Guinness, which would have been a nice complement to creamy, premium ice cream. However, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, and today Guinness rules the roost! If you try this with a milk stout, let me know how it turns out!
Guinness Floats: The Drunken Leprechaun

The best way to drink beer. 🙂
Ingredients
- Good vanilla ice cream
- Guinness beer, cold
- Cold glass or beer mug
Directions
- Add vanilla ice cream to a cold glass.
- Pour Guinness beer over the ice cream
- Enjoy!
For more on the science behind beer, check out “Wassuuup with Beer: Factors that Affect the Quality of Your Brew.”