Beer writer reveals ale sweets recipe

Beer reviewer and author Andy Hamilton has revealed his homemade recipe for creating “grown up sweets” using your favourite ales.

Wine gums, from brands such as Bassett’s (pictured), were the inspiration behind the homemade beer sweets (Photo: Wiki)

Taking inspiration from Wine Gums – which Hamilton said “whole lot better… if they were actually made out of beer or wine” – the writer unveiled his recipe for homemade ale sweets in his Telegraph column.

He wrote, “Just imagine: sweets flavoured like Tim Taylor Landlord, Partizan Saison Grisette Lemon & Thyme, Wild beer Madness IPA or The Kernel Table. Heaven!

“Armed with some gelatine and a bunch of home brew, I set to work. It proved much easier than I thought, and the results were pretty tasty too.”

Ingredients
125ml beer, 60g fine caster sugar, 30g unflavoured gelatine, 1 teaspoon flour, 1/4 tsp citric acid, a few grains of salt, some oil, and icing sugar for dusting.

Method
Pour your beer into a small saucepan and stir in the flour and gelatine. You’ll have to work it to ensure there are no lumps. After your liquid is fully mixed, add the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat on your pan and gently warm your liquid through. Raise the temperature up to the gentlest of a simmer and for less than minute keep stirring. It will start to stiffen slightly. Spray a little oil inside the moulds of your choice, as this will aid removal of the sweets. Take the pan off the heat and pour into the moulds. Leave for a couple of hours at room temperature to set.

Hamilton recommends using “bold beers” as the “flavour needs to cut though the large amount of sugar used”, singling out stouts and IPAs as the best styles to use.

Great for pairing with cheese and game meats according to Hamilton, he also recommends leaving them in a saucer of beer to soak up even more flavour.