Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float

Name: Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 8.45 oz Raspberry Lambic Beer; 3 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream; 1/4 Cup Fresh Raspberries

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Sweet, slightly acidic, malty framboise meets creamy, dreamy vanilla ice cream in this Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float. This low-ABV adult beverage-meets-dessert is a refreshing spin on a childhood favorite and is the perfect way to beat the scorching summer heat. Best of all, you only need 2 ingredients and 3 minutes to make one!

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About This Recipe
Ingredients & Substitutions
Equipment
How To Make A Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float
Optional Variations
Expert Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
More Sweet & Boozy Recipes
Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float

About This Recipe

If the idea of beer and ice cream sounds strange to you, you’re not alone. That said, you should give it a try! There’s something supremely satisfying about the pairing. The first beer float I ever tried was a St. Patrick’s Day mashup of dark Guinness stout and a scoop of coffee ice cream, and friends? It was delicious!

While that first experience will always stand out in my mind, the global heatwave we’re in means that dark beers are very far from mind. In an attempt to come up with a summer-y substitute for stout, I stumbled across a long-forgotten beverage at my local liquor store — Lindeman’s Raspberry Framboise beer.

Lambic Style Beers

If you’ve yet to try lambic-style beers, you’re really missing out. They’re sweet, tart, funky, and absolutely guzzle-worthy. With an alcohol content of just 2.5%, they’re also light enough for prolonged periods of day drinking.

Made using a process known as “spontaneous fermentation,” lambics are like the sourdough of the beer world. Instead of using a single, homogenous culture like is used for making lagers or IPAs, lambics are exposed to the bacteria in the air.

For a beer to be labeled as a true lambic, it must be brewed in the Zenne river valley of Belgium where the seasonal microflora impart their uniquely Belgian flavor profile. While not all lambics are given a secondary fermentation with fruit, many are.

Alternate Flavors

From cherry-flavored krieks to apple-flavored pommes, peach-flavored pêches to raspberry-flavored framboise, there’s a whole world of fruity sour beers to try. Since we’re smack-dab in the middle of summer, this easy-to-find raspberry sour beer won my attention. (You can find it at Trader Joe’s, Target, liquor stores, and most chain grocery stores.)

It’s sweet and effervescent enough to evoke soda-shop vibes, but with a bit of malty booziness in the background. Adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream makes it taste like sweet-tart raspberry pie a la mode but in root beer float form. Just trust me: it’s glorious. Plus, who doesn’t love a 2-ingredient dessert?!?

Ingredients needed to make a beer float.

Ingredients & Substitutions

As promised, beer ice cream floats have a VERY short ingredient list. Here’s what you’ll need:

Raspberry Lambic Beer - You can swap in any fruit-flavored lambic here.
Vanilla Ice Cream - I liked the simplicity of vanilla, but feel free to use a flavor with fruit swirls or a fruit-flavored ice cream base. I suggest sticking to other berries, cherries, peaches, plums, citrus, or rhubarb flavors. Chocolate flecks or chocolate swirls could also be welcome, but I don’t suggest a chocolate ice cream base because it will overpower the subtle notes of the lambic.

Equipment

You don’t need much to make these Belgian raspberry beer floats. Here’s what I suggest you use:

Corkscrew - Lindeman’s secures their bottle with both a cork and a twist cap. Make sure you have a wine tool at the ready!
Ice Cream Scoop - A good ice cream scoop can make a huge difference. Not only will it help prevent you from accidentally bending your spoons, but will also yield a perfectly round ice cream shop-sized scoop.
Pint Glasses - Any large glasses will work. I tend to reach for either pint glasses or the vintage ice cream sundae glasses.
Straws & Long Spoons - Not essential, but definitely helpful for eating/drinking your floats without making a mess.

How To Make A Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float

Making a beer float is about as easy as it gets. Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Add Ice Cream to your glass, about 1-3 scoops per your taste.

Step 2: Pour Beer into the glass over the ice cream until full.

Step 3: Serve with a straw and long spoon, and top with raspberries. Enjoy!

Raspberry sour beer poured over ice cream.

Optional Variations

Beer floats come in all kinds of tasty flavor variations! Here are a few others worth considering:

Stouts or Porters + Chocolate, Cherry, Vanilla, Coconut, Toffee, Peanut Butter, or Coffee Ice Cream
Amber Lager + Salted Caramel or Vanilla-Pretzel Ice Cream
Pilsners + Fruit Sherbet
Summer Shandy + Citrus Sherbet or Citrus Ice Cream
Belgian White Ale + Citrus Sherbet
Hefeweisen + Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherry, or Cheesecake Ice Cream, or Grapefruit Sherbet/Sorbet
Pale Ales or IPAs with Fruit Sorbets

Did you come up with a stellar beer float flavor combination that the world should know about? Let me know in the comments below or tag me in your social media posts so I can cheer you on!

Expert Tips

If you’re hosting a party, consider pre-scooping your ice cream and freezing the scoops. It’ll make serving a large group much easier and quicker than doing it all by hand on the spot.
If you’re experimenting with beer float flavor creations, be sure to match strength with strength. Light beers should be paired with light ice cream or sherbet; heavy beers can withstand heavier flavors.
Tip your glass to pour the beer; this will help it from getting too foamy!

Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float with fresh raspberries on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

What ice cream tastes good with beer?

It all depends on the beer! I suggest pairing lighter beers (e.g. summer ales, shandys, hefeweisens) with lighter flavors like vanilla or cheesecake, or fruity ice creams, sorbets, or sherbets. Heavier beers like porters and milk stouts can stand up to richer ice creams like chocolate, coffee, or peanut butter.

What is the proper temperature to serve beer?

Typically speaking, you want your beer to be somewhere between 38-55F. Lighter beers should be on the colder end of the spectrum, while richer beers like porters and stouts can be served a little warmer.

What is a good non-alcoholic option for an ice cream float?

Aside from the classic root beer float, try mixing and matching different sodas with different ice creams. Try cherry coke with chocolate ice cream, sparkling apple cider with caramel ice cream, or ginger beer with lime sherbet.

More Sweet & Boozy Recipes

As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try the recipe for this Vanilla Raspberry Beer Float, please leave a review or share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!