Polish hot beer

Yesterday I woke up really stuffed up and I just wasn't feeling 100%. It's been pretty wet and cold outside so the dogs and I spent the afternoon developing a couple of recipes for an article I am writing. The dogs were on taste testing and clean up duties.

hey, we need to try it again, something just wasn't right with that last bite!

In between making a huge mess of my kitchen, I was going through old Polish recipes, when I came across one for Hot beer. This was a new one on me. But after reading more about it - a lot of people say it's a good remedy for when you are cold or don't feel well, like a hot toddy.... You know, everyone has their drink which will fix everything that ails you. If it's a really good drink, or you have enough of it, it might not fix you, but you might forget what was wrong with you in the first place. 

Anyway, I just had to try it. 

To make it, you need two egg yolks. Yes, two egg yolks. Beat those together in a mug, with 4 Tbs of sugar (you do need the sugar.) Set it aside.

Heat a bottle of beer (preferably Polish beer, I used a Canadian beer which I love, but probably wasn't the best beer for this recipe.) with a cinnamon stick (you can also use 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon, and some whole cloves or 1/4 tsp of ground cloves. 

Bring it to a boil and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Remove it from the heat. Slowly, start drizzling in the egg yolk/sugar mixture, whisking the entire time. Keep whisking as it foams up. 

If you've used whole cloves and a cinnamon stick, use a strainer to pour your hot beer into your glass. Otherwise just pour it straight in. 

I poured some into a clear glass so you could see what it looks like. It looks quite tasty actually. 

It was too hot to drink out of that glass so I transferred it to a mug. You need to drink it hot - it's entirely different once it's cooled. And not different in a good way.

So... How does it taste? Quite good actually, but not as good as it would have tasted with a darker fuller beer. I like the frothiness of it, and it is warming. I'm going to try it again with a Polish beer and on a cold night after coming in from chores.

I gave it to three adult men to try, and every single one of them made a face and handed the mug back to me.  But I thought it wasn't half bad at all.