Ashley Stelzer

Here's a take on the classic Blood and Sand cocktail, using Flemish-style sour ale orkriek(which means "cherry") lambic instead of cherry liqueur. Lambic is a distinctively Belgian style of beer, made with wild yeast as opposed to the carefully controlled fermentation of conventional ales. It is often flavored with fruit, such as cherries or raspberries. Thanks to Eben Freeman, who serves a version of this drink at Ai Fiori in New York City.

Maru is the name of the adorable Japanese cat whose love of jumping into and out of boxes has inspired us to waste many happy hours drinking beer in front of our computer when we should have been working instead. This cocktail has the popular Japanese lager Sapporo as its base, a crisp and well-carbonated brew that is typically paired with sushi. Here, the slight bitterness of the beer is tempered by tart berries and mandarin oranges.

Another dessert cocktail made with oatmeal stout, the Oatmeal Cookie gets a spicy edge from Goldschläger, a Swiss cinnamon schnapps that has thin flakes of gold leaf floating in it.