Which Beer to Pair With Ice Cream for the Perfect Float

We know what you're thinking. Wide Open Eats has lost its mind. "A beer-ice cream float? That's crazy!" Or is it genius? Now you're catching on. You like craft beer. You enjoy ice cream. You like root beer floats served in a tall glass with an extra scoop of ice cream, don't you? This odd ice cream pairing isn't sounding so crazy now, is it?

An ice cold beer mug filled with a few scoops of your favorite flavor of ice cream and then covered in the correctly paired beer can make two delicious things even more amazing. Cream flavors with a touch of carbonation will have the grownups and the kids enjoying their own kind of floats at a weekend BBQ.

Now hold on, readers. Put that Budweiser and strawberry ice cream back in the kitchen. Not every beer style will make a good beer float, but here are some combination suggestions you might want to try. Feel free to garnish with whipped cream and a cherry too. Life is hard, but you can relax with these floats.

7 Beer Ice Cream Floats To Float Your Boat

1. Wells Banana Bread Beer & Chocolate Ice Cream

Wells Banana Bread Beer has a nose and flavors of malt and banana. What better beer to drop a few scoops of chocolate ice cream into? If you're really a banana freak, find a chocolate banana flavored ice cream and up that creamy banana taste.

2. Keegan Ales Mother's Milk & Salted Caramel Gelato Beer Float

Mother's Milk is always a top seller. With flavors of nutty oatmeal, creamy milk chocolate, and sweet cream, this beer pairs perfectly as a float. This milk stout is full bodied with a lot of subtle flavors that a salted caramel ice cream or gelato would bring out.

3. Schöfferhofer Grapefruit & Vanilla Ice Cream

Half hefeweizen beer (German wheat beer) and half grapefruit juice. Fizzy carbonation makes this a refreshing choice for a beer float. The vanilla ice cream and fruity grapefruit flavor tastes similar to an orange creamsicle but with more tang. You could also add a rainbow sherbet or sorbet to really pump up the citrus flavors.

4. Southern Tier Chocklat Beer & Vanilla Ice Cream

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This is the most chocolatey beer out there, so adding vanilla ice cream to it just makes sense. If you're one of those Death By Chocolate people, go nuts and drop some dark chocolate ice cream in too. Adult milkshake complete.

5. Guinness Stout & Coffee Ice Cream Beer Float

Guinness is already a meal in a bottle, so you might as well add a mocha or coffee ice cream to it! You can also try a scoop of black raspberry ice cream since Chambord and Guinness is a delicious Irish drink.

6. St. Bernardus Belgian Dubbel & Rum Raisin

Belgian Dubbel already has a delicious dried fruit and raisin taste. If the rum flavor isn't your thing, vanilla with some finely chopped up dried fruit makes it an extra fancy dessert beer float. Like sangria but with beer and ice cream instead. Think outside the beverage box.

7. Lindeman's Framboise Lambic & Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

If you're not really a fan of the beer taste but still want to try a beer float, then this combo is for you. This framboise tastes just like raspberry fruit juice. Add a dark chocolate flavored ice cream and you have a chocolate covered raspberry dessert float.