Here's How To Make A Classy And Delicious Boozy Beer Float

See you never, root beer.

The only thing better than root beer floats? Boozy beer floats.

James Ransom / Via food52.com

So with summer right around the corner, we asked Stef Ferrari of Hay Rosie Craft Ice Cream Co. in Brooklyn to show us how to make her dream float.

First? The beer.

Saison DuPont is a classic, says Ferrari. This farmhouse-style ale has flavors reminiscent of the Belgian countryside where it's brewed, complete with flavors of brioche, citrus, and plenty of spice.

Its natural carbonation from bottle fermentation means that it's a very effervescent beer — which makes it ideal for beer floats. It's also widely available, but if you can't find it, any Belgian-based ale works too. Hennepin from Brewery Ommegang or Tank 7 from Boulevard are great alternatives.

Next up, the ice cream.

For this update on the classic beer float, Ferrari wanted to create a flavor of ice cream that would share the spotlight with the beer, not overpower it. Enter: peppered honey-pear ice cream. Recipe below.

Stef Ferrari / Via food52.com

Also: Once you've tried putting ice cream in your beer, try putting beer in your ice cream.

Boozy Beer Float with Peppered Honey-Pear Ice Cream and Saison DuPont Beer

Stef Ferrari / Via food52.com

Makes 2 to 4 floats

For the honey-pearl swirl:

2/3 tablespoon freeze-dried pears, ground into a fine powder

3 2/3 tablespoons tablespoons honey

1 1/3 tablespoons apple juice

2/3 tablespoon turbinado sugar

1 2/3 tablespoons toasted walnuts, chopped

For the ice cream base and assembly:

1/3 tablespoon corn starch or tapioca starch

1 cup whole milk, divided

1 cup cream

3 1/3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

1 1/3 tablespoons corn syrup or tapioca syrup

4 to 5 grinds black pepper, to taste

Zest of one small orange

1 bottle Saison DuPont

1 orange peel, for garnish

Nutmeg, for garnish (optional)

To make the honeyed pear swirl:

Combine the freeze-dried pears, honey, apple juice, and sugar in a small sauce pan and whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring with a rubber spatula until the sugar and pear powder have dissolved. Simmer until it reduces to a syrup, about 10 to 15 minutes, then stir in the walnuts and set it aside to cool. Keep this in an airtight container for several days, until you are ready to combine it with the ice cream.

Stef Ferrari / Via food52.com

To make the ice cream:

Whisk together the starch and 20 grams of the whole milk in a small bowl until smooth to make a starch slurry. Set it aside while you make the ice cream base.

In a sauce pan, combine the remaining 200 grams of whole milk with the cream, sugar, nonfat dry milk, corn syrup, and pepper. Whisk vigorously until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated, then set it over medium heat. Prepare an ice bath for your finished mix. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower it to a simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add the starch slurry. (You may need to whisk the slurry again prior to adding it to ensure the starch is still suspended in the milk and not stuck to the bottom of the bowl.) Return the pan to the heat and return it to a simmer while continuing to stir. After a few minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken.

Once it starts to thicken, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl over your prepared ice bath—be careful that the ice bath doesn't overflow into the cream mixture. Blend the base well with an immersion blender and allow the mix to fully cool. Age it in the refrigerator overnight, or for a minimum of four hours.

Remove the mix from the refrigerator, add orange zest, and blend it again with immersion blender. Pour it into an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Once frozen, alternate scooping the ice cream base with the honeyed pear swirl into an airtight container to great layers. Freeze the layered ice cream for another six hours or overnight.

Stef Ferrari / Via food52.com

To build the floats:

Place two generous scoops of the ice cream in a tumbler. (I prefer low, wide-rimmed tumblers as opposed to beer mugs or pint glasses. They allow for a more equitable ice cream-to-beer ratio per bite or sip.) Because this beer is highly carbonated, tilt and pour a quarter to a half of the bottle gently down the side of the glass, allowing for a thick head to settle on top of the ice cream. You’ll get a little beer volcano if you pour too aggressively. Repeat with 2 to 3 more glasses.

Garnish it with an orange peel and, if you’re feeling spicy, a little grated nutmeg. Serve with a straw and a spoon—it might get messy, but it'll be worth it!

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.