Mulled Beer

You've just walked through the door. It's freezing outside and you would like something hot to drink. Forget hot chocolate or tea, there is something much, much better--a hot glass of beer. Yes, you heard it correctly. For most of beer's 100 centuries of history, people enjoyed it without any kind of refrigeration, and so can you. This sweet, creamy recipe will warm you up on any cold, winter night.

• 12-16 oz decent-quality beer (the contents of your average bottle or can of beer)
• 1 chicken egg, separated
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 pinch ground ginger, or 1 slice (sometimes called "coins") of ginger 1/4" long
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1-2 pinch(es) cinnamon, or 1" section of a cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch ground cloves or 2-5 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon honey

1. Put beer in a small saucepan and add spices.
2. Heat beer and spices in a small saucepan on low to medium-low heat. If the beer begins to boil, turn down the heat. The beer will begin to foam, but should subside after a minute or two.
3. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk and put in a small bowl. This recipe only uses the egg yolk.
4. Add two teaspoons of sugar to the egg yolk.
5. Beat the sugar and yolk with a whisk or fork until it becomes nearly white (it's the hardest part!).
6. Optional but recommended - Temper the yolk mixture. To prevent "scrambling" the egg yolk mixture by the heat of the beer, you can temper the mixture by adding 1-2 tablespoon(s) of the hot beer to the yolk mixture very slowly and mixing thoroughly.
7. Add the yolk mixture slowly to the warm beer and continue to heat for 5 minutes. Stir gently.
8. Add honey to taste.
9. Use a strainer to sieve out any egg pieces that may have formed, if you like. This likely will not have happened if you tempered the yolk mixture before adding it to the beer.
10. Drink and enjoy!

Sbiten

During the winter months, everybody craves a delicious hot beverage such as hot chocolate, tea, and cider. But what if you want to try something different? In Russia, Sbiten (Russian, сбитень) is a traditional honey-based beverage consumed during the long winter months. It's actually very simple to prepare and tastes a lot like fruity tea. Here's how to prepare this comforting drink.

Makes 10 servings

• 1/2 cup of pure honey
• 1 tsp of cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 16 ounces (1 lb) blackberry jam
• 10 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 mint leaf (optional)

1. Bring 10 1/4 cups of water to a boil.
2. Add the ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, honey and homemade blackberry jam and stir gently.
3. Turn the heat down to about medium-low and bring it to a simmer. Stir the mixture for 6 minutes then take the pot off the stove.
4. Let cool for 2 minutes. Afterward, ladle the hot beverage into 10 mugs.