Mulled Ale and Hot Chocolate Stout: The best ways to use your iKegger as a hot drink dispenser during winter.

Although winter would be considered relatively mild in Australia, with the chilly season officially arriving in June a cold beer on the beach might not be the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking about a comforting drink. The solution - hot beverages and fun winter cocktails.

Whether it's for a party or just the occasional homemade cocktail (or two), the key to guaranteeing the quality of your warm alcoholic beverage lays with ensuring the perfect serving temperature.

It’s important not to overheat the liquid once the booze has been added, while still maintaining a certain temperature level as the aromas in winter drinks need warmer conditions in order to reveal their full-bodied taste.

Most hot served drinks require a serving temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. If you don’t have a thermometer generally the liquid will start steaming at around 55 degrees celsius. You don’t want the liquid to start bubbling as this means the alcohol evaporates. If this happens take of the heat immediately.

The following will give you information on recipes for winter drinks for yourself and party-sized batches for your hot drink dispenser and what temperature they should be served at.

We’re sure you’ve heard all of the typical hot winter drinks, but enough of the classics, we’re introducing you to some rather special alcoholic warm beverages for your next winter party.

For all beer and warm drink lovers, that are ready to experiment our next recipe is rather unusual - mulled ale.

Historical records say mulled ale has been a popular drink in england in the sixteen hundreds. So why not take it back to today and see what it’s all about.

You’ll need two cups of a flavourful and malty tasting dark ale or stout. The beer choice has the biggest influence on the outcome, so you can experiment and amend to your personal taste. Additionally you’ll require 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar, ⅓ of a cup brandy, lemon juice and spices like cloves, star anise, nutmeg and cinnamon. Which and how much of each spice you want to add depends on your personal preference, we recommend to go easy at first and then add more spices if you wish for a more intense flavor. The same goes for the lemon juice, keep in mind the acidity will balance the bitterness or sweetness of your drink. All you need to do is pour the beer into a cold saucepan and add the sugar and spices, simmer (don’t boil) for at least 5 minutes. Take of the stove, strain and add lemon juice and brandy and fill into your hot drink dispenser. The perfect serving temperature is 60 degrees Celsius, garnish with an orange wedge and voilà… so good!

While mulled ale is suitable for everyone who is into rather dry drinks, our next recipe will satisfy the sweet tooth. Warm yourself up with a mug of stout hot chocolate.

This twist on a regular hot chocolate for grown ups is easy to make and only calls for a few ingredients. All you need is two cups heavy cream mixed with one cup milk and one cup dark chocolate chips. Stir everything together and heat until the chocolate is melted then remove the mixture from the stove. Now the fun part - add a cup of chocolate stout of your choice. If you’re happy with the level of bitterness, serve the winter drink at around 60 degrees Celsius, if you prefer it more sweet add a couple of tablespoons of your favourite sweetener like maple syrup.

You’re missing the warmer days and cold espresso martinis on rooftops? This hot white russian recipe might be the cozy cure for your cravings on chilly days.

You’ll need two cups of freshly brewed coffee, a cup of each Kahlua and milk and half a cup of vodka. This recipe is as easy as it gets, all you need to do is mix all ingredients together and warm up to about 60 degrees Celsius. Again don’t boil it, as this will reduce the amount of alcohol in your drink and might also change the taste.

If you’re using the 4 liter iKegger keg as a hot drink dispenser, those are the measurements of ingredients you’ll need for each drink.

Mulled ale:

• 3,25 litres dark ale
• 500 ml brandy
• 200 - 300g brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons spices of your choice

Stout hot chocolate:

• 1,5 litres heavy cream
• 750 ml milk
• 750 g chocolate chips
• 750ml stout
• 200g sweetener (optional)

Hot white russian:

• 1,75 litres coffee
• 750 ml kahlua
• 750 ml milk
• 400 ml vodka

Now that you’re inspired to host your next winter garden party, you're probably wondering how you can keep your boozy hot drinks warm all day without slowly boiling out the alcohol.

Our iKegger insulated keg works as a hot drink dispenser that guarantees the ideal temperature of your hot winter drinks for up to 10 hours and makes the serving process smooth avoiding spills on your setup. It comes in a convenient 4 litre size, so you can make sure that all of your guests get their share of your creation.