Heavy Seas Alehouse, which been open for three years, is a showcase for Hugh Sisson's popular Halethorpe-based line of beers.
Heavy Seas beers are featured on the restaurant's seasonally rotating cocktail line-up. There are takes on classic beer-infused cocktails like the shandy, which Heavy Seas makes with its Cutlass Lager. But there are unexpected concoctions, too, like the bracing Cannon Fuse, a dilly of a cocktail devised by Heavy Seas manager Dan Bueter.
"I was looking for something light and refreshing for summer," Bueter said about Cannon Fuse's origin. The cocktail uses Heavy Seas' Loose Cannon IPA and a homemade ginger syrup and, for full summery effect, fresh lemon juice. But the driving ingredient is hops-infused vodka, which Bueter created himself, through "a lot of trial and error."
Bueter calls the Cannon Fuse "summertime in a glass," the kind of cocktail you'd want to sip all summer long on your deck with the grill fired up.
He's right. It's a beautifully rich cocktail. The lemon-ginger combination adds effervescence and brightness. The hops add just enough bitterness and tang.
It's a strong, seaworthy drink, and I became an immediate fan. Bueter loves his creation, too. He served it at his April wedding in Ocala, Fla., but with gin substituting for the vodka-infused hops.
"It works," Bueter said. "Gin is basically just vodka with hops."
How to make the Cannon Fuse
1 oz. hop-infused vodka or favorite gin
3/4 oz. ginger syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA
2 dashes Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters
Lemon wedge
Add vodka/gin, ginger syrup, lemon juice and bitters to a tiki/Collins glass filled with ice and top with 3-4 oz. Loose Cannon. Stir well and garnish with lemon wedge.
Ginger syrup
8 oz. water, by volume
8 oz. sugar, by volume
4 oz. fresh, sliced ginger, by weight.
Combine ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until sugar is dissolved and syrup has slightly thickened. Allow to steep on stovetop for 20 minutes. Strain through fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.
Hops-infused vodka
Bottle of your favorite 80-proof vodka
4 oz. whole flower hops (Citra or Cascade work well)
Fill wide-mouth, screw-top jar with hops and fill with vodka. Allow to sit for 5-7 days in a cool, dark place. Pour the liquid from the jar into a separate container and then strain liquid through coffee filter. The liquid should have a wonderful green-gold color. Store in empty bottle or fresh jar.
Where to get the Cannon Fuse
Heavy Seas Alehouse
1300 Bank St., Little Italy
410-929-7985