Rhinegeist Recipes

Kalmer Granita

Granita, a semi-frozen treat originating in Sicily, is refreshing, versatile, and easy to make on your own. Delicate by nature, granita is most in its element as an accompaniment to fresh, minimally-prepared foods like oysters on the half shell, or on its own as a palate-cleanser or post-meal punctuation mark. Kalmer, our crisp Kölsch-Style Ale made with Lemon and Cucumber, shows especially well in a fresh, citrusy take on this warm-weather amuse-bouche. Get your spoon ready as Zach Leetch from Sartre OTR walks us through preparing a cucumber-infused granita featuring Kalmer!

Chef cutting lemons for granita

Ingredients:

  • 1 can Kalmer
  • 2ea English Cucumbers
  • 2ea Lemons
  • 2ea Limes
  • ½ bunch Parsley
  • 2TB Sugar
  • Salt
  • Sumac

Chef pouring Rhinegeist Kalmer into blender

Method:

  • Peel and roughly chop cucumbers.
  • Roughly chop parsley.
  • Juice lemons and limes.
  • Add all ingredients except the Kalmer to the jar of a blender.
  • Allow the ingredients to incorporate at low speed before cranking the blender to high. Blend on high for about 1 minute.
  • Return blender to low speed and slowly pour in the Kalmer. You do not want to add anything carbonated to a blender on high. Trust us on this.
  • Season to taste with salt. We don’t want to go too salty on this, keep it fresh and sweet and sour. Think Gatorade levels of saltiness.
  • Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a sheet tray.
  • Place in the freezer until 90% frozen, about 30-45 min.
  • Using the tines of a fork, scrape at the frozen mixture until you have a nice pile of slushy frozen goodness.
  • Now that you have granita, you may ask, “What do I do with it?” Well good news, it’s got a million and one uses! Top freshly shucked oysters with Kalmer Granita, a little sprinkle of sumac and some cilantro leaves. Turn it into a slushy cocktail! Eat a bowl of it as is! Roll it into a ball, put it in a cone cup, pour a shot of gin over it and enjoy a wonderful adult snow-cone!
Ingredients for Granita with Rhinegeist Kalmer
Chef chopping parsley
Chef juicing lemon into blender
Chef pouring mixture to freeze granita
Chef forking frozen granita
Oyster on the half shell with granita
Rhinegeist Kalmer with Granita topped Oysters