8 Bakeries Making Beer Lovers’ Sweet Dreams Come True

There’s a reason why the saying is “leave room for dessert” and not “leave room for beer.” Aside from the obvious reasons of over intoxication, feeling full and proceeding to drink a beer doesn’t make for a happy stomach. The obvious solution? Leaving room for a beer-infused dessert. It’s the best of both worlds, minus the bloat.

From one coast to the other, Paste rounded up some of the most innovative bakeries that are infusing brews into their baked goodies.

1. Prohibition Bakery
Known as New York City’s original alcoholic cupcake company, Prohibition Bakery (pictured above) is ran by trained chef Brooke Siem and baker and long-time bartender Leslie Feinberg. Established in 2011, this intoxicating (pun intended!) bakery features five to eight rotating flavors of mini cupcakes daily. Look forward to flavors that include pretzels and beer with Six Point Sweet Action Ale, Nutella, pretzel, and white truffle; and car bomb which combines whiskey with stout, chocolate and Bailey’s. For boozy and beer-infused cupcake recipes, check out their book.

2. 8 Bit Bakery
Photo courtesy of 8 Bit Bakery
Baking duo Erin and Matt Sameck of Kansas City’s seasonal 8 Bit Bakery specializes in creating homemade, beer-inspired versions of classic pastries. Though 8 Bit Bakery doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar shop just yet, it already has a dedicated following thanks to its annual summertime pop-up shop at Kansas City’s Parkville Farmers Market. Popular goodies include the oatmeal sandwich cookie with a sea salt beer-caramel drizzle, which was the result of experimenting with a few different beers until finally finding a saison from local brewery, Crane Brewing Co., that fit the bill. Other hits include beer blondies made with the same saison, caramel cupcakes infused with beer caramel and dark chocolate stout mini bundt cakes with blackberry glaze. Owners Erin and Matt Sameck look forward to incorporating more local beer in their recipes in the summers to come. If you’re a lucky local, you can request custom orders for pickup or delivery.

3. Crunkcakes

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With a name like Crunkcakes, they have to be baking something strong, right? This DC-based bakery prides itself on making booze-infused cupcakes from scratch using “premium ingredients and top quality hooch.” Expect cupcakes doing the most (in the best way) with flavors like fat cat featuring DC Brau Penn Quarter Porter chocolate cake infused with Bulleit bourbon, filled with salted Bulleit caramel sauce, topped with bourbon caramel buttercream; cowboy coffee, a Guinness chocolate cupcake infused with Jameson, topped with espresso Vodka fudge frosting; and the nutty Irishman, a Guinness chocolate cake infused with Frangelico, filled with Nutella, topped with Bailey’s Irish Cream buttercream.

4. Brewcakes
Photo courtesy of Brewcakes
This Southern California gastropub offers a wide range of beer-infused desserts. From beer batter funnel cake and snickerdoodle-beer cookie vanilla ice cream sandwiches to the Irish cake bomb, which features a stout brownie along with ice cream and toppings, dining at Beercakes is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Wash down your decadent dishes with more decadence: beer floats. With your choice of hard cider, hard root beer or your classic stout, you can truly have it all here. Of course, if you’re looking for a less sugary beverage, they offer a variety of daily beer specials.

5. Cup and Cakes Bakery

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This San Francisco-based baker began in founder Jennifer’s kitchen in the summer of 2007. Cup and Cakes Bakery specializes in homemade cupcakes and offers more than 60 flavors. Using local and organic ingredients as much as possible, this bright pink bakery is dedicated to the customization of their goods and to creating unique flavor combinations. Beer connoisseurs will appreciate the black and tan, which features a Guinness Chocolate Cake, topped with Bailey’s Irish cream buttercream, and a chocolate drizzle.

6. Prohibition Pastries

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A post shared by Eliza Jane Bowman (@prohibitionpastries) on May 16, 2016 at 2:26pm PDT

Located in Pittsburgh, this boozy bakery owned by Eliza Jane Bowman specializes in—you guessed it—liquored-up, baked goods. Cupcakes come in flavors such as blackstrap’s booty, a chocolate stout cake topped with a stout infused vanilla buttercream; cherry chocolate stout (which comes in a glorious pie version); and chocolate chip cookie bottom which is a malty chocolate chip cookie topped with a rich chocolate stout cake, topped with either chocolate or vanilla frosting. Those who love a good ol’ chocolate chip cookie will love Prohibition Pasteries’ version, which is baked with a nut brown ale producing a malty, soft and chewy cookie. For those looking to celebrate, order the cherry shandy cake, which is a mix of lemon and hefeweizen infused vanilla cake with a cherry wine filling and cream cheese frosting.

7. Romona Susan’s Bakeshop

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This small Philadelphia bakeshop has made a name for itself by recreating the beloved dessert, tiramisu. Ramona Susan’s inventive seasonal concoction, the “beeramisu,” features ladyfingers soaked in the chocolatey Yard’s Love Stout alternately layered with a mascarpone mousse, which also contains hints of rum and coffee. This indulgent tower comes in a commemorative 16-ounce Yards pint glass for just $10.

8. The Sugar Path

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A post shared by The Sugar Path (@thesugarpath) on Apr 2, 2016 at 7:35am PDT

This boutique bakery located in historic downtown Geneva, Illinois, is owned by the sister team, Michelle and Nina. Honing their talents in baking vintage sweets, they offer a variety of desserts from traditional cake, cake jars and do-cups to cookies, cupcakes and, bars. When it comes to their Sugar Tap cupcakes — cupcakes spiked with booze — flavors range from the classic Irish bomb with Guinness infused chocolate cupcake filled with Whiskey ganache and topped with Bailey’s buttercream; to beer and pretzels, which come in a beer-infused chocolate or vanilla cake topped with beer infused buttercream.

Lastly, should this roundup inspire any home bakers, we leave you with some advice from the talented baking duo at 8 Bit Bakery:

“You can use it [beer] as a substitute for water in most any recipe and there are so many different kinds of beer that you can use to gently nudge a recipe in a variety of ways,” explained the Samecks. “You want to find something that’s tasty but also mild enough that the flavor of the beer won’t be overpowering or sour the taste of the item. Lighter malty beers that aren’t too hoppy tend to work well for caramels and darker, richer beers can help to compliment chocolate items.”

Hailing from California, Chelsea is an inquisitive dessert enthusiast and Golden State Warriors fan. Since graduating from Columbia University, she has amassed a colorful professional background, with experiences in industries that include news production, radio, public relations & media communications. Upon realizing that her true passion revolves around traveling the world, immersing herself in new cultures and eating, she is now a full-time freelance journalist, based in New York City. Chelsea’s work has been featured on Thrillist, The Daily Meal, Yahoo! and MSN, among other nationally recognized outlets. Follow her on Instagram and her blog .