The Fourth of July is just around the corner, and I must say, I'm pretty darn excited. I've got sleeping in, NOT going into the office, and chillin' with good friends on the agenda.

Lately, the weather has been incredible here in San Francisco. Foggy mornings turn into hot and sunny afternoons, reaching up to 85 degrees! Whenever we get great weather like this, I always crave treats that'll cool me down. The two things at the top of that list: ice cream and beer. Why not combine the two to make one super awesome treat?!

When I was a kid, I loved root beer floats. Big 'ol scoops of vanilla ice cream with sweet and bubbly root beer... who didn't love them? Now that I'm older, I think they're way too sweet—I could never have more than a couple sips. And, now that I'm older (and of age), I can still enjoy the same type of bubbly treat, but decrease the amount of sweetness by substituting out the root beer for a rich and smooth stout.

I'm going to go off topic for a second. To legally be bourbon, the whiskey (made from a mash of at least 51% corn, distilled at no higher than 160 proof) must be aged in new charred oak barrels (at no higher than 125 proof) for at least two years. Because these bourbon makers cannot reuse the barrels to make bourbon, they sell them to distilleries in Scotland to age scotch, distilleries in the Caribbean to age rum, and to breweries to age beer.

Anderson Valley has an oatmeal stout that they age in used Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels for three months. This stout is probably the best I've tasted—incredibly smooth and rich with hints of coffee and toffee, along with sweet vanilla notes from the bourbon barrel. Yum. Combine this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you’ve got yourself the perfect summer treat!