Beer floats are the perfect balance of bitter and sweet. They replace the bite of root beer with the adult buzz of beers while preserving the ice cream of our youth, and are a very permissible excuse to have alcohol for desert.  Two establishments are filling the void of beer floats in Portland bars and restaurants, and doing them well year-round.

At Breakside Brewery, the house Dry Stout (4.2% ABV), an Irish-style chocolaty brew (think an artisanal version of Guinness) is paired with vanilla bean ice cream. And the brewery recently paired with Salt and Straw Ice Cream for an ice cream social that served Salted Caramel Sweet Stout (6% ABV) and Bailey's Irish Cream with Irish Stout ice cream.

At both locations of Pix Patisserie, the crowd-pleasing treat combines the sweet yet bitter-ending taste of Rogue Chocolate Stout (6% ABV) with the house made mocha ice cream.

Want to give it a try at home? Keep the beer dark and rich and don’t be afraid to experiment with different ice cream flavors. Have a favorite pairing? Let us know in the comments.

Photo via Flickr user mwkelly