Tale as old as time: Tall, dark and stout meets a luscious, sweet redhead and—poof!—magic is made. It's no different at Todd English's P.U.B. at Aria, where the cocktail menu boasts—in addition to 50 varieties of beers, including two from casks—a beer "cocktail" as good as any dessert we've ever had. First, the bartender pulls half a pint of Fruli Strawberry Beer. This white Belgian wheat ale has been blended 70/30 with real, fresh strawberry juice for an intensely fruity flavor. This is then topped with a draught of Young's Double-Chocolate English Stout, a classic and beloved liquid treat with deep, unmistakable chocolate notes as well as coffee, malted barley and oats. This Belgian/English union makes an ideal collaboration in the august name of International Beer Day (Aug. 5). But the magic, at least in this case, is in the physics, as the slightly effervescent Fruli immediately begins trying to work its way up into the Young's. So every sip is like a bite of juicy, decadent chocolate-covered strawberry. Of course, you could also use a straw to go straight for the Fruli, but that would be called cheating.


