Why should beer take a backseat to the craft cocktail movement? Everything is fashion in the 20-teens and that means we can make room for beer and booze inside the same cup. In advance of Silicon Valley Beer Week, we criss-crossed the South Bay for nine beer-infused cocktails that go from ginger beer twists to fancy brass monkeys and dark strawberry kisses.

The Oxford
This British-themed gastropub compliments their sumptuous culinary samplings from the former empire with a steady craft cocktail menu. In “The Bluejay,” they create a sudsy summer beverage by blending Mescal with grapefruit, lime and bitters, and rounding everything out with a lip-smacking lager. 195 S Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale.

Jack Rose Libation House
Named for the favorite drink of John Steinbeck, The Jack Rose Libation house specializes in brewing cocktails that pay homage to tradition while still flirting with innovation. One of their seasonal specialties, “A Man and his Mule,” combines citron, sweet lime cordial, and pink peppercorns with ginger beer and green chartreuse, a liqueur made by French monks since 1737. 18840 Saratoga Los Gatos Rd, Los Gatos.

Paper Plane
Served individually or in a pitcher, “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” finds a home for some ginger beer alongside grapefruit, exotic spices, Del Maguey Vida Mescal, Cimarron Reposado Tequila, Port and Lapsang Souchong Tea—a smoky, piney varietal from the Lapu Mountains that might be the first black tea ever created. 72 S First St, San Jose. 

Mortar and Pestle
The bartenders at Mortar and Pestle have hailed the “Junkyard Heart” as the love child between two cocktail classics, The Moscow Mule and the Mojito. Blending a heavy sloshing of ginger beer with vodka and Jamaican bitters, the tasty mutant beverage then gets cut and cooled with a slurry of lime and ice. 3250 Zanker Rd, San Jose.

Indo Restaurant
This Indonesian fusion spot serves an American take on the classic moscow mule featuring ginger beer, lime, mint, brown sugar and American Harvest Vodka. Even Putin would have to admit this is a good mix of American and Russian before slipping us a mickey of plutonium. 3295 El Camino Real, Palo Alto.

Blacksmith
Arthur Guinness introduced his namesake beer to the world 257 years ago. Each year, humans drink 850 million litres of the thick stout. Pull your weight by trying the “Summer Kiss,” which adds strawberry cider to the dark brew. The already creamy head gets accentuated by a dollop of Crème De Mure. 2048 Broadway, Redwood City. 

Steins Beer Garden
Beer Gardens have been around for more than a century, and the outdoor drinking arrangement is particularly suited to the South Bay’s breezy summer afternoons and pleasantly chilly evenings. At Steins, they serve a couple beer cocktails: “Forbidden Fruit” takes the Floris apple beer then mixes it with Absolut and lemon juice; the “Zen Garden” juxtaposes the hitachino white ale with mandarin vodka, blood orange spice and bitters. 895 Villa St, Mountain View.

Roots and Rye
Every year, fancy people wear big hats and bet big sums on the big horses that run the Kentucky Derby. Named after the hallowed race’s venue, “The Churchill Downs,” this cocktail features the top-notch Fever Tree Ginger Beer bolstering the bourbon, lemon, green cardamom and strawberry aquavit, a concentrate that blends the sweet fruit with spices like caraway, fennel and cloves. 3055 Olin Ave, Suite 1005, San Jose.

Lexington House
The Beastie Boys’ song “Brass Monkey” is not about an alloy ape. It’s about mixing a 40 with OJ, a beverage that technically counts as a Shandy. For those of slightly more discerning tastes, “The Lex Shandy” mixes a Kölsch Ale with gin and simple syrups made of passionfruit and lemon. 40 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos.