For beer lovers, this truly is a wonderful time to be alive.

Thanks to local and regional craft brewers, there are so many more styles and flavors to choose from than there were just 20 years ago. Back then, the biggest choice for most folks was "regular" or "light" -- and there certainly wasn't much in the way of flavor beyond the common American Industrial Lager (Bud, Miller, Coors).

Now, beer lovers can enjoy full-flavored complex stouts, pale ales, India pale ales, barley wines, pilsners and porters -- just to name a few. It's enough to make an adult act like a kid in a candy store.

Of course, you give a beer lover a sip and she'll take a whole glass -- and some creative beer fans are doing just that by creating even more new flavors while mixing up some inventive beer cocktails.

Beer purists might balk at the very thought of adding anything to their bock, but actually, beer cocktails are not a new concept. Publicans in merry old England have been shaking up Shandies since the 17th century. A Shandy (short for shandygaff) is a mixture of beer and lemonade (or sometimes ginger ale). The result is a cool, refreshing sipper with a sweet-tart tang.

To make a Shandy, just fill a tall pilsner glass nearly to the top with beer and top it with a splash of ginger ale or lemonade to taste. You might want to try it with limeade sometime for a south-of-the-border switch.

Another beer cocktail that is making a comeback is Red Beer (also known as Red Eye or Tomato Beer). Just mix tomato juice and beer half-and-half. You can add a dash of Tabasco and Worcestershire for a Beer Bloody Mary. What a great way to get in some of those five-a-day vegetable servings!

Snakebites and Black Velvets also are commonly seen on cocktail menus these days. Despite the differences in their names, the drinks quite similar. Start with a nice, dark stout and, for a Snakebite, mix it half-and-half with cider. For a Black Velvet, do the same, only substitute champagne for the cider.

Another beer cocktail that features stout is a Bee Sting. It features equal parts of stout and orange juice. Yet another yummy way to get some produce into your diet!

I am not sure if Skip & Go Naked is what happened when the cocktail's creator enjoyed a few too many of his or her invention, but it is a great name. If you dare to try it yourself throw a few ice cubes into a tall glass. Fill it with 1 oz. of gin, 2 oz. of sweet and sour mix. Top it off with your favorite beer (a lighter pilsner style would work best with this one). Just make sure you lock the doors first in case you decide to take reenact the cocktail's moniker.

Whiskey with a beer back is a classic, so of course, putting the two together in one glass is a natural progression. The classic Boilermaker is a shot of whiskey poured into a glass of beer. Its cousin, The Depth Charge, requires that the actual shot glass filled with whiskey be dropped right into the beer glass. The act of dropping the shot glass into the pint glass renders the beer quite active, forcing the imbiber to quickly partake of his or her concoction. One wonders how many dentists have seen patients for fixing chipped teeth shortly after consuming these concoctions.

Mixing beer with different liqueurs is another way to experiment with beer cocktails. Try mixing a dark porter or stout with a shot of coffee liqueur, or try it with cassis or raspberry-flavored liqueur. A light lager could be a fine companion to liqueurs flavored with melon, orange or even peach schnapps.

For beer lovers, a cocktail made with their favorite nectar is just another way to enjoy a great brew. And for people who typically eschew a brew? Perhaps a beer cocktail might just help them see the light (and pale ale and porter and ...).

Lisa Morrison, also known as the Beer Goddess, is a recipient of the 2004 Beer Journalism Award. Offers of beer and chats about beer always are welcome at lisa@ibsys.com.