They are two of summer’s signature indulgences. But ice cream and beer, one a childhood staple and the other a primal toast of adulthood, have long worked opposite ends of the picnic.

Now they’re starting to become acquainted, as a new kind of sweet gains traction: beer-flavored ice creams and floats, from a number of small dairies around the country.

Think ice cream made with Belgian-style Tripel ale and apricot jam; a three-hops ice cream with chunks of upside-down cake baked with candied pineapple, tangerine zest and hop leaves; or a scoop of vanilla floated in a creamy milk stout.

Mixing alcohol and dairy isn’t revolutionary. Liquor has long shown up in bourbon milkshakes and rum-raisin ice cream. But as artisan ice-cream makers seek local ingredients that push the envelope, craft beers offer new dimensions, said Jeni Britton Bauer, the founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, Ohio.