“Invention, my dear friends, is 93 percent perspiration, 6 percent electricity, 4 percent evaporation, and 2 percent butterscotch ripple.” Those are the words of Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Brewing beer could be said to be much the same, especially these days, when creative beer makers are using all kinds of sweet treats in their recipes, from candy and cookies to cereal and cinnamon rolls. While the notion of a sweet beer may be sickening to those who prefer their hops, malt and water to be unadorned by ingredients more commonly seen in the sticky hands of children on Halloween, there are many more beer lovers whose sweet teeth just can’t be satiated. For them, we present Craft Beer Crosscut 5.11.18: A Flight of Dessert Beer.
Icicle Brewing Dark Persuasion
6.5% ABV, 22 IBU
Icicle Brewing Co. sits in the Bavarian theme park known as the city of Leavenworth, which seems perhaps the most appropriate place for a brewery. Owner Oliver Brulotte, who has deep family roots in Washington’s hop farming history, basically launch the Wenatchee Valley’s craft-beer boom. The brewery draws their water from nearby Icicle Creek, a run-off from surrounded by numerous mountain ranges including the Stuart Range and Wenatchee Mountains. And, Icicle Brewing makes a liquid German chocolate cake, Dark Persuasion. Seriously, this stout tastes exactly like German chocolate brownie, with strong chocolate and coconut notes, a touch of vanilla and a smooth finish.
High Water Campfire Stout
6.5% ABV, 38 IBU
This pitch-black stout is impenetrably dark and tastes of liquid s’mores. That may sound ridiculous, but High Water Brewing didn’t overdo the flavor of graham cracker, and the marshmallow is mostly in the nose. As for chocolate? Well, we’d be lying if we said there was no room for chocolate notes in beer. “Flavored” beers should be met with caution, and often they have a polarizing effect on their audience. But there’s definite charm in a beer that has you reliving childhood memories of eating marshmallows until your fingers were forever glued together and unrolling that worn flannel sleeping bag so you could fall asleep under the stars.
Boulder Beer Shake Chocolate Porter
5.9% ABV, 39 IBU
Boulder Beer Company’s Shake Chocolate Porter (Boulder, Colorado) tastes like a chocolate shake with its rich chocolate aroma and velvety mouthfeel. This beer, which took home a gold medal in the Chocolate Beer category from the 2014 World Beer Cup, is brewed with five different grains, including Chocolate Wheat, and has added cacao nibs. The flavor is sweet chocolate from start to finish.
Rogue Hazelutely Choctabulous
5.7% ABV, 51 IBU
For more than a decade Rogue Ales bartender blending the Oregon brewery’s Chocolate Stout and Hazelnut Brown Nectar, dubbing it a “Snickers.” Rogue Brewmaster John Maier finally said screw it and blended the beers before it reach the bars. The result is Rogue Hazelutely Choctabulous, a perfect blend of hazelnuts and chocolate. It’s dark and decadent with a rich nutty flavor up front followed by a chocolate truffle finish.
Wingman S’mores P-51 Porter
8% ABV
Peter Brown, Wingman Brewers lead brewer on the S’mores P-51 Porter, sang campfire songs he stirred Pale, Chocolate, Victory, Black and Carafa Type 2 malts in the mash tun. As Cascade and Saaz hops boiled he tossed in an endless stream of marshmallows and Honey Maid Graham Crackers. The dessert porter sports a tingly, medium mouthfeel, followed by roasted malt, graham cracker, cocoa and marshmallow with long chocolate finish.
