National Caramel Day is April 5 and Peaks and Pints wants to know … is it Kar-muhl or Ker-uh-muhl? Werther’s Original is on the beat. This year, those caramel folks surveyed the nation asking just that question. The results are in. Ker-uh-muhl takes the sweet honors with 57 percent of Americans using the three-syllable pronunciation. Now, the iconic caramel brand is visiting caramel lovers in Carmel, Indiana, to celebrate National Caramel Day. The city will officially become Caramel (ker-uh-muhl), Indiana for the day in honor of the Werther’s Original National Caramel Day celebration. That’s all fine as candy, but if you’re anything like Peaks and Pints you’re more concerned about ker-uh-muhl in craft beer. The results are in: we found five craft beers with caramel notes. Today, we offer Craft Beer Crosscut 4.5.17: A Flight of Caramel.
Postdoc Kilty MacSporran Scottish Ale
5.7% ABV, 18 IBU
We didn’t have look any further than our own Western red cedar tap log to find a craft beer with firm caramel maltiness. Yes, Postdoc Brewing’s Kilty MacSporran Scottish Ale pours a little lighter than other Scottish ales, but we enjoy this beer for its firm caramel tones, smooth body with a slightly sweet flavor and dry finish. It’s not a hearty in-your-face maltiness, but a great beer for people who aren’t into all those hops.
Anderson Valley Boont Amber
5.8% ABV, 18 IBU
Anderson Valley’s Boont Amber is our customer’s go-to for highly drinkable amber. Boont Amber arrives a dark copper with a massive, pearly head. The aroma is clean and dry, like field grasses with subtle, sweet orange scents. The flavor is balanced and clean, with caramel, toffee, macadamia nuts and pecan that last long into the aftertaste. The hops lend both a citrus flavor and a moderate level of bitterness. Boont Amber’s thin body goes down easy; the carbonation only slightly bites the sides of the cheeks.
Oskar Blues Old Chub
8% ABV, 25 IBU
Oskar Blues’ Old Chub is a celebration of malts. The Scottish style ale is brewed with copious amounts of crystal and chocolate malts, and a dash of beechwood-smoked malts. The cola-colored beer features a dense, tawny head; a creamy mouthful and hints of raisin are noticeable in the bouquet, even if it is slightly crowded by the strong malt scent and smokiness. On the tongue expect caramel, chocolate and lightly roasted malt. Complex and rich, it finishes with a whisper of smokiness that calls to mind a fine single malt scotch.
North Coast Old Stock Ale
11.9% ABV, 34 IBU
With a big sherry-like aroma, including hints of vanilla and peppery spice, we’re forewarned North Coast Old Stock Ale is stocky. Sure enough, our first taste highlights caramel maltiness, some brown bread and goes into the molasses with Champange-grape and honey notes along for the ride. In the cocktail world this beer would be an Old Fashioned. It’s hot with alcohol, lip tingling and obviously young, with an assertive bitterness that belies the 34 IBUs. As good as it is today, it will significantly improve with time.
Founders Curmudgeon
9.8% ABV, 50 IBU
Founders Brewing calls its Curmudgeon an old ale, as in a traditional English ale mashed at high temperatures then aged after primary fermentation. Old ales are all about the big malts; Curmudgeon is all over that like an old man watching his lawn. It pours a deep mahogany with a light brown head. The nose picks up alcohol amidst molasses, dark fruits, caramel, vanilla and some wood. We can’t place any hops in the nose because the malts are beating down the hops with a cane. The taste mirrors the aroma, with an almost bourbon-like finish.
