| Pastry Beer by Denny Morris Hello Bob - 'm guessing there are a lot of Americans ike me that have been consuming more junk food during the course of the pandemic. I know I've done my part to push up sales of frozen waffles an Oreos, so are beers infused with foods that could euphemistically be called “comfort.” are my style too. I just saw a survey that said 95% of craft beer drinkers prioritize taste over such considerations as ingredient lists, freshness, and provenance. I admit that's me. I love high-flavor, over-the-top styles such as heavily hopped IPAs and, more recently, so-called “pastry stouts”: Those are some of the most powerfully flavored ales available. In fact many are brewed with dessert-like additives, from cannolis to candied apples. Now we're talking. How's this for a statistic that says I'm not alone - sales in the American stout category rose 8% over the last 52 weeks, vs. the same period a year earlier. Sales of tamer counterparts—export stouts and dry stouts such as Guinness—grew barely 2 percent during that time. Besides being rich in flavor, pastry stouts invariably have a high alcohol content—at least 8%—a further selling point in my book The science behind it is that yeast converts sugar into alcohol during fermentation, a process that goes into overdrive when sweet ingredients are thrown in. For me ABV is something I always consider when purchasing beer. Don't get me wrong I buy my share of session beers but they just don't have the flavor of the big guys. As I see it the proliferation of many high-octane / big flavor brews on national craft delivery platforms proves their broader appeal. More brewers are making them than ever before. Of course I guessing that some brewers just add ‘Pastry Stout’ and ‘Imperial Pastry Stout’ to their labels just because they’ve become so prominent. That's okay with me as long as the beer delivers. I did find this quote on the topic by, a spokesperson for Tavour, the country’s largest online craft beer retailer. “While we are heavily into IPAs, stouts are increasing, and pastry stouts are about 15% of sales, currently.” That was unheard of a few months ago. I saw that even in cities such as Boston—historically linked to the most traditional beer styles—high-ABV stouts are seeing unprecedented growth. Earlier this year, Clown Shoes Beer released Hephaestus, a dark beer aged with espresso and flaked, sugary oats. (Think: oatmeal raisin cookies. I was lucky enough to have one and it was great. Earlier this year, Harpoon (one of my favorite breweries) collaborat- ed with a neighboring dessert shop to concoct the eponymous Mike’ s Pastry Cannoli Stout. Brewed with actual pastries from the local landmark, it was an instant hit. And yes I had that one and it too was great. I hope some of your readers who have never tried a pastry beer/stout give it a chance. It's a guilty pleasure but a fun one! Thanks! ------ Thanks Denny for a most enjoyable article. It was a fun ad interesting read. While I enjoy pastry beer on occasion I sometimes find them to be a bit too sweet. They are however a good example of why the world of craft beer is so interesting and enjoyable. . I'd like to invite everyone to send me their own columns about anything related to beer in any way just as Denny did. I select the best and publish them here. So join in and get writing! Cheers! BobI |
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