[Part II] A secret beer mission, talking about wood on the internet, getting generational and finding myself in beverage tourism territory
The year is 2018. I have a bottle opener in one hand, and a 330ml brown glass bottle in the other. There is a hissing sound, followed by a glugging one. A few splashes. Dark liquid oozes out of the neck of the bottle.
I am having my first ever taste of a seasonal stout called Caribbean Chocolate Cake[i], brewed not far from me by Siren Craft Brew. Obsession.
Described as a dense, rich and luxurious 7.4% ABV Tropical Stout, this beer delivers what it serves. Better get another bottle before they are all gone. I’m hooked.
The following years roll by, and I patiently await the annual releases of Caribbean Chocolate Cake. There were many iterations, including Caribbean White Chocolate Cake, Caribbean Chocolate Pancake Stack, Caribbean Chocolate Ginger Cake, Caribbean Chocolate Mole Cake, Caribbean Christmas Cake … many Barrel Aged Caribbean Chocolate Cake versions, and plenty of Death by Caribbean Chocolate Cake, too.
And then its 2022 and Siren shock everyone by releasing Curiosity, Candour and Charm[ii] instead of Caribbean Chocolate Cake. The stout world is in shock. Drinkers forget to swallow their beers. The music stops in every single pub even without strangers walking in. Birds stop singing. Wasps become the friendliest insects in the world and offer you a taste of their picnics instead of harassing you during yours.
Eventually though, the dust settles, music starts playing again, wasps shake their heads in disbelief, birds are singing arias, and the dark beer world celebrates Curiosity, Candour and Charm in unison, some drinkers already looking forward to next year’s stouts[iii].
The year is 2023. I have four cans and a limited-edition glass in front of me. There is a hissing sound, followed by a glugging one. A few splashes.
I am having my first taste of Nitro Caribbean Chocolate Cake. Self-indulgence.
There is another hissing sound, followed by a glugging one. A few splashes. Caribbean Chocolate Cupcake flows into my glass. Dreams.
Hiss. Glug. Splash. Caribbean Chocolate Salted Cherry Cake. Hedonism.
There is a final hiss. An audible glug. A few splashes. Death by C.C.C. is here. Opulence.
/ˈadʒʌŋ(k)t/ generations
Adjuncts-driven stouts can divide a nation. Or should that be, Adjunct-forward stouts will divide a nation?!
Contrary to what some people might think, adjuncts have been added ever since we started to brew, so certainly not a craft beer hype.
But what are adjuncts and why should I care? I really like Merriam-Webster’s definition in the broadest sense: “adjunct, noun: […] something joined or added to another thing but not essentially a part of it […]” [iv].
In beer terms this translates to things added to the basic beer recipe. And by basic, I mean the water-malt-hops-and-yeast-mixture we collectively know as beer.
Ingredients, other than the four above, like as berries or honey, cacao nibs, doughnuts, wood chips, maple syrup, oyster shells and chocolate bars, have been added to the mash or boil for eons, to offer some extra fermentable sugar to turn into alcohol, or to add just the right amount of je ne sais quoi to be daring, audacious, shocking, scandalous or simply terrifying, as well as lip-smacking delicious.
Traditional oyster stouts have been enjoyed by generations long before craft brewers threw brownies into the kettle, but adjunct brewing has truly found a home in the craft brewing scene.
Talking of oyster stouts, a damp evening a few years ago, the husband and I found ourselves in a pub after a walk in the countryside. Always keen to drink cask ales, we got chatting to the publican about a stout that was on offer.
“Ah, yes. It’s a goodun … shame they had to change the name, causes too much grief now” the landlord offered shaking his head, “we used to sell it simple as an oyster stout, but the younger drinkers were put off by that and didn’t buy it. So, the brewery changed the name and now it is flying off the shelves. Still the same beer, mind, but now with a less offending name apparently. All about marketing these days to attract different generations… except the older folks won’t buy it now as its too fancy”
Yet whether you are a generational, situational, or habitual drinker, adjunct stouts are here to be enjoyed, with or without fancy names.
And no matter how adventurous or traditional you are, you can be certain that you will find your perfect adjunct driven stout.
Beverage Tourist, noun
Have Beer, will Travel: Being born in Germany with a set of Bohemian grandparents and living in England, sets you up for a love of good beer and appreciation of other brewing traditions.
I’ve always liked clean and crisp beers, such as Pils or Blondes, as well as the malt-dominating yet still refreshing ones which had a bit more oomph! like your typical Oktoberfest or Helles. This love for good beer then led naturally to the malty and sweet beers, Dunkel, Schwarzbier and Milds, and eventually culminating in my appreciation of dark & roasty beers, with Schwarzbier bridging the gap and filling the hoppy yet malty niche, taking me all the way to Stouts.
And I do believe wholeheartedly that we all need some beverage tourism TLC every now and then.
Public Announcement: That does not mean that I advocate for getting sozzled abroad! Far from it – Please drink responsibly, for your health and sanity, and anyone’s around you.
Beverage tourism includes wine tasting, vineyard tours, camping in orchards. It includes getting your hands dirty and helping during harvest or enjoying a beer flight at a brewery. Beverage tourism means visiting your local distillery during an open evening, or meeting brewers and winemakers at festivals.
I may even go as far as saying that my love language is drinks tourism. I actively seek new aromas and flavours but combine them with travelling and I’m right in my element. And as such, the husband and I are actively seeking out those beverage tourism moments, where you find yourself in a place you don’t speak the language, but you unite over a glass of the local brew.
And yeah, it is a big cliché and I’m washing my mouth out as soon as I finished writing this but, crack open a few cans of adjunct forward stouts[v] from a local brewery[vi] and giving yourself to the experience of tasting the liquid fully, is comparable with travelling when it comes to enjoying the moment.
Lights, Camera, Action
And, if you’re me and you’re lucky enough (eeeeekkkk!!), said brewery invites you to taste test said seasonal stout series before anyone else can get their paws on them. And, if you’re super lucky you get to chat about the beers, the stories and brewing processes, as well as the ingredients, to the legends that are Siren Craft Brew and fellow stouts lovers live on YouTube.
Who doesn’t love to talk about wood on the internet?
If you wanna catch up, the whole 2 hours of quality adjunct-driven stout fun can be found on their YouTube channel and at the end of this post.
The year is 2023. I have four cans and a limited-edition glass in front of me. There is a hissing sound, followed by a glugging one. A few splashes…
Macht’s Euch fein!
Guten Durst
xxx
Caribbean Chocolate Cake 2023 – Live Tasting
Taste Notes & Food Pairing Suggestions
Nitro Caribbean Chocolate Cake
Hard pour — you gotta go hard! Pouring a clear as-dark-as my-soul black with a light tan, smooth mousse-like head, this one promises a lot. On the nose oodles of dark chocolate, dark roasted coffee grounds, finishing with orange peel and dried fruit, hinting at cranberry and perhaps fig? On the palate extremely smooth and indulgent mouthfeel, soft effervescence highlights a rich chocolatey note which eventually morphs into bitter coffee. The bitterness is dominating but plays well with a soft and heady vanilla character. Notes of baking spices, candied and fresh zesty orange peel pop in and out, leading the overall drinking experience into velvety mouthfeel with a lingering dry and bitter finish.
Coming in at a moderate 7.4% ABV, this CCC beast is medium to high bodied, with a soft bitter-sweetness balanced by a gentle, yet structured drying astringency, rounded off by spritzy acidity.
With this one you had me at Nitro, but there is so much more to it: chocolate, coffee and orange peel, this is certainly not your generic orange flavoured chocolate (I see you Britain!) — you have to try it to understand! And, damn, its smooth!
Food Pairing Suggestion: Cured Salami
Caribbean Chocolate Cupcake
Pouring a clear rich black with a very light tan head, this cupcake packs a punch! On the nose complex, with a fresh hoppy character hinting at ripe stone fruit, followed by rich milk chocolate, reminding of a creamy fruity hot chocolate. On the palate a gentle effervescence leads a smooth creamy chocolate character through a central bitterness, which is complimented by indulgent vanilla. This stout is soft fluffy milk chocolate infused with bitter chocolate curls.
With its mode rate 5.4% ABV, this stout is full and robust, with a soft spicy backdrop: here cinnamon takes the lead role and rides off into the sunset with vanilla whipped cream. Medium bodied, medium alcohol and heaps of chocolate aromas and flavours, there is so much to this stout, it’s impossible to describe it without drooling uncontrollably.
Oh, and before you dismiss this lower ABV CCC baby, this is not a cloyingly sweet generic vanilla chocolate stout you may see around this time of the year — this is the real deal!
Food Pairing Suggestion: Red Leicester
Caribbean Salted Cherry Chocolate Cake
Pouring a clear deep black, topped with a red to dark tan head, this medium bodied, medium alcohol stout soothes with rich chocolate, smacks you in the face with tart cherries, and satisfies with a gorgeous salty kiss — it does what it says on the tin!
On the nose juicy ripe red and black cherries lure you in, followed by soft bitter chocolate notes. On the palate a gentle effervescence takes you through a rolling wave of recurring juicy cherry notes and dark chocolate with just the perfect hint of salt.
Vibrant sweet and sour cherries, almost reaching fruit compote status, layered with indulgent chocolate mousse richness, cut with just the right amount of salinity which comes alive with every sip in this 7.4% ABV bold stout.
I love how the high cherry acidity plays cat and mouse with a generous daring chocolate bitterness — your basic afternoon Black Forest Gâteau has grown up: This is Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte 2.0 (Sorry-not-sorry fellow Germans)
Food Pairing Suggestion: Moussaka
Death By C.C.C
Pouring a clear black with a light tan head, this stout is one for the soul! On the nose unabridged baking spices, with cinnamon hitting upfront, uplifting fiery ginger guiding you to a deep clove moment, all packed into a gooey, warming dark bitter chocolate experience. I’m not drooling, you are!
On the palate oodles of German Lebkuchen, chocolate covered ginger bread, spicy cinnamon, and an array of warming baking spices. Loud ginger carries indulgent chocolate to a creamy yet dry finish, with a lingering smooth dark chocolate aftertaste. Soft astringency balances the sweet notes, while offering enough structure to boost the spices to create a full bodied, high alcohol beauty!
This may sound like stressy a-lot-going-on-all-at-once-kinda scenario but fear not: this stout takes you by the hand, holds on tightly and gently lulls you into submission — you won’t regret opening it.
Every now and then a beer comes into your little world for which you were not ready yet — this is it! Its bold, its chocolate, its baking spices, it is Death By CCC
Food Pairing Suggestion: Wild Boar Sausages
[i] Siren Craft Brew, Caribbean Chocolate Cake (2018), https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/beers/seasonal-range/caribbean-chocolate-cake [Accessed 30/11/2023]
[ii] Siren Craft Brew, Introducing Curiosity, Candour and Charm https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/beers/curiosity-charm-candour [Accessed 30/11/2023]
[iii] Siren Craft Brew Caribbean Chocolate Cake 2023 https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/caribbean-chocolate-cake—2023
[iv]Merriam-Webster Dictionary, adjunct -noun https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjunct [Accessed 29/01/2024]
[v] Read: Caribbean Chocolate Cake Series 2023, but also applicable to other beers, wine, cider and spirits of all varying ABVs
[vi] Read: Siren Craft Brew
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