OnTap Magazine

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact genesis of the style but many credit Southern Tier’s Blackwater Series in 2004 as one of the first examples. From the 2010s onwards, beers like Cigar City Brewing’s “Huhnapu’s Imperial Stout” became widely known and soon the idea took root across the Atlantic, particularly among Scandinavian brewers. The term Pastry Stout itself is thought to have originated around 2014. Pastry Stouts are almost always strong, sweet beers made from a dark beer base that incorporate culinary ingredients to create a sweet, rich flavour profile that mimic flavours found in pastries or desserts. Subtle they are not! Pastry Stouts are extreme in alcohol and flavour with a full-body and smooth, creamy mouthfeel due to residual sugars from a heavy malt bill. They can be barrel-aged and made with adjuncts, extracts, purees or withnatural ingredients deconstructed from well-known desserts, for example, a Snickers-inspired beer may include cocoa nibs, vanilla, peanuts and almonds. Sometimes they may include oats to boost the body further or nitro to enhance the creamy mouthfeel. The end result is undoubtedly a delicious, decadent, show-stopping beer with an undeniable ‘wow’ factor. Pastry Stouts have the ability to get the whole taproom or bar talking. When one’s mind is blown by the first sip of a breakfast stout tasting of chocolate, nut, maple syrup and blueberry pancake, it’s almost impossible not to share the experience with fellow beer-lovers. They are inclusive, accessible beers that invite new audiences into the fold who love not only the sweet, dessert-like profile but the nostalgia and comfort created by flavours evoking childhood memories. With so many ingredients and flavour combinations to choose from, what makes a good Pastry Stout? A well- made, well balanced base beer is a good starting block on which to build the sweet flavour profile. High alcohol helps amplify and balance the flavours while adding to the intense, indulgent feel associated with these beers. Simply throwing a tonne of lactose and Oreo cookies into any beer is not going to cut it. Here, three American craft brewers give their expert opinions on the style: Kyle Fjalstad, barrel-programme manager at Craft ‘Ohana, San Diego, California, who won a silver medal for Modern Times Beer’s Mega Devil’s Teeth: Double Dutch S’mores Edition in the first ever Pastry Stout category at last year’s Great American Beer Festival, explains: “A good Pastry Stout needs to be sweet and high in alcohol, but not taste overwhelmingly alcoholic. It should lend itself well to adjuncts and be less acrid than its Imperial Stout counterparts. In my opinion, the best Pastry Stouts are barrel-aged to give a touch of oak and spirit character and provide more nuance overall.” This award-winning version of Mega Devil’s Teeth is a 14.4% Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels with vanilla, cocoa nibs, and vegan stroopwaffles! BarryHolmes,CEOofTheBruery,Placentia California, whomake a range of ever more innovative, creative and diverse Pastry Stouts, says: “We take inspiration from all things that have an interesting taste. We usually start with real ingredients including cookies, oreos, strawberries, etc and if flavourings will make the beer taste better, we use those too.” WHAT EXACTLY IS A PASTRY STOUT AND HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN? WHAT MAKES A GOOD PASTRY STOUT? WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FOR PASTRY STOUTS? Y ou’d be forgiven for thinking that chocolate, marshmallow, pecan pie, blueberry cheesecake or peanut butter were flavours more associated with desserts than beer, but in the United States craft brewers have been pushing the creative envelope once more by developing a whole new style of beer more akin to liquid dessert in a glass. Termed Pastry Stouts (or Dessert Stouts), these typically sweet, lactose- heavy, usually high alcohol beers have even gained their own entry into the much-coveted Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines to “reflect the increased commercial availability of these beers.” ontapmag.co.za | Winter 2024 | 39