Shaka Berry Pastry Stout
Coronado Brewing Co.
Story by:
Bev Blackwood
Fruit and Spice Beer
Limited Release
California
United States
Judges Ratings 91
Aroma: 22 / 24
Flavor: 36 / 40
Appearance: 6 / 6
Mouthfeel: 9 / 10
Overall Impression: 18 / 20
Description
Shaka Berry Pastry Stout starts off with a high gravity imperial stout recipe, brewed with a complex malt bill of roasted malts, chocolate malts, and three kinds of caramel malt. “This beer is so big, that in order to hit our ABV goals, we did a double mash for each batch,” says Theisen. “We were basically using double the grist and doing a really long boil to hit our 10.5% ABV.” In addition to the imperial stout base, the brewers added cocoa powder, vanilla beans, lactose, and a blend of blackberries and boysenberries. “This was a challenging beer because we wanted the chocolate and fruit to be in harmony and not compete with each other,” says Theisen. “I get a lot of cocoa up front, then the berries hit you with a slight tartness that cuts through the sweetness of the rich stout base.”
Beverage Profile
ABV: 10.50%
IBUs:
Served at: (50º F)
Hops:
Malts:
Judges Review
By Richard Wong
Judges Ratings 91
Aroma: 22 / 24 / 24
Flavor: 36 / 40 / 40
Appearance: 6 / 6 / 6
Mouthfeel: 9 / 10 / 10
Overall Impression: 18 / 20 / 20
Shaka Berry Pastry Stout by Coronado Brewing Co. is being judged as #29B (Fruit and Spice Beer) according to the 2015 BJCP Guidelines. This beer features a wide range of ingredients: blackberry, blackberry, vanilla, cocoa and lactose.
The pour revealed a wonderful pitch-black hue with a tan, creamy head. Bubbles were small and compact and the head lingered a long time in the glass. One could have been fooled thinking this was on nitro, but it wasn’t. The aroma of this beer was to be expected: a nice malty roastiness (chocolate and coffee notes) and minimal hop overtones. I didn’t detect any of the various berries listed, but I did get subtle hints of vanilla. The flavor of this beer had everything listed on the can. I detected dark, roasted malts that had hints of chocolate and coffee notes, a subtle fruit flavor that had a slight sweetness that balanced nicely with the roasted malts. Subtle hop bitterness lingered in the background along with vanilla and lactose. The body of this beer was between medium and heavy with very good carbonation. The mouthfeel had a nice creaminess to it as well. A wide range of flavors for this beer clocking in at 10.5 percent ABV and would be a great sipping beer to have during cold, rainy, dark days. A well-made fruit and spice beer.
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