The Dark of Winter Beer
Chilly weather calls for nights spent gazing into a fire and ruminating while sipping on a hearty dark beer. Lighter lagers and zesty IPAs are satisfying enough most of the time, but there’s just something about the hefty mouthfeel and liquid sweater that a stout or porter can provide.
The traditional style originated in England and Ireland in the eighteenth century. Barley was roasted longer, creating beer with flavors of coffee and chocolate as well as a thicker texture and darker color. In the time since, dark beers have fluctuated in popularity, but are currently experiencing a massive resurgence.
Luckily, one doesn’t have to look across the pond, or across the country for that matter, to find a good stout. Oklahoma’s craft brewery explosion in recent years has produced several notable examples that can satisfy the ardent beer geek or even newcomers to the craft scene.
Prairie Artisan Ales’ Bomb! is perhaps the most notable. The 13% ABV imperial stout, aged on coffee beans, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and ancho chili peppers, has garnered critical acclaim from around the world, landing the brand on the map.
“I believe Bomb! changed more than PAA’s trajectory. It changed year round, multiple adjuncts, non-BA stouts all together,” enthuses Cody Wilson, brand ambassador for Prairie. “Every year Bomb! has been made, it’s been in the top 100 on Ratebeer. Out of 400,000-plus entries, this means a lot to us at PAA.”
The brand is constantly introducing new styles of stouts or barrelaged versions of some of their other popular favorites, with quality, consistency, and uniqueness being key. “We are looking for flavors that are not obvious and that blend well together,” explains Zach Prichard, owner of Prairie. “We don’t use extracts or syrups, only whole ingredients. After that, we want to make sure you can taste them in the final beer. We want the flavors to be apparent.”
COOP Ale Works is known not just for their Gran Sport Porter, a seasonable and sessionable beer with rich and roasty flavors, but also for their Territorial Reserve series. The Territorial Reserve beers are limited edition, barrel-aged versions of imperial stouts or even more exotic styles like barleywines.
Aging beer in pre-used wine and spirits barrels is a practice that’s been gaining popularity, but must be done carefully. The previous contents of the oak barrel, whether whiskey, rum, or even tequila and gin, affect the final outcome of the beer.
“Big flavor beers need big flavor barrels and vice versa,” says Blake Jarolim, head brewer at COOP. “For example, I don’t think a Chardonnay barrel-aged stout would do much for the beer besides the aging time, but some might disagree.”
For such big and robust beers, the interplay between liquid and oak is a delicate one. “If we know we are going to barrel age the beer, we kind of take a different approach,” explains Zach from Prairie. “A barrel- aged Stout needs to be bigger and more viscous because the barrel will round out and even thin the beer down. Most of the stouts do not taste ready to drink when they go into the barrel. They have a rough, unfinished character. The time in the barrel is the final ingredient.”
Whatever style of dark beer you choose to enjoy this winter season, make it local and enjoy taking the time to savor those unique flavors!.
