Cherries and chocolate and bears, oh my!
BridgePort Brewing Company Announces Newest Seasonal Beer – Bear Hug Cherry Chocolate Stout
PORTLAND, Ore. – February, 2013 –BridgePort Brewing Company brewmaster, Jeff Edgerton, has cooked up a crowd pleaser with his newest beer – Bear Hug Cherry Chocolate Stout. This bold, rich stout will be available in all states where BridgePort is sold starting in late February.
“It’s that time of year when the weather is chilly and many beer drinkers are spending their time inside warming up,” comments Edgerton. “Dark, sweeter beers lend themselves to the cold weather and we’ve been musing over doing a beer with cocoa nibs for a long time. The cherries add some sweetness and a very subtle cherry note without being cloying.”
Bear Hug is made with NW pale and chocolate malts that create a full-flavored roasted malt base. Edgerton then layers on a conservative addition of NW nugget hops for a slight bitterness to the base beer and then adds cocoa nibs (roasted, coarsely crushed cocoa beans) during the final hot stage of the brewing process. Finally, Bear Hug is fermented and then aged on more cocoa and dark, sweet cherries to create a surprisingly smooth finish.
BridgePort’s Bear Hug Stats:
IBU’s: 35 ABV: 7.5 Color: Black OG: 17.2
Ingredients: NW Pale malt, chocolate malt, Crystal 30-37, NW nugget hops, roasted cocoa beans and dark sweet cherries.
Description: Bear Hug Cherry Chocolate Stout is a full flavored stout beer that uses a generous amount of roasted malts and an addition of cocoa. This brew is then refermented with 15 pounds of dark sweet cherries per barrel bringing a slightly sweet chocolate notes together to create a surprisingly smooth finish.