Hey readers, first off I’d like to say sorry for the delay in my inaugural spotlight of 2019 but I have a good excuse; we’re hitting the ground running here! We grew a ton last year, producing almost double the amount of beer than we produced the year before! This is a huge accomplishment for our small production staff of two for the majority of the year and only became three in the fourth quarter. I’m very proud of the work that Xander, myself and our newest teammate Justine accomplished. But a new year starts and production moves on with new goals to strive for. That being said, even with our growth I still want to take these moments to provide context to our work because that’s what craft beer is all about. I like to think creativity and thoughtfulness is what helps attract people to their local craft beer scene. There’s a story to be told with each beer that goes deeper than what’s presented on the label and I think it’s important that our consumers hear that story from us, whether that be in this email or in our taproom. So today I’d like to provide context to our newest release that we’ve been teasing; let me tell you about Double Crossroader with Maple Syrup.
This might disappoint some of you so I’m going to be blunt but hear me out afterwards…
This is not a pastry stout.
…I hope I didn’t lose you there, so let me explain. Everyones mind is going to go to that double stack of pancakes soaked in the stuff when the hear maple syrup. It’s sticky and sweet but that’s just it; it’s sweet, it’s made of simple sugars from trees, and sugar is yeast food! When we add real maple syrup during fermentation, those sugars are 100% consumed by the yeast and transformed into carbon dioxide and alcohol (so if you we’re wondering how we got this beer to 13.3% abv… yea, we added quite a bit of maple syrup haha). Now that I’m sure I’ve thoroughly broken down your expectations of this beer, let me build them back up. There is a way brewers can still maintain that wonderful maple syrup flavor that makes you think of Sunday morning breakfast; and that is to build a robust beer to hold those flavors up through fermentation. Think of it like a fermentation bait and switch; we create complex sugars that yeast will leave behind through the use of specialty malts and mashing techniques to replace those simple sugars lost from the maple syrup!
So, while I said before this isn’t a pastry stout, that’s mostly referring to the context of what our industry has been trending towards. In the context of Idle Hands’ portfolio, this beer stands as our most robust, rich, and decadent offering to date. A deep dark ale that pours with a thick mocha colored head. At a proper serving temperature of 52F, it presents aromas of delicate high grade maple syrup, melted dark chocolate and freshly toasted coconut. On the first sip, this full bodied ale boasts flavors of rich chocolate mousse, refined cocoa powder, and more maple syrup. A slightly bitter roast reminiscent of fresh brewed espresso finishes the flow of flavor to cut through all of those dessert like flavors; preventing any cloying sweetness and cleaning the palate for the next sip. Pair with hearty flavors like sharp 2+ year aged cheddar, braised short ribs, and roasted mushrooms or root vegetables.
We’ve opted to can an ale of this magnitude for the first time allowing us to deliver it as fresh as possible for our loyal consumers and any EBF goers that will be in town to try us out, possibly for the first time! I know at over 13% abv some might think this beer needs time but I can attest that this ale as aged well our stainless steel tanks for months prior to packaging and is ready to drink as soon as you buy it. Enjoy right away or save one for next year as I expect this won’t be the last time I’m brewing this. Cheers!
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