カカオの彩り (Shades of Cacao)

1 bar limited to 1x kegs max

In a stroke of good timing, we were proud to share our 200th batch of beer with our long awaited collaboration with Minimal, a "bean to bar" chocalatier located in Tokyo. Minimal focuses on bringing out the characteristics of each region they source their cacao from in the final form of a chocolate bar. Before meeting them and trying their products, we thought chocolate had just one flavour: chocolate.

Thanks to their generosity in helping us decide on a nib to use for the beer, we began to see that chocolate could be described as fruity, spicy, herbal, and nutty, and wanted to express this character through the collaboration. We wound up selecting nibs from Columbia, lightly roasted to preserve their spicy, almost herbal nutty character, to pair with the typical chocolate character present in an American Porter. The amalgamation of flavours was enhanced through one of our favourite ingredients of late, Red Rye Crystal, a crystal malt made from rye. The result is the roasty and chocolaty characteristics you would normally expect from a Porter with a nuance of spice, herb, and nut that you usually would not. We think we did a great job in blending the best aspects of both the beer and the chocolate and that the final result is something that expresses the terroir inherent in cacao. It will certainly challenge your perception of "chocolate beer!"

Naming: During discussions held over the several months leading up to the collaboration, Minimal constantly suggested that we approach the cacao nibs as a spice instead of chocolate. While this didn't make much sense initially, as we tried a wider variety of nibs compared to their final amalgamation as a chocolate bar we began to understand the metaphor and why Minimal spoke of cacao in such a way. It was almost as if the nibs came in multiple shades of brown instead of just the plain colour we usually associated with the finished product, hence Shades of Cacao.

Style: Cacao Porter

Malt Bill:

Maris Otter, Munich, Crystal T50, Red Rye Crystal, Carafa 2, Carafa 3 Special

Hops:

Bittering: Millennium

Flavour/Aroma: Centennial

Other:

Columbian Cacao Nibs

Yeast: American Ale 2

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 28

Gas Volumes: 2.3