Toasted Coconut Porter

Yes, the Toasted Coconut Porter is back for a short time only.  The first time I used too much sweetened shredded coconut, so I cut back on the sweetened and turned up the volume on the toasted part.  The original posting was here.

The beer has 5.2% and 32 IBU's.  I just heard from a regular last night that they don’t like coconut beers typically, but this one was good enough to like.  Others have commented that it is better than Maui’s because we “didn’t skimp on the coconut.”  It was released on Wed Feb 27, 2013.  Come get some before the weekend it out.

Prost!

Collaboration Beer – Very Berry Stout

KROC club member (kroc.org) and Birko Corp employee Dana Johnson is one of the few that got to brew on our pilot system here at the Yak.   The Very Berry Stout is made like a traditional English-style stout but Dana has made several changes that make this unique.  First we added Grape Nuts in the mash.  Dana adds Grape Nuts to all his beers, apparently as a yeast nutrient.  Then in a 1/2 bbl batch, we added an entire box (20 bags) of Celestial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger Tea!  This gives the berry punch to the dark chocolatey backbone. The beer came in at 38IBU and 6.2%ABV.

You’ll have to give it a try, we release the beer at 4PM on Friday Feb 22nd and Dana will also be around for answering questions (or for being congratulated on a job well done!)

Prost!

Nothing says “I Love You” like Red Hots Wheat

I called it Atomic Firebeer the first time it was released.  Last year for Valentine’s day it was called “Cinnamon Love” and now Red Hots Wheat speaks the plain truth. I keep thinking of the 1973 Golding Earring song “Radar Love” because when I was growing up I always thought the lyrics were “Red Hot Love!”

Released at 4PM on Valentines Day 2013.  The beer is bright red, or deep pink with a “hit you in the face” aroma and flavors of candy cinnamon (think Dentyne Gum). 

Red Hots are made by Ferrara Pan who also makes Lemon Heads and Boston Baked Beans Candy.  More information about them:

• Red Hots brand candy were developed in the 1930’s
• “cinnamon imperials" is a generic name used by the candy industry to indicate a piece of cinnamon hard candy (“Cinnamon Imperials Wheat” has a nice ring to it, but beer lovers would be expecting a high proof instead)
• This candy is made at 245degF in a vacuum, which removes all the moisture and turns into the hard candy we know
• There is actually an inner candy and an outer candy shell (both made from sugar)
• Due to the coloring in the candy, the beer turns bright RED!
• The cinnamon flavor is strongly spicy but not necessarily hot like an atomic fireball. (does this mean we won’t have beer breath?)

Prost!