Delicious craft beer brewed with specialty coffee from Yauco, Puerto Rico.
Creative partnerships
Creative partnerships allow us to explore new ways to create by combining our passions and experience with a quality product, in hopes of bringing you entirely new experiences.
In this blog post we’re talking about our latest collaboration, that also happens to be one of the most refreshing endeavors to date; the Ocean Lab ” Mocaccino Brown “, from their latest Experimental Beer Series, batch No. 4. –An American Brown Ale style beer, brewed with Gustos Reserva, specialty coffee from Yauco, PR and a touch of local cacao nibs.
Coffee’s relation to Chocolate and Beer
Granted, it’s much easier to picture yourself drinking a hot mocha or frozen coffee, than it is a beer with a hot shot of coffee mixed in… Coffee’s relationship with chocolate is a more common pairing rooted in tradition, than perhaps beer and chocolate, let alone all three flavor profiles combined in a single drink.
Perhaps what is even more shocking is how recently a group of scientist and archeologists discovered that chocolate was originally a by-product of brewing… beer. “Early cacao drinks were mostly beers brewed from fermented caco pulp by ancient civilizations ” – read more on that Here!
So, as it turns out beer, chocolate and coffee share a lot in common. Their processing’s are quite similar as it involves fermenting, roasting and brewing high quality ingredients, to produce and develop flavor, body, aroma and taste.
Also worth mentioning, at some point all of these commodities have been used as a form of currency. The Mayans used chocolate as money , in Mesopotamia workers were paid in beer , and coffee is an important global economic commodity.
” Though often times enjoyed at different times of the day, coffee and beer both serve to enhance your mood”
Brown Ale, the perfect canvas for an Autumn Coffee beer
The Brown Ale is one of those old-school style beers that almost got lost to history but was later revived out of obscurity by local independent craft brewers.
This style of beer ranges from a deep amber to a darker brown color. Caramel and chocolate flavors are naturally developed during the malt & grain roasting process while added bitterness and body are attributed by the selection of hop varieties within the mash blend to add balance.
This experimental batch is a very limited production run, as only 2,500 bottles of this beauty have been brewed!
Process
For this particular beer, we asked José Flores, master brewer at Ocean Lab what his technique and approach was when using Gustos Coffee. When dealing with coffee, you want to be able to extract good flavor from it, and by using a “dry-hop” technique they were able to achieve the depth of flavor they were looking for. Dry hopping is a technique similar to steeping tea, in this case, they steeped fresh roasted coffee from our farm in Yauco, P.R. for several hours, until cool before finalizing the beer.
Beer Tasting
Upon first opening the bottle, you are presented with a fresh aromatic welcome from Yauco’s delicious coffee, trademark of Gusto’s quality and coffee growing experience.
Once you pour the beer, Ocean Lab’s brewing expertise is evident as aromas start to really open up, with a smooth amber colored cascade hitting the glass, while a rich, dense foam builds up stirring the smooth, warm caramel and coffee and cacao notes together before settling down.
Results
The result is an American Brown ale with a harmonious blend of intense Puerto Rican coffee flavor accompanied by smooth chocolate notes and a light caramel after taste. With an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 7.15% it’s a surprisingly smooth and strong – yet refreshing beer, characteristic of Ocean Lab’s brewing expertise, that’s meant to be enjoyed over and over especially in Puerto Rico’s warm tropical climate.
Already a crowd favorite, we’re thrilled to offer coffee lovers and the local craft beer community a new coffee drinking experience, with the latest in Ocean Lab’s experimental series batch No.4 ” Mocaccino Brown ”
Did you happen to be a part of the lucky few that was able to try these limited edition beers? If so, hit us up in the comments in our Instagram page, tell us what you liked about it and keep an eye out for all their latest experimental series beers and more announcements from Gustos Coffee Co.
