Shaka Berry Pastry Stout

Shaka Berry Pastry Stout starts off with a high gravity imperial stout recipe, brewed with a complex malt bill of roasted malts, chocolate malts, and three kinds of caramel malt. “This beer is so big, that in order to hit our ABV goals, we did a double mash for each batch,” says Theisen. “We were basically using double the grist and doing a really long boil to hit our 10.5% ABV.” In addition to the imperial stout base, the brewers added cocoa powder, vanilla beans, lactose, and a blend of blackberries and boysenberries. “This was a challenging beer because we wanted the chocolate and fruit to be in harmony and not compete with each other,” says Theisen. “I get a lot of cocoa up front, then the berries hit you with a slight tartness that cuts through the sweetness of the rich stout base."