I've long said that the biggest issue with beer, whisky and coffee is you're unlikely to enjoy all three at once. In part, it's thanks to many cafes closing at 3pm and too many whisky bars opening at 4pm, but there's also a sensibility to the proceedings. Are you meant to have three separate glasses in front of you at home? Do you pour the whisky into the coffee and serve it as a boilermaker?
Stomping Ground have helped to take the questions and problems out of the equation with another entry into their barrel-aged Into The 'Wood series. It's one they've worked on closely with both America's Westward Whiskey and fellow Collingwood operators, Proud Mary Coffee. To make it, the strong ale spent time ageing in American oak barrels that had previously held American Single Malt from Westward. After some months, they then added cold brew from Proud Mary and golden syrup to make a beer that's rich and complex and – unsurprisingly – seems destined to be enjoyed with a dram (and a coffee too, it turns out we've still ended up with three different glasses). There's a whole lot of brown sugar, molasses and caramel to be found inside the golden brown beer, while there's also roasted espresso and coffee notes that are more akin to plum and blackberries. To top it all off, as it warms, vanilla comes to the fore along with a swirl of dark chocolate while a nutty finish comes across like hazelnuts that have been slowly cooking away in a pot of syrup.
Speaking of topping things off, Westward also played its part by finishing a small amount of whiskey in Stomping Ground's beer, which you can find out more about here.
Will Ziebell
Published October 3, 2024 2024-10-03 00:00:00
