Photo by Ed Rudolph // Food styling by John Anthony Galang
Brewers and cider makers turn culinary inspo into mouthwatering creations that taste just like meals.
Woodchuck | Campfire Pancakes Smoked Maple Hard Cider
Imagine diving into a cast-iron pan full of strawberry jam-topped pancakes and syrup: This hard cider takes you right there. Starting with a sweet apple flavor that cascades into warm maple syrup and vanilla, it closes with a distinct pancake batter note and light smoke. Definitely drink with breakfast.
Burial | Skillet Donut Stout
A roasty latte perfectly complements a chocolate-glazed doughnut’s richness; so too with this molasses- and coffee-laced milk stout from Asheville, North Carolina. A blend of two cold-pressed Counter Culture coffees add some cherry, raspberry and light roast to the front of the sip, then dark chocolate and milk sugar team up to give the impression of frosting. Pleasant coffee bitterness dries out the swallow.
Right Brain | Spear Beer
This pale ale brewed with actual asparagus—the earthy, fresh-cut aroma leaps off the pour—is a cult favorite May release from the quirky Traverse City, Michigan, brewery. The flavor isn’t vegetal, though; honeylike malts support earthy, green pepper hops that dive into sunny lemon. The most pronounced asparagus note flits in just before the crisp finish.
Ballast Point | Indra Kunindra
This foreign export stout’s brewed with a spice cabinet’s worth of Madras curry, cumin and cayenne, plus kaffir lime leaf and coconut. The deep curry flavor reads as savory rather than spicy-hot; lime sweetness leads the sip before the excellent base stout’s roast lifts the spices. Coconut rounds off the edges and calls to mind a warm bowl of curry soup.
Belching Beaver | Peanut Butter Milk Stout
This San Diego-brewed milk stout hits a nostalgic note: Remember how good a creamy peanut butter sandwich tastes with a glass of milk? That same luscious, nutty peanut butter flavor flows alongside coffee creamer richness; jammy raisin notes emerge before a lightly roasted, bitter finish.
Thomas Creek | Banana Split Chocolate Stout
Banana flavors can work in beers other than German hefeweizens, and this Greenville, South Carolina-brewed dessert beer proves it. The fruit doesn’t overshadow the excellent roasty, chocolatey base stout; instead it helps to evoke the taste of a hot fudge-drizzled banana split.
