You’d be forgiven for thinking that chocolate, marshmallow, pecan pie, blueberry cheesecake or peanut butter were flavours more associated with desserts than beer. In the United States, however, craft brewers have been pushing the creative envelope once more by developing a whole new style of beer more akin to liquid dessert in a glass.
Termed pastry stouts, these typically sweet, lactose-heavy, usually high-alcohol beers have even gained their own entry into the much-coveted Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines to “reflect the increased commercial availability of these beers”.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact genesis of the style but many credit Southern Tier’s Blackwater Series in 2004 as one of the first exponents. From the 2010s onwards, beers like Cigar City’s Huhnapu Imperial Stout became widely known.
Soon the idea took root across the Atlantic, particularly among Scandinavian brewers. The term ‘pastry stout’ is thought to have originated around 2014.
Rich Flavours
Pastry stouts are almost always strong, sweet beers made from a dark beer base that incorporate culinary ingredients to create a sweet, rich flavour profile that mimics flavours found in pastries or desserts.
Subtle they are not! Pastry stouts are extreme in alcohol and flavour with a full body and smooth, creamy mouthfeel due to residual sugars from a heavy malt bill.
They can be barrel-aged and made with adjuncts, extracts, purees or with natural ingredients deconstructed from well-known desserts – e.g., a Snickers-inspired beer may include cocoa nibs, vanilla, peanuts and almonds. Sometimes they may include oats to boost the body further or nitro to enhance the creamy mouthfeel.
The result is undoubtedly a delicious, decadent, show-stopping beer with undeniable ‘wow!’ factor.
Pastry stouts can get the whole taproom or bar talking. When one’s mind is blown by the first sip of a breakfast stout tasting of chocolate, nut, maple syrup and blueberry pancake, it’s almost impossible not to share the experience with fellow beer-lovers.
They are inclusive, accessible beers that invite new audiences into the fold who love not only the sweet, dessert-like profile but the nostalgia and comfort created by flavours evoking childhood memories.
Defining Quality
With so many ingredients and flavour combinations to choose from, what makes a good pastry stout? A well-made, well-balanced base beer is a good starting block on which to build the sweet flavour profile.
High alcohol helps amplify and balance the flavours while adding to the intense, indulgent feel associated with these beers. Simply throwing a tonne of lactose and Oreo cookies into any beer is not going to cut it. Here, three American craft brewers give their expert opinions on the style:
Kyle Fjalstad is a barrel-programme manager at Craft ‘Ohana (San Diego, California), who won a silver medal for Modern Times Beer’s Mega Devil’s Teeth: Double Dutch S’mores Edition in the first ever pastry stout category at last year’s Great American Beer Festival.
He explains: “A good pastry stout needs to be sweet and high in alcohol, but not taste overwhelmingly alcoholic. It should lend itself well to adjuncts and be less acrid than its Imperial Stout counterparts. In my opinion, the best pastry stouts are barrel aged to give a touch of oak and spirit character and provide more nuance overall.”
Style Roots
Barry Holmes, CEO of The Bruery (Placentia, California), who make a range of ever more innovative, creative and diverse pastry stouts, says: “We take inspiration from all things that have an interesting taste. We usually start with real ingredients including cookies, Oreos, strawberries, etc., and if flavourings will make the beer taste better, we use those too.”
Jeremy Roberts, founder-brewer, 903 Brewers (Sherman, Texas) is renowned for their fruit-forward slushies and adventurous pastry stouts. He comments: “We’re releasing 2–4 pastry stouts a month even in the summer and they appeal to a wide consumer profile, from 35–55-year-olds, both male and female. Consumers’ palates and preferences are constantly changing, so we hope they stick around, but you never know!”
Barry echoes these sentiments and says pastry stouts were not as popular as a few years ago but still desirable. At The Bruery, pastry stouts are popular among regular supporters who enjoy discovering how the brewers interpret a particular taste profile.
Craft ‘Ohana releases three different varietals of pastry stouts a month, typically limited to 300–500 bottles each, and they sell out most months. Kyle adds: “I think people are often surprised when they try a pastry stout for the first time. The appearance can be off-putting for some, but after the first sip they realise just how approachable the style is.”
What’s Next
Pastry stouts are ideally suited to sharing and sparking conversations; but will they last? Kyle comments: “Popularity will ebb and flow, but the breweries making the best versions of them will have drinkers to consume them.”
Barry says: “It's a style that can fade if we don't continue to innovate around it.”
Pastry stouts were judged for the first time in the World Beer Cup 2024. Often called the ‘Olympics of Beer’, the World Beer Cup, organised by the Brewers Association, is the biggest and most competitive beer competition in the world. It attracts 9,300 entries from 2,060 breweries across 50 countries, 25% of which were international breweries in the 2024 edition.
Its goal is to identify up to three world-class beers that best represent each beer style category according to the Brewers Association style guidelines, and it is the one competition that brewers the world over want to win. New styles may be added (or deleted) from the guidelines according to relevance, and this year West Coast IPAs and pastry stouts were new additions.
American craft brewers are renowned for their ground-breaking creativity, relentless innovation and unswerving commitment to quality, and as such are well-placed to continue pushing the boundaries of flavour and creating excitement with new ingredients and new taste experiences. Is it only a matter of time before we see pastry lagers!?
