You can now have your cake and drink it too. So says the Retort Chocolate Raspberry Cake Stout motto, a brand new beer brewed up through collaboration between South Hills staples Bethel Bakery and Spoonwood Brewing Co. The beer, which made its debut on May 24, combines Spoonwood’s traditional stout with Bethel’s chocolate cake. In addition, with the summer season quickly approaching, creators introduced raspberry puree to loosen up the taste for the season.
“There’s a pronounced raspberry taste that blends genuinely nicely with the chocolate that comes from the cake itself, as well as the grain,” said Steve Ilnicki, brewer and element-proprietor of Spoonwood. The idea for the collaboration came from Bethel Bakery’s pastry chef, Kayla Milliron, who began operating on it in January. She frequently visits breweries along with her family and has noticed the common pairings of stouts and desserts.
Spoonwood, with its proximity to Bethel Bakery, was perfect for collaboration, she said. Ilnicki stated the venture became “an easy factor to say yes to.” After tasting a diffusion of Bethel Bakery’s products, the chocolate cake came out as the winner for the collaboration. That’s fitting, Milliron said, because Bethel Bakery is referred to as “The Cake Place.” Customers often order a chocolate cake with raspberries. The chocolate cake with raspberry mousse, chocolate ganache, and sparkling raspberries will appear at Bethel Bakery beginning June 1. It can also be ordered at any time.
Spoonwood’s stout is a combination of darkish roasted grains and caramel malt. For the 12 barrels — or 372 gallons — made in all, they brought 40 pounds of Bethel Bakery’s chocolate cake. After fermentation, nearly three hundred kilos of raspberry puree were used for the brew. The call “Retort” is a hat tip to some other bakery/brewery collaboration announced in April between Prantl’s Bakery and Cleveland-based Platform Beer Co. Their beer, a blonde ale stimulated by Prantl’s burnt almond torte, is named Torte.
“It’s just a completely playful acknowledgment that Prantl and Platform had executed this,” Ilnicki stated. “It simply sort of like, I see you.” Both Ilnicki and Milliron had been thrilled with how the Retort came out. They’re already taking into consideration ways to collaborate once more in the future. But now, the massive query. Does the Retort sincerely taste like Bethel Bakery’s chocolate and raspberry cake?
“I genuinely assume it does,” Ilnicki said. “You can decide for yourself.” The Retort Chocolate Raspberry Stout can be bought in a selection of ways. A 32-ounce growler turned into made with each organization’s logos to celebrate the occasion. At Spoonwood, located at 5981 Baptist Road, Bethel Park, the beer might be had in 5-ounce pattern glasses, pints, 32- and 64-ounce growlers. The stout could also be available at Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson, Hal’s Bottle Shop, Carson Street Deli, Breakneck Tavern, Fuel & Fuddle, Cain’s Saloon, Double Wide Grill Irwin, Railyard, Dad’s Monroeville, and House 1000 Beers.
