Collaboration beers between St. Louis brewers are nothing new, and we’ve been fortunate enough to try a number of tasty beverages brewed between friends. However, Perennial Artisan Ales recently took collaboration to a new level by partnering with craft beer industry veteran, New Belgium Brewing.
This brew came about thanks to the friendship between the Perennial crew and New Belgium’s Lauren Salazar, who happens to be a fan of Perennial’s stouts. It makes sense, then, that the partnership resulted in the Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout, part of New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series. To put the craft beer giant’s size – and the collaboration’s significance – into perspective, New Belgium produced more of this one beer than all the beer Perennial makes in a year.
Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout pours as a rich, pitch-black masterpiece with a head that puts off the delicious aroma of baker’s chocolate and dark fruit esters. The creamy mouth feel makes this beer a decadent treat, and the slight salty touch complements the sweet chocolate, a combination that sets your taste buds firing. Weighing in at 9 percent ABV, this one is sure to keep you warm this fall and winter.
Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout can be found at most beer bars and bottle shops, along with the tasting room at Perennial. In addition, you can hang out with the fine folks who collaborated on this beer tonight, Oct. 16 at SoHa from 4 to 6 p.m. and at Bridge from 7:30 to 9 p.m., where they’ll pair small plates with beers from both breweries. Tomorrow, Oct. 17, Salazar and Perennial brewmaster Phil Wymore will hang out at iTap’s Central West End location from 3 to 6 p.m.; join them to try a number of New Belgium and Perennial beers, including this fantastic new collaboration.
This article appears in October 2014.