About this time last year, on the heels of its wildly attended barrel-aged Abraxas release, the folks at Perennial Artisan Ales quietly tweeted the details of its next barrel-aged beer: the barrel-aged Sump, an Imperial stout collaboration with South City’s Sump Coffee aged in Rittenhouse rye barrels.
Despite the low-profile announcement via Facebook and Twitter, the beer sold out in less than 24 hours, received rave reviews, and eventually won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in October. The success of that release prompted the Perennial brewers to consider a non-barrel aged version for wider distribution this year.
Enter the 2014 Perennial Sump, released yesterday, Feb. 20. The Perennial team worked with Sump owner Scott Carey to select a coffee bean that best plays off of the base beer’s rich chocolate notes. After many trials, the team chose a light roast of Colombia Los Pinos. Known for its smooth, slightly sweet, chocolate characteristics, the bean works harmoniously with the Imperial Stout beer. The coffee was brewed using the cold toddy method, then pumped into the bright tank.
The result is an Imperial stout with huge coffee and chocolate aromas and a rich, velvety mouth feel. The Colombia Los Pinos bean adds a sweetness reminiscent of berries. Weighing in at 10.5 percent ABV, this beer is one to be sipped, not gulped. This will also bring some of the more interesting coffee characteristics as the beer warms.
In addition to Perennial’s Tasting Room, Perennial Sump also will be available in 750-milliliter bottles at better St. Louis-area bottle shops.
This article appears in February 2014.