HORTONVILLE, NS – Atlantic Canada Beer Blog reports that Horton Ridge Malt & Grain has announced the release of the first in a series of limited edition bottled beers from its small on-site brewery – as well as its first beer to be brewed using a small amount of malt from another facility.
As explained by ACBB, “because their kiln is hot water-based, there is a limit to how dark they can go (and truly “roasted” malts are out of the question).” This has limited the brewery to producing paler beers in order to meet its self-imposed rule that only beers made using 100% Horton Ridge malts will be available on tap and for growler fills.
However, in order to venture into other styles, the brewery decided to launch a series of beers that would “bypass the taps and go straight into bottles” in order to get around the rule. The first in the bottled line-up is Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, which is described as follows:
It’s still 90% Horton Ridge malt (2-row, oats and CaraHorton), but the other 10% is chocolate malt and roasted barley from other sources to give it a deep roasted character and typical deep brown-black color. Hopped with Fuggles and Perle, it also got a dose of cacao nibs in the fermenter to enhance the chocolate flavour.
Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is available now in 650 ml bottles at the Horton Ridge taproom and the brewery’s stall at the Wolfville Farmers Market while supplies last.