A HOLIDAY BEER WITH A MALT BALL CENTER…
(READ ON, BEER VOLK!)
San Diego, CA – December 12, 2008 – It is tradition at Karl Strauss that each winter a different Karl Strauss brewer gets to try their hand at the Holiday Beer.  This year the opportunity fell to our very own Ian Young.  Ian knew he wanted to brew a Stout, but he had visions of malt balls dancing in his head.  Our friends at Briess Malting had kicked off the holiday season for us with a sack of Briess malt balls and that’s when inspiration hit – Ian wanted to use the malt balls in his holiday beer.  Some thought he was crazy, others were intrigued, but no one expected the end result to taste so good.

This beer is rich and full-bodied and based off of a recipe for a classic Russian Imperial Stout.  But we used large amounts of chocolate malt and dark caramel malt for a less roasty version of the classic style.  Rolled oats introduced during the four-step mash helped create a smooth and full mouthfeel.  A blend of Willamette and Chinook hops were added solely for balance, and then came the fun part.  The equivalent of 5,000 malt ball centers was tossed directly into the boil.  “I wanted the four-step mash to create a dryer taste from the barley and then have a lingering sweetness from the non-fermentable malt ball sugars added during the boil. I love malt balls, but now I think they taste even better in beer!” said Ian. 

Karl Strauss Imperial Malt Ball Stout is a rich, full-bodied stout with loads of chocolate flavor and a subtle sweetness imparted from the malt balls.  This is the perfect winter warmer on a cold night, and at 8.5% ABV, you won’t need a fire to warm you up.  The hint of chocolaty sweetness makes it an excellent match with heartier fare such as holiday roasts and of course chocolate desserts. 

You can enjoy the Imperial Malt Ball Stout at all six Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurant locations and select bars across Southern California during the month of December.

Karl Strauss Imperial Malt Ball Stout

8.5% ABV

85 SRM

30 IBU

About Karl Strauss Brewing Company

Two college grads, a 75-year-old master brewer, and a passion for beer… when Karl Strauss Brewing Company started brewing full-flavored, quality handcrafted beer in 1989, it was the first craft brewery to open in San Diego since Prohibition. Today, you can enjoy our flagship beers, special releases, and seasonals at any of our six brewery restaurants or other fine drinking establishments throughout Southern California. For more information visit karlstrauss.com or call the brewery at (858) 273-2739.

That’s Steve Raub, who co-owns Eagle Rock Brewery with his son, Jeremy. The gentlemen were kind enough to show Mrs. Beer and myself around for a while on Saturday.

It was very cool to see the place in an unfinished state and it will be great (and informative, which is good news for you, Beer Reader!) to watch it go from warehouse to a bunch of brew equipment on a floor to a functioning, beer factory*! The picture above is a bit older, as the brew kettle now sits in the dead center of the floor. Here’s a shot of the mighty kettle:

The story of Eagle Rock Brewery has some pretty serendipitous moments—the Ale Smith brewery was getting a new system just as Eagle Rock was on the prowl for brewing equipment. A few more sessions of extreme cleaning and this baby will be ready to brew.

The primary fermenters are, like you’ll find in many craft breweries, from a dairy. Processing milk requires the same high standards of cleanliness as beer, so these vessels are perfect for aging of sweet, sweet brew. The large white tank on the left in the top pic is one of these fermenters, and by the time we had our tour Saturday, it had been joined by yet another—which is good, as more fermenters means more beer. Here too there was fortune afoot—the two fermenters are in fact from the same dairy, had been separated a while back, but were brought together again when the fellah who had one of them heard a brewery needed it.

We sampled a lovely sweet, slightly spicy beer the Raub’s brewed which I’d be happy to have been served at any bar. Or from my fridge. It has the qualities of a dubbel, and I think The Kolonel would be quite a fan.

I’ll be uploading pictures and hopefully some video too and plan to visit every few weeks and watch the place grow. Once it’s open… I will be visiting much more often. Perhaps they will provide me my own special mug and a cot. Or maybe a hammock.

* I believe these are also, at times, referred to as “breweries.”

Eagle Rock Brewery