This started as an April Fools Day joke from Wynkoop, but it looks like Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout will debut 10/8:
On October 8, at 5 PM, Wynkoop Brewing Company will tap the first keg of a brand new and immensely unique Wynkoop beer: Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout
Yes, the beer was inspired by our April Fools spoof video this spring, in which we claimed to have released a beer made with bull testicles.
Why actually make such a meaty treat? Months after doing the video (the idea for which hit me while sampling Odell Brewing’s recent and very delicious oyster stout for Jax restaurants), we and our fans are still laughing. Very important, that laughing.
We’ve also met folks around the country who saw the spoof and loved it. (Hello Hawaii!)
Plus, when we sent out the press release and the video link last April, we heard from brewers and beer writers who thought the beer was for real and loved the idea. They wanted samples. So did many patrons who came to the pub to try the beer.
So we’ve turned our joke into a reality.
The beer also serves a good purpose for us. “We’ve been making ballsy beer for the past few years,” notes Andy Brown, our head brewer since 2008, “and this is great proof of that.”
As we joked in the video, we really do love to make beer with uniquely local ingredients. Rocky Mountain Oysters (aka fried bull testicles) are arguably our state’s most popular local dish. They’ve also been enjoyed by humans for centuries. So they’re a dream-come-true ingredient for a Wynkoop beer.
The beer is made with Colorado-grown base malts, roasted barley, seven specialty malts (including special B and smoked malt) and Styrian Goldings hops. The beer gets a small dose of sea salt, too. “It gives the beer an extra layer of Rocky Mountain oyster flavor,” Brown notes, “and additional texture.”
The 8-barrel batch also included 25 pounds of bull testicles that were sliced by hand and then roasted (by Wynkoop sous chef Andrew Langlo) before being added to the beer’s mash.
So how does it taste? Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout is an assertive foreign-style stout, slightly viscous, with a deep brown color. It has equally deep flavors of chocolate syrup, Kahlua, and espresso, along with a palpable level of alcohol and a savory umami-like note.It finishes dry and roasted with a fast-fading hop bite.
The beer is 7% ABV and has 3 BPBs. That’s balls per barrel.
The beer will be available exclusively at Wynkoop Brewing Company and at our table at the Great American Beer Festival, October 11-13 at the Colorado Convention Center here in Denver.
We hope you go nuts for it.
Frightening photos here!
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