The Enduring Appeal Of Mole Beer.
Depending upon which legend you are partial to, mole sauce might be attributed to an Aztec king out to woo a Spanish deity or Catholic nuns in Mexico seeking to impress an archbishop. While these origin stories of the complex, flavorful Mexican sauce often made with chocolate and chili have their doubters, legions of foodies—and now beer drinkers—are more than willing to make a pilgrimage for a taste. And for some brewers, this can mean trouble when their popular mole-inspired, chili-chocolate, dark beer runs dry.
“People bring out the pitchforks and torches demanding our Mexican Chocolate Stout,” says Jeremy Gobien, owner and head brewer at Copper Kettle Brewing Company in Denver. His take on a mole ale was a gold medal winner in the Herb and Spice Beer category at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011.
One woman who made the trek over an hour up the Front Range for a taste was particularly disappointed to leave empty handed.
“The day she visited just happened to be the one day out of a hundred it wasn’t on tap,” he recalls. She got so angry we had run out she started swearing at me,” he adds, sounding a little in awe at the power this riotous flavor combination has wrought on craft brewing culture.
This story is from the #119 (December 2016) edition of BeerAdvocate magazine.
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This story is from the #119 (December 2016) edition of BeerAdvocate magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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