My latest article for The Bulletin, published this week, features a profile of Cold Snap, a pastry stout from Bevel Craft Brewing inspired by Mexican hot chocolate.

The basic ingredients for hot cocoa consist of cocoa powder, sugar and milk, and it is typically quite sweet. Mexican hot chocolate, on the other hand, is a spiced concoction, made with cacao or dark chocolate, sugar and cinnamon. Variations often incorporate vanilla as well as chili spices of some sort.

As a recipe for a beer, stout is a style that works well with these types of flavors, and breweries often craft a sweet, stronger brew to evoke a dessert-like experience.

“All the inspiration (for) this beer is credited to Curtis Nelson, my fellow brewer at Bevel,” said owner and head brewer Nate Doss via email. “He worked incredibly hard to make sure these flavors worked together and we had a ton of fun making the beer. Ultimately, we just wanted to make interesting beer that would fit the fall/winter season.”

Surprisingly, not many other local breweries have dabbled with Mexican hot chocolate-styled beers, although  several have touched on similar Mexican stouts or porters, including Sunriver Brewing, Deschutes Brewery, and Three Creeks Brewing. Bevel’s Cold Snap is a fun and tasty version worth checking out.