Back in January of this year, we had the pleasure to have our bud, Chris, from Resident Culture out from North Carolina for a brew with us. That batch was the 2nd brew on our new (to us) brewhouse at Green Cheek Too, and we and totally messed it up. We re-brewed that beer in March with waaaay better success and then lagered it in our cold room in American Oak Barrels, with Amburana wood added to them, for 10 weeks. Amburana wood, aka Brazilian Oak, is the key ingredient that changes this Schwarzbier into something unlike anything we’ve made before with it’s cacao, cinnamon and cola-like flavors. The beer is a deep brown, almost black, is medium in body, and from first sip, hits with a Cola-like spice character, a bit of nutmeg, some cacao and finishes dry. Such a fun project!