Robin Shepard
Working Draft brewer Clint Lohman with inspirational syrup.
Great Taste of the Midwest pre-events are for everyone, giving those without a ticket to the main event (and there are many) a chance to share in the fun. Breweries and taphouses offer special beer releases. On August 10, Working Draft brewer Clint Lohman will tap a barrel-aged oatmeal stout filled with whiskey and maple syrup character.
What is it? Mom Jeans from Working Draft Beer Company
Style: The oatmeal stout is a dark ale, often rich in smooth notes of caramel and chocolate malt. Oatmeal is added to the grist for body, however despite that and the beer’s dark appearance, they are usually medium-bodied beers. Oatmeal stouts range from 3.8 to 6.1 percent ABV.
Background: Mom Jeans is a riff off the brewery’s Dad Bod oatmeal stout. What makes it different? It’s aged in oak barrels that have had two previous lives, first used by Madison’s Old Sugar Distillery to make Queen Jennie sorghum whiskey, then sent north to Park Falls where Patterson Sugar Bush filled them with maple syrup. After nine months with syrup they headed to Working Draft for aging its Dad Bod oatmeal stout. Lohman was intrigued by the prospect of the beer gaining maple syrup flavor from the barrels.
Dad Bod is made with a half-dozen different malts. It’s rich in the bready flavor of Maris Otter that combines with dark chocolate malts; that gives the beer a light roastedness and a black color. Lohman also added golden naked oats for body. The beer remained in the oak barrels for nearly two months before it was ready for serving under the new name of “Mom Jeans.”
The beer goes on tap this Friday in the brewery. It will also be served at Saturday’s Great Taste of the Midwest. Working Draft is also holding a keg in reserve for Sunday brunch in the brewery’s taproom. Right now, this is a pretty limited beer. However, Lohman does have more of the same maple syrup barrels, so if you miss it now, watch for it to return later in the fall. Lohman does plan to tweak the malt bill of base oatmeal stout just a bit to make it even more compatible with maple, whiskey and oak.
Mom Jeans finishes at 5.5 percent ABV. It sells in the Working Draft taproom for $7/10-ounce glass and $4/5-ounce sample pour.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Soft sweet hints of whiskey and maple.
- Appearance: Dark black color, and a modest bubbly, brown head.
- Texture: Medium-to full-bodied with round-softness.
- Taste: The maple flavor runs throughout the flavor profile. There is solid sweetness, yet it’s not cloying. The maple notes are complimented by soft the roastedness of the chocolate malt and the barrel’s remaining oak and whiskey.
- Finish/Aftertaste: Lingering maple sweetness that combines with malty-roastedness, whiskey and anise-like spiciness.
Glassware: The 10-ounce snifter is a great glass to encourage the slow savoring of this beer’s sweetness.
Pairs well with: s’mores. But mainly it is a dessert beer, good as a nightcap or just sipping to appreciate the layers of malt, maple syrup and whiskey-oakiness.
The Verdict: This beer is rich in maple aroma and flavor, yet it avoids the trap of becoming overly sticky or cloying. That’s in part because of the oatmeal stout behind it all. The chocolate, caramel and breadiness of the malt and oats melds with the maple and warmth of the whiskey, oak and vanilla from the barrel. The boozy side is almost rum-like. That’s perhaps because of the barrel’s early beginnings with sorghum whiskey, compared to what an American whiskey might add. Make no mistake, this is a rich beer in body and flavor. If you like barrel-aged beers, put this on your list to try because there so much complexity in its layers of maple, whiskey and malt. There’s also a distinctive finish that’s spicy, rather reminiscent of root beer (a cola-like sweetness with hints of tobacco and anise/licorice). Mom Jeans sets the bar pretty high in terms of special Great Taste pre-party releases.
