One of Chicago’s most well-liked craft breweries is teaming up once more with one of the city’s most well-liked Christmas candies this season. Together, Hop Butcher and Frango Mints have developed another distinctive beer blend.
Fans of beer and chocolate have been anticipating this match for a while. “Delicious. It has an exact Frango Mint flavor “Liz Marsh, an aficionado for craft beer, noted. Actually, “It tastes like Christmas.”
To experience what is quickly emerging as a new Chicago holiday tradition, Marsh brought her 5-month-old baby Reed to the recently established Hop Butcher brewery and taproom on Lincoln Avenue on Wednesday.
The second year of Minted will be released today, according to Jeremiah Zimmer, a co-founder of Hop Butcher. Which is a joint effort with our pals at Frango Chocolates, the Christmas imperial chocolate mint stout.
What is the process for creating a beer that tastes like Frango Mints? Hop Butcher’s Head Brewer Justin Miller described it as “a little bit of art, a little bit of science, and some imagination.”
Miller claimed that after adding chocolate, they mixed in the genuine mint concentrate used to make Frangos to an imperial milk stout base.
“A tiny quantity transforms the entire beer. It has a lovely mint flavor and scent, “Miller stated.
The Frango-Hop Butcher cooperation started in 2021. Only 500 cases total were brewed, and they were all consumed within a few hours.
Craft beer enthusiasts like Dave Stasior are taking advantage of the fact that they are producing almost twice as much this year.
“When these were first released last year, one of my friends managed to obtain a four-pack. He shared it with me because he was one of the fortunate ones. The greatest I’ve ever had. I informed my wife that I would be coming down here when Instagram was released yesterday. I was not going to miss out because I live in the suburbs, “explained Stasior.
As with the well-liked Affy Tapple beer from Phase Three Brewing and the Garret’s Carmel Corn beer from Revolution, “Minted” is part of a rising trend that combines craft beer with recognizable Chicago goods.
There are companies in Chicago that I would want to collaborate with, Zimmer added. “Giardiniera and barbecue sauce both feed into the same area. This is bringing two of your favorite things together.”
Additionally, there is a special Frango Mint beer that has been aged in bourbon barrels that is only sold at the brewery taproom on Lincoln Avenue if you want to go bonkers.
