Newport Storm's Annual Release: What if Hot Cocoa Was a Beer?

​There’s been something unique about each of Newport Storm's seventeen annual release beers made since 2000 - and this year’s concoction may find its place as the sweetest of them all.

Brewmaster Derek Luke, this year, had an idea. What if he could make an “adult cold cocoa?” The classic beverage, hot cocoa, was a childhood staple for the winter - a great drink after a long, cold day playing out in the snow building forts and sledding. 

One of Luke’s favorite ingredients, chocolate, comes back again and is joined this time by vanilla and milk sugar - which give this beer a marshmallow-like taste. This sweet flavor was discovered after a couple of experimental batches by Luke.

​“I used real marshmallows in one of our experimental batches, but since they’re filled with preservatives, the beer didn’t ferment. That wasn’t going to work for our beer or our beer fans.”

So, he went back to work and looked at homemade marshmallow recipes and learned their base ingredients are sugar, milk, and vanilla.
 
As for the chocolate - it finds its way into this beer in two different ways. Baird's Chocolate malts help build the base for this beer. A unique extraction process from Cacao nibs from Ecuador and Ghana finish off the chocolatey flavor.

Don’t want to choose between chocolate and beer? Open a bottle of ‘16 and have them both!

Annual Releases are known for their unique flavors, extreme qualities, and higher ABV. As with the previous sixteen annual brews before it, the ‘16 is a limited release. Roughly 3,000 bottles were produced and will be distributed in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

The 2016 release is listed with an ABV of 11%. 

​For more information and details on where the ‘16 can be found, visit www.NewportStorm.com.

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