DRINK
Thursday, april 15, 2021 • ThE BullETiN
Continued from previous page
Yet the brewery isn’t afraid to experiment
and try out fresh ideas even with its core
products. This spring, Deschutes introduced
Raspberry Black Butte Porter, a fruit-in-
fused variant “inspired by dessert using our
traditional Black Butte Porter recipe boosted
in alcohol and silkiness.” This limited edi-
tion specialty twist on the classic ale is avail-
able in bottled four-packs.
I reached out to Deschutes to find out
how Raspberry Black Butte came to be and
got answers from brewer James Scott.
“We asked ourselves what we could do to
play with Black Butte Porter to enhance it
that we’d never considered before,” he wrote
via email. “With pastry stouts delighting
craft beer fans, we wanted to bring some of
that dessert driven inspiration to this spe-
cialty, landing on the intriguingly bright
contrast of raspberry to the roasty chocolate
of Black Butte.”
Naturally, I wondered if there was any
trepidation in altering an iconic beer such as
Black Butte.
“Not really,” said Scott, “we really just
wanted to have some fun with it and give
our signature porter a contrasting specialty
twist.”
“(Raspberry will) be the first Porter vari-
ant, but we hope it’s not the last,” Scott said.
“When it comes to fruited beers, raspberry
is classic, but it’s especially cool to play with
it on a dark beer backbone. The tartness and
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acidity with the chocolate roast of BBP re-
ally hits.”
Raspberry isn’t the first twist on Black
Butte Porter from the brewery; Deschutes
releases its barrel-aged imperial porter,
the Black Butte XX series each year for its
anniversary, for instance. And occasional
variations have emerged as pub specialties,
including Whiskey Butte, a blend of Black
Butte with whiskey aged imperial porter
which will arrive in bottles later this sum-
mer.
Deschutes acquired the raspberries from
Stahlbush Island Farms in Corvallis, which
sources its fruit from the Willamette Valley.
About ten pounds per barrel of fresh fro-
zen raspberry puree was added to the brew
“right as it neared the end of fermentation
— about 45 beautiful buckets worth,” ac-
cording to Scott.
The base recipe is an amped-up version of
regular Black Butte Porter, 6.8% alcohol by
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 11
“We asked ourselves what we could do to play with Black Butte Porter to enhance it
that we’d never considered before. With pastry stouts delighting craft beer fans, we
wanted to bring some of that dessert driven inspiration to this specialty, landing on
the intriguingly bright contrast of raspberry to the roasty chocolate of Black Butte.”
— James Scott, Deschutes brewer
volume versus the regular 5.5%.
and fresh. At the same time,
(Both beers have 30 IBUs.)
there’s a touch of green berry
The addition of unmalted
astringency drawn out by the
wheat and flaked oats adds
chocolate malt, a bit remi-
an element of creaminess
niscent of a flavored, fruity
to the mouthfeel and helps
coffee.
offset the natural tartness
The raspberry fruit char-
of the berries.
acter reminds me of Linde-
The beer has the clas-
mans Framboise (raspberry)
sic Black Butte appearance.
Lambic, or more accurately,
It’s black and nearly opaque,
of pouring a half-and-half of
with a creamy tan head. It’s
Lindemans with Black Butte
the aroma where you first no-
Submitted photo
Porter or perhaps an oatmeal
tice the difference; it reaches
Deschutes Brewery recently stout.
your nose even before you lift
Adding fruit to a beer can
introduced its Raspberry
the glass, full of big, bright,
be a tricky process to achieve
Black Butte Porter.
jammy notes of sweet rasp-
the right balance, and in my
berries. There are milder
estimation, Raspberry Black
notes of medium-dark chocolate, hints of
Butte Porter successfully manages this. If
nutty coffee and raspberry pancake syrup.
you’re a fan of fruit beers, or fruit and choc-
The flavor is gently roasty and brings the
olate desserts, then I’d recommend giving
familiar flavors of regular Black Butte (cof-
this beer a try.
fee, bittersweet chocolate, dry-roasted grain, e e Jon Abernathy is a beer writer and blogger and launched
The Brew Site (https://www.thebrewsite.com) in 2004. He
and perhaps a hint of dark cherry) with an
can be reached at jon@thebrewsite.com.
earthy whole-berry fruitiness that’s sweet
Cimarron Boardman,
of Stephenville, Texas,
dismounts his horse
during the tie down
roping event during a
previous Sisters Rodeo.
The Bulletin file
Sisters Rodeo canceled for 2021
For the second year in a row, the Sisters
Rodeo has been canceled due to the rise in
COVID-19 cases and local and state event
restrictions, according to a statement re-
leased by the Sisters Rodeo Association.
“We were not able to meet all of the stan-
dards and protocols established by the state
of Oregon’s health authority,” said SRA Pres-
ident Curt Kallburg in the statement. “With
the limitations placed on events for capacity,
we had to make our decision based on our
financial capabilities to try again next year
to have a full capacity rodeo.”
Any tickets already purchased for the
2021 event — held the second weekend in
June — will automatically be rolled over to
their equivalent 2022 dates.
Contact: sistersrodeo.com or 541-549-
0121
— Makenzie Whittle, The Bulletin
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