“Journey from the Light” is a 10% salted caramel imperial stout. The base beer for this contains eight different malts, creating a deep malt backbone. We then crafted caramel in the boil kettle by mixing dark brown sugar with a touch of the first runnings and cooking that into a thick, dark caramel at the bottom of the boil kettle before adding the rest of the wort and boiling vigorously for a few hours to thicken it further. Three hop varieties were introduced to the boil for both bittering and aroma, followed by a touch of lactose near the end of the boil for a hint of residual sweetness post-fermentation. During fermentation, we added multiple bottles of the finest caramel syrup, enhancing both the caramel flavor and boosting the final ABV. Post-fermentation, we used a hint of natural salted caramel flavoring and a pinch of sea salt to amplify the saltiness in the final beer before conditioning for 8 weeks and then transferring it for carbonation. Serve at room temperature.
