- Serving temperature: 50-55º F
- Alcohol content: 6.7 percent ABV.
- Food pairings: Millstream co-owner Teresa Albert recommends “rich, spicy food like barbecued beef, Oaxacan mole or hearty Szechuan dishes.” She also recommends using it to marinate steak and says it is “great with very buttery, well-aged cheddar.” For dessert she suggests chocolate espresso cake and cream puffs or profiteroles.”
- Where to buy: John’s Grocery, New Pioneer Food Co-op, Hartig Drug, The Liquor House and most area Hy-Vee stores. Also, it is on-tap and available in cases at the brewery in Amana, and on-tap at Dave’s Fox Head Tavern (402 East Market Street in Iowa City).
- Price: $8 per six-pack
Politically speaking, Rick Santorum and I are a couple universes apart. However, to my amazement we apparently have one thing in common: an appreciation for good beer. Last month Santorum made a campaign stop at the Millstream Brewing Company in Amana and enjoyed a pint of Back Road Stout–an excellent oatmeal stout I coincidentally decided to make January’s beer of the month.
Introduced in 1996 as Colony Oatmeal Stout, a winter seasonal, it was rebranded Back Road Stout in 2010 and is now brewed year round. It won a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition in 2010 and another gold at last year’s Great American Beer Festival.
Ideally poured into a pint glass or mug, Back Road Stout is a sinister opaque black. When held to a lamp, zero to little light will pass through. A couple fingers of dense, tan head will dissipate slowly to leave a thin cap before dissolving to a ring around the edge. Just popping the bottle cap offers a scent of the roasted and creamy delicacy inside. Back Road Stout smells of coffee, chocolate, oatmeal, caramel, black licorice, brown sugar, molasses, and black raspberry. The taste exhibits much more roasted bitterness, but it basically mirrors the smell with flavors of coffee, chocolate, and black raspberry.
