From the Beer Writer: By day, I work at Stone Brewing Co. Among my many tasks is perpetual perusal of the company’s social media accounts. There is no one sentence I’ve read on our Facebook and Instagram feeds more than, “Bring back the DayMan!” This comes courtesy of the many, many beer enthusiasts who fell in love with the coffee India pale ale (IPA) of the same name Stone brewed collaboratively with Two Brothers Brewing Company and award-winning (then) Chicago homebrewers from Aleman Brewing Website back in 2012. Despite constant pleas from the public, the beer hasn’t been rebrewed, but the closest thing to it is currently on tap at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station. In celebration of that venue’s two-year anniversary, Liberty Station Brewing Manager Kris Ketcham used DayMan and other beers as inspiration for a “Mocha IPA” incorporating coffee, chocolate and milk sugar to give the hoppy concoction the flavor of an altogether different kind of “brew.” Cascade, Amarillo and Citra hops add interesting citrus notes to a roasty, semisweet beer that’s anything but ordinary and will go over well with Stone fans who’ve been jonesing for its co-inspiration like Starbucks addicts a week into caffeine withdrawals.
From the Brewer: “I’ve been contemplating this beer for a long time. I’m a fan of previous Stone collaboration beers, Aleman/Two Brothers/Stone DayMan Coffee IPA and Bodebrown/Stone Cacau IPA, as well as Stone Stochasticity Project Master of Disguise—a golden imperial stout incorporating coffee and cacao nibs. I decided I wanted to take all these great flavors and put them in one glass in hope of making something that resembled a mocha espresso you get from a local coffee shop. We used lactose in the brew to get a creamy base, golden espresso from San Marcos’ Ryan Bros. Coffee for the java flavor and a blend of stone-ground chocolate used in Stone w00tstout 2.0 plus some sent to me from my friends at Fort Myers Brewing Co. (that they use to brew their award-winning chocolate stout) to make everything sing together. The result is a beer that hits your nose with chocolate, followed by coffee and nice, hoppy citrus notes. It’s like someone took a coffee stout and an imperial IPA and made a love child. Some say it reminds them of a Mars candy bar on the palate.” —Kris Ketcham, Brewing Manager, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station